Mom Makes The Times!

I know she won't be thrilled that I put this picture up here, but read this article! Or at least read the title, the caption, and the first few paragraphs. Doesn't she look so cute and worried? She told us about it tonight, and I already had a few of my friends on FaceBook posting questions about it. I just wish she'd been in the news for winning a Greatest Librarian in the World award instead of this sad stuff.

Anyway, enjoy, and tomorrow is Friday!

Lights Out

Trevor and I took part in Earth Hour last night at 8:30 p.m. CST by turning out all of the lights and not using our electronic appliances. We spent the hour playing a game of Rummikub (thanks Kate G., for introducing it to us last summer!) by candlelight. Trevor beat me, but I challenged him tonight and won, so I think we're even. 

I start class again tomorrow, and I am, as usual, underprepared. I've done a bunch of work over the break, but it's never enough and I always spend more time doing things around the house (today it was laundry, cooking dinner, and playing Rummikub) than I spend doing my lesson plans and prep. But I guess that's what the train ride in tomorrow is for, right?

And I'm sure you all noticed the SNOW today! We looked out the window this morning to what looked like a couple of inches, and it continued to snow for the remainder of the morning and a bit of the afternoon. Luckily it all seems to have melted--or have been washed away by the slushy rain--by now, so I might not have to break out my snow boots tomorrow. We'll have to see. 

Well, before I turn in for the night, I should get a bit more work done, so have a cozy night, all.

It's Spring--Can't you feel it?!

Spring break is coming to an end, and I haven't done too much of anything. I spent most of the break sick, and then recovering from being sick. I got what seems to have been a minor dose of pink eye (gross, I know), and though I have finally gotten my voice back (my students will be thrilled on Monday when I no longer sound like a frog woman), I have that cough that follows a cold and always lingers for weeks beyond when you should be all better. 

But, I got a bit of work done, and Trevor and I discovered and enjoyed Battlestar Galactica--one of the greatest television shows in this known universe. On the few days I did venture out of the house--on the really nice, sunny days, I went to a new pie shop in the neighborhood, Hoosier Mama Pie Company (adorable, right?), and down to After Words (my old bookstore stomping grounds) to visit my friends Angie and J.C., spread some birthday magic for Angie, and pick up a few absolutely necessary Agatha Christies (two Poirot paperbacks I haven't read, and a hardcover of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd [one of the most famous mysteries ever, and one of her best. Also the reason I solved Three Act Tragedy by the fourth chapter (that's right--I solved it!)] in great condition). 

I also got to spend some time with Destiny, who's also on Spring Break and who'd just returned on Thursday morning from Florida with Neill and Fran, Fran's sister and her daughter. It sounds like they had a great trip: the weather was beautiful, they got to see Rae and Letty at the beach, and they went to Busch Gardens. She and I ate some pizza on Thursday night and then watched Twilight (we heart Edward). Luckily Trevor was working an event at the gallery and only had to endure the last ten or so minutes of the movie, and then he and Dest got to play X-Box (must more to his liking). On Friday, Dest and I went to see Coraline at the old Logan Theatre, and we both quite enjoyed the movie and loaded up on popcorn and Reese's Pieces. I dropped her off at a Metra station very close to our place but that I didn't even know existed, and then headed home where Trevor and I started Season 2.5 of Battlestar Galactica. Did I mention that BG is one of the greatest t.v. shows ever? It is. 

Yesterday was the last day that T.'s gallery was open to the public. Today they started the process of taking down the current show and cleaning up and sending out the rest of the artists' work that they've been storing. He's been working at Flatfile for two years, and it'll be strange when the business itself is no longer in that space. It's been a nice two years, though, and he's moving on to different things, which is always an adventure.

In other news, we've discovered that Henry won't eat lettuce. A piece of lettuce had fallen on the floor a few days ago when I was making dinner, and we decided to let him have it. He mouthed it around for a while, and about five minutes later, we found that it was still on the floor, uneaten. Tonight again, a piece must have fallen off one of our salad bowls while we ate dinner and sat on the couch watching World Cup qualifying soccer (Portugal v. Sweden), and Trevor discovered it moments ago, sitting untouched next to Henry's bed. At least we know now the one thing he's picky about. Not sticks. Not dirt. Not yarn. Not plastic. Not rubber. Not even glass. But lettuce. What an odd fellow he is. 

The Borks are still packing up and readying to move out the second week of April. Next weekend, Trevor, I, Greg, and Paula are going to the house to plunder the house of some furniture and go through the remaining bits of nostalgia from our childhood that Mom has still kept in the basement. I think my cheerleading jacket is in there, and I'll be sure to take a picture of you all to show off how many patches and pins I had. 

Well, the Portugal game is almost over, and we still have quite a bit of BG Season 2.5 left to watch, and we still have 1/4 of a pear-apple pie to eat for dessert, so I'll leave you to your watering mouths and a picture of a sad Spider-Man I saw a few weeks ago:

Let's hope that tomorrow, the last day of my Spring Break (emphasis on the SPRING), doesn't turn into the disgustingly snowy Sunday the news has been promising. Stay warm and dry!

It's been a while, I know...

And we'll have more to report, but for now, I'm just checking in. I've been sick all weekend with the gross flu that is apparently going around school and the rest of the state. The achiness has dissipated and the illness is just a hacking cough. Lovely, I know. Trevor's had to deal with it all night long now. But he hasn't gotten sick yet, which is excellent, and I hope to keep it that way!

A couple of weeks ago, John and Fran Power came over to help us put in a new bathroom sink, and they really spruced the place up. Of course we have yet to paint , but it looks so much better already, don't you think?

The light fixture is new as well, and the shower head, which you can't see. Of course, the Swamp Thing and Gumby do their own hard work to fancify the bathroom, but a coat of glossy off-white paint will do wonders. We're going to have the insurance contractors take care of that once they fix the water damaged wall (they've got to rip out the wall and most of the tiles. Ugh, ugh a-lugh). But I'm sure once it's finished, it'll be glorious. Cross your fingers.

Our neighbor, Sarah (lovely woman whose wall I drove through...), finally had her own unit fixed up after the flood of water, and it looks gorgeous. Black marble subway tiles in the bathroom shower, nubbly green granite counters in the kitchen and bathroom, and brand new shiny blonde wood floors. Really nice. 

Mom and Dad Bork will be moving at the beginning of April, so they're in the middle of packing and tossing things, and we'll be going through what's left of my childhood junk next week. And, speaking of next week, it's Spring Break! Yahoo! No plans for a trip to Cancun or Padre Island or anything, but a nice relaxing few days reading papers (or taking naps and reading mystery novels) will be just what the doctor ordered.

Hopefully we'll check in again before then. Lots of St. Patty's Day Love--Bork Power!

Phew.

The Borks sold their house in the suburbs, and they're officially moving to the city in April (or early May...)! A lovely young engaged couple is buying it as their first house, so I picture it filled with tiny kids (tiny only as long as they're kids...they'll grow, of course) within a few years. It's a nice picture. 

And of course we're thrilled to soon be joined by the Borks! The New City Borks. Trevor has offered them our couch for a while because the new condo won't be exactly ready when they are. I think they'll accept the offer, especially when they realize that they could be licked awake in the face each morning by Henry. Who wouldn't be interested in that?!

There's also some family tattoo news--and it's not ours! Rachel and Letty got some really nice work done last week, and although they said they think it hurt more this second time around, looking at the pictures alone makes me know it was worth it. Check it out:

Rachel's is the Celtic rose knot (her second piece), and Letty got an addition in honor of her sister Carmen, who recently passed away, to the fire sign piece she got last year. They both look kind of amazing.

This Friday is the near-monthly meeting of my Ribs Supper Club with my fellow rib loving friends J.C. and Angie--we're going to Fat Willie's Barbecue. I'm sure I'll have some tasty reporting to do about that, so until then, goooooooo ribs!

School makes the news again...

...and this time, it's not because of me! One of our Political Science teachers gave a lecture last night, and apparently it caused a bit of a ruckus as school. Here's the article. He's a pretty cool cucumber and it sounds like he took it all in stride, though I wish I'd been there to see it myself. 

A couple weeks ago, one of my students asked if I'd be the faculty advisor for a new club he wanted to start: The Science Fiction Club. That's right. The Science Fiction Club. It's a club for Sci-Fi fanatics to get together and talk about robots, aliens, space travel, time travel...Doesn't it sound like heaven? Yes it does! We only had three people at the first meeting on Tuesday, but I think the word didn't get out and around school enough; I'm going to spruce up the flyer and plaster it over every inch of campus next week, and I have a feeling we'll attract more nerds. I mean geeks. I mean super cool people just like me. I can't wait until we cover the X-Files!

Russ and Desiree's new bar, Simone's, opened this week, and Trevor, Simona, and I went to the soft opening on Tuesday night. We ran into Greg and Paula, and Audrey, who I hadn't seen since the wedding. We had a great time and ate some really tasty food (portabello fries and a slice of tres leches cake were the highlights for me--not on the same plate of course). Wednesday night was Bunco night with the girls, and I lost $20, but had a great time with everyone. It was the most friend-packed week I've had in a while, though next week, I'm having another dinner with the gals, and the Rib Supper Club at Fat Willie's on Friday, so I'll have to rest up this weekend.

For Valentine's Day, we're getting a new washer and dryer--it's getting delivered tomorrow, and I'm already mentally sorting the laundry. I am also hoping that Trevor will get me some candy. (Trevor, hint hint) So Happy Valentine's Day, all, and we'll have more to come soon.

Resident Eeeeeee-vil

The title of this particular blog entry, though only barely tangentially relevant to its contents, is more of an eye-catcher than, say, "While I sit on the couch on a Sunday night." Trevor is seated beside me, and he's playing the demo of the Resident Evil video game (Can we still call them video games? These slick and shiny, bloody and gory fantasies?). And while I watch him fight overly animated zombies, I find myself asking a very important question, which was not originally intended to be the focus of this entry (see where Resident Evil gets me?):

When was the last time you saw a fat zombie?

My creative writing class got on this topic during Wednesday's class workshop. One of the students used the phrase "zombie-like skin" to describe a chubby woman in a painting, and some of the readers/students had issue with the correlation between a zombie and chubbiness. And of course, being interested in zombies myself, I actually let them talk about this for a few minutes.

We don't see many overweight zombies, which is odd, and frankly, a misrepresentation of the human population. Since zombies rise from the grave (due to various reasons and according to various philosophies), there should be quite a number of heavy, thin, short, tall, male, female, old, young, one-legged, four-fingered zombies. Right? Once they're out of their graves, ambling around and picking off humans as fast as their zombie-legs can carry them, the white and gray matter of the brain might not be super nourishing, but do you know how long it would take a zombie to lose weight? Well, I don't really have an answer to that question, but I'd imagine much longer than it takes the average zombie survival team (gang of misfits fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse) to kill those zombies. So, why don't we see more size diversity in our undead?

Sooo, now let's talk about Macbeth. From zombies to Shakespeare...it makes complete sense. My friend Angie and I went to Chicago Shakespeare Theater for The Scottish Play. Both of us worked there for a while, but neither of us has been there in years, so we were excited to see both the show as well as the theater itself. We recognized a few familiar faces and had a beer in the pub before we took in the show, which was above average. As was expected, the production was superb and the acting was solid. There were a number of artistic choices that I really could have lived without (Mike Nussbaum was one of the 'weird sisters,' and I really [and I mean really] could have done without seeing him, all 85 years of him, dressed in S&M bondage gear. He was a great porter, though.), and I frankly preferred the performance of Ben Carlson, who did the Short Shakespeare! version and the last Macb. production I saw. This Thane of Cawdor was fine, but I want better than fine. The "Tomorrow," soliloquy was okay, but other than that speech, he yelled a lot. The fight choreography was great, though, and the set was super fun. The whole night was a huge hit for me and Angie, just getting to the theater again. Twelfth Night is playing in the spring, and we're going to go again, this time with Trevor.  

So it's now way passed my bedtime, and I want to finish my Agatha Christie novel tonight, so I'm off like an itchy pair of socks. Until next time, true believers!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I ate dinner tonight with a girl I went to junior high school with. It's the lovely part of Facebook: you reconnect with people you haven't talked to in sixteen years. And then you think about the fact that you were sixteen years old fifteen years ago, just a hair younger than the students you're currently teaching. And then you feel kind of old. 

But, dinner was fun. Jen (formerly Jenni) and I met at a restaurant in Algonquin, which is close to her house and on my way home from school, called Cheeseburger in Paradise. As you might have guessed, it's a beachy Jimmy Buffety themed place that specializes in burgers (though the menu was quite extensive). They also had fried pickles. I'll repeat that. They also had fried pickles. Of course, Jen and I couldn't resist ordering them, and we were pleasantly surprised at their deliciousness. I mean, they were really, really good. The burgers were good, too, and the coleslaw had golden raisins (!yahoo!), which is a major turn-off for some, but it's high up on my list of coleslaw "do's" so I was thrilled. 

In addition to the food, Jen and I got to catch up, which was so nice. I don't keep in touch with anyone from the "olden days" (as my students would call the Eighties. I'm not kidding.), so we swapped some stories and then she filled me in on what's been going on so far this decade. She's married, teaching high school English at Maine West (West is Best!), and raising a little boy named Nate (whose picture I've seen--he's a totally adorable peanut head.). She lives in one of the towns I drive through on my way to work (one of a dozen), so we're planning to get together frequently. 

And that was the night. I'm currently writing this to put off doing a lesson plan on writing poetry, and I should probably finish it up so I'm prepared for tomorrow afternoon's class. Poetry is something that still confounds me, and I'm finding it a bit difficult to teach. Fiction, no problem. Creative non-fiction, super. Poetry. Huhflawwh? Before the semester started, I went through a few of my old poetry journals to get inspired, but it only made me realize what kind of themes I'd be likely to see from my own college freshmen: parties, broken hearts, teenage angst, post-teenage angst (totally like, much deeper than, like, regular teenage angst), sneakers, and sex (wanting it, not getting it). I'm hoping that this first assignment my students wrote, using any piece of art from campus that they choose, will elicit more interesting fare. 

So, here's to hope! Have a good night, true believers.  

School Days Are Here Again

And I've just survived fifteen of them! The third week of Spring semester is over, and so far the term is off to a nice start. My Creative Writing class is even better than I'd hoped for. The students are all writing workshop nubies, but they've had two rounds of workshopping their classmates' work, and they've been terrific--they've given insightful and respectful criticisms and compliments. I'm so proud of them. And, as a little personal perk and ego boost, one of my students in that class was in the Comp 2 class with my crazy religious student, and in front of Creative Writing class on the second day, she brought up that she'd noticed my new syllabus statement (warning students about potentially sensitive material). My returning student went a little crazy (good crazy) about how irritated and angry she was at the newspaper article, and how it didn't have all of the facts and that the student was untruthful about the final exam only being on the 'offensive' book. Of course, I knew that the article wasn't accurate, but it was so satisfying that my student not only felt the same way, but brought it up in class. My students had a brief discussion about academic freedom, and my returning student made a comment about what a good teacher I was, at which time I cut off the discussion to get into the lesson plan before my ego inflated too big to fit in the room. It was such a great way to start off the semester. 

My other classes are going well, too. I've got two Comp 1 classes and two Intro classes, so it's quite a good balance. I've been busy with plans for a writing festival the college is hosting in April (a festival that I'm planning. I was not aware we were hosting it when I volunteered to "help out."). And I'm the literary representative this year for our lit magazine, which is shaping up to be a lot of fun, though it, too, will be a lot of work. The designer wants the magazine to be round (in shape. Yes, I know. It's a book.). I'm a bit worried about the logistics of that, but we'll work it out. Hopefully she'll realize how expensive the printing of a round book will be and we won't be able to do it. Or, if we do, it won't be as odd as I'm imagining it as. 

Trevor's keeping busy at the gallery, getting the word out about the August switch-over to an event rental-only space, and he's having quite a bit of reward so far. Also, quite a few cookies! The Limelight Catering folks were over for a tour of the space last week, and they brought him a box FULL of delicious cookies. If you guys remember, Limelight catered our wedding, and we still remember how goo-hooo-hood the food was. One of the girls in the tour group was actually at our wedding (she remembered the books), and Trevor told them how frequently we refer them to other people. And, needless to say, the cookies were a hugely welcomed treat. There were these bar cookies with a peanut butter base and a jelly like substance on top, and my GOD were they tasty. And of course, there were ginger snaps, chocolate chippers, oatmeal raisin, shortbread hearts dipped in chocolate, pistachio biscotti, and some others I can't remember. There are still a few left, but there won't be for much longer. 

Tomorrow we're going to a Superbowl party at Greg and Paula's, and although we don't really have a team affiliation, we plan to eat a lot of junk food and yell a lot at the television about touchdowns and field goals and holding. Now that's some serious fun. 

Speaking of football, our football team, Manchester United, is first in the English Premiere League, and our goalkeeper has gone almost eighteen game hours without giving up a goal, which is a record. AND he's thirty-eight years old, which is also kind of a record. And he's just plain fantastic.

I have a lot of papers to grade tomorrow, and a bunch of other work, but I think I'll spend at least a bit of time drinking coffee and watching Barcelona whip some other Spanish league team into shape. So goooo Steelers! or gooooo Cardinals! Gooooo snack foods!! 

This won't scratch the surface...

...but here's a mini-update before I turn in for the night, so you can whet your appetites for the longer version to come tomorrow. 

Trevor and I had a holiday extravaganza starting the night before Christmas Eve. We went to Greg and Paula's for what was supposed to be a Bork and Nichols pre-holiday feast. Mother Nature didn't like the idea, however, because she tossed down what seemed like 18 feet of snow and 85 mph gusts of wind down on Chicagoland. The future city Borks, still doing the suburban thing, couldn't make it to the current city Bork's, but Trevor and I and the Nichols muscled our way to Humboldt Park for some delicious food and festivities. Henry came with us and had a marvelous time playing with Pepper and driving Tequila and Peanut crazy. The future city Borks were sorely missed. 

Christmas Eve was at the Bosco's, and although there wasn't any snow, it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey (yes, I said it!). We opened presents, ate good food at a very long table, and had an all around good time. 

Christmas Day was spent at the future city Bork's current suburban location (Dare I say the last party there? I dare!). The food was excellent, start to finish, and the mood was perfectly post-Christmas Eve low-key. Or as low-key as the Borks, Boscos, and Buxes can get when they're all in the same house (i.e. it was very loud and not at all low-key. we had a great time). The cousins resurrected (or brought back from hiatus?) our Christmas Day movie tradition to see Marley and Me, a super tearjerker that, as Trevor put so well, was a bit too true to life (a study of how a married couple can truly be unhappy at nearly every step of their lives together while still being in love). It's not exactly the "feel good movie of the year," as some of the ads were claiming, and it's definitely one that many people we know should avoid (Anyone who's ever owned a dog, met a dog, or seen a dog on t.v. Anyone who's ever had a baby, thought about having a baby, met a baby, thought about meeting a baby, or seen a baby on t.v.). 

The day after Christmas was spent doing a bit of shopping and prepping for a get-together with the Power clan at our house on Saturday. The evening, though, was spent at the River Forest Madel's house with the Power Brothers, spouses, Grandma and Grandpa Madel, Jim, and RACHEL POWER! Yes, you read right, folks! That sneaky sneakerson had snuck her way up from Florida to Chicago with the help of one Mrs. Angelique Power. Rae surprised everyone, though the Power Brothers showed their excitement with muted utterances (actually, Neill did a good, "Rachel!" so just T and S are the muted utterers). I think Angi was excited enough for the entire family and nearly had a heart attack with each surprise. Needless to say, we had an excellent reunion and were able to spend the next two days with Rachel. 

And the next day was spend with most of the Powers, really (well, the U.S. Powers). The gang came over to our house at noon for fun and present opening and then we headed to the corner Italian restaurant for lunch. Then it was back to our place for games and fun and more games and more eating and a movie (Better off Dead--on VHS no less), and more games and then exhaustion around midnight. 

Sunday morning, Trevor dragged me out of bed to get ready for breakfast with Kate, Jen, and Jessica V. at the Bongo Room (Trevor's first time there, and my second). There was--shockingly--no wait out the door and onto the sidewalk (thank God since it was subzero temperatures) and we only had to hang out by the breakfast bar for about ten minutes. Then it was breakfast burritoes and BLT eggs benedict all around. We spent the rest of the day digesting. Jessica and Kate came over after breakfast to play a good few games of Catch-Phrase (while we managed to eat a few cookies...), and then Trevor and I napped before heading over to Angi and Sean's to have dinner that night (Shrimp Po' Boys!!) and watch Dark Knight and two episodes of CSIs: one in NY, one in Miami. We were hoping for the hat trick with a Vegas episode, but we'd have had to wait until two in the morning. We probably could have done it, but Angi had to work in the morning and we didn't want to keep her up wondering about forensic evidence. I think Angi, Rachel, and I could have spazzed out to television all night long while the boys talked about video games, but alas, we abstained and Trevor and I went home to a still pooped-out Henry, who was still hungover from so much company over the weekend. 

Monday we packed up the car and headed up to Door County to stay with Jim and visit with him and the Madels of Wisconsin for the week. It was chock full of action as you'll be able to tell from this day-by-day itinerary: 

Monday

Arrived around 6 p.m., ate pizza with Jim, watched television, went to sleep.

Tuesday

Drank coffee and watched movies on the couch while a family of deer and a trio of wild turkeys (animals, not pints of liquor) frolicked about outside. Found the tire of our car was flat. Had a winter adventure at Valmy Motors (tire had a near miniscule piece of metal in it, and the kind gentlemen removed it and patched up the tire for $10.). Winter adventure lasted no more than one hour. Had dinner at the Nightingale Supper Club with Jim. Came home, watched movies, went to sleep.

Wednesday

Drank coffee and watched movies on the couch while a family of deer and a trio of wild turkeys (animals, not liquor) frolicked about outside. Had New Year's Eve dinner with the Wisconsin Madels and Jim at Stone Harbor. Rung in NYC New Year with the WI Madels and Jim at 4030 Glidden drive, then Central Standard Time New Year with Jim at 4553 Glidden Drive. Went to sleep.

Thursday

New Years Day. Remained in pajamas entire day (Trevor changed into jeans at one point) while a family of deer and a trio of wild turkeys (animals, liquor) frolicked about outside. Read on couch and drank coffee. Knitted. Watched movies. Made chili for dinner and cherry pie for dessert. Read. Went to sleep. 

Friday

Drank coffee and read on couch. Went into town for breakfast/lunch, and hit the yarn store to stock up (greatest yarn store in the world: Spin). Watched movies back on the couch while a family of deer and a trio of wild turkeys (...) frolicked outside. Went to WI Madel's for shrimp curry (deeeelicous) and great conversation. Went to sleep.

Saturday

Packed up the car and came home. Ate take out from Butterfly. Read. Went to sleep. 

And that's pretty much where we come to now. We had a great time, though we did very little. Well, we did little with our bodies. I read two books, Trevor's half-way through with his (To be fair, I spent a lot more time with mine...I'm engulfed in the young adult Twilight series enough that I couldn't seem to put the books down during the week. Only one more to go!), and we exercised our minds and eyes with a bunch of movies (Severance [super-fun English horror film Trevor let me rent b/c Tootsie at Grand Slam doesn't have it], The Fall [beautiful and lovely follow-up to the interesting and just as beautiful but creepy instead of lovely The Cell], Gonzo [Hunter S. Thompson bio-documentary. Really interesting], August [interesting though not completely fullfilling Josh Hartnett movie about the dotcom bust], The King of Masks [our New Year's Eve movie--entertaining and "sentimental" (as Grandpa put it) Chinese film], and last but absolutely not least, Cannonball Run [self-explanatory I should say]).

So now it's Monday night and the larder is stocked, the house is clean, the laundry is done, Henry is still barely able to go on a real walk from all of his frolicking (he wasn't able to do any frolicking with the deer or turkeys, but he did enough on his own. see below), and we're recovering from our exhaustingly relaxing vacation. We had an excellent time, and I'm actually ready to start school next week. 

Oh Good Lord. I start school next week. 

Okay, so I'll leave you with that and some pictures of Henry our abominable snow dog. I just realized that I filled you in on everything and it's much later than I'd intended to be up. Ah, just as well. I can sleep in tomorrow now! 

Good night and Happy Belated New Year!

Shopping!

I'm going shopping in a bit with Paula. We're going to hit the Westfield Shopping Center on Michigan. It's going to be crowded and pushy and hectic, but I'm prepared for all of those things. Christmas shopping at its purest! Here we come! 

(there will be an update when I get home. most likely the update will focus on the bruises I got from little grandmas throwing elbows in Nordstrom to get to the Clinique counter, and my swollen toes, sore from failed attempts to dodge the fervored steps of tantrum-throwing children who want want WANT that Lego Elmo doll.)

It's a lovely time to be in my office

The ESL class across the hall is having their end-of-the-semester party. A lot of the students are Latino, and one of the men is playing a guitar and singing in Spanish. They're over there eating food that everyone brought, and taking pictures, and laughing, and the whole thing is just so nice. I wish I could record it for everyone; it's really soothing and making the process of grading these late papers quite a bit more pleasant.

Traffic is the pits. Students are even pittier.

I had an early meeting this morning to get the results of the student grade appeal hearing on the 21st, so I drove in to get there in time. But because of Chicago motorists' tendency to drive like limp fish at the first whiff of weather, it took me nearly three hours to get to campus. So we had to cancel the very meeting I was driving in early for to make. What's even better is that I left the house and forgot my phone still on the dock, charging, so I had to pull off the highway at Belmont and call the secretary from a Citgo payphone to let her know I wasn't going to make it. If only we'd scheduled the meeting for 1/2 hour later, I could have taken the train as usual, made it on time, and I'd now know if I'd triumphed over the little beetle of a student student who complained about being below average, when he was, in fact, below average. 

So, in case you haven't noticed, it's that time in the semester when I cringe with the very idea, the very existence of students. Those one hundred and twenty little imps have spent the past fifteen weeks sapping every ounce of enthusiasm from me, and I'm just a shriveled raisin of a woman, pessimistically sipping red wine and watching television with her terrifically and silently sympathetic husband and dog (a dog who seems skinny today. skinny like he's lost his extra 4.8 lbs., perhaps). There are two weeks left before final grades are due and I'm free from poorly written essays for a month. And that two weeks can't be over soon enough. If you think I sound a bit grim and unpleasant...you're right. I do. Because I am. 

I'll find out at the end of the week about the little beetle of a student, and after this week's classes are over and all I have left to do is wait for the final papers to come in and quickly (oh-so-quickly) grade them. Not so bad, really. And it's already almost Tuesday.

But on to brighter things. I'm off to dust off my snow boots for an early trog through the frozen alley to the car tomorrow. It's not so bad. I've got a new Hercule Poirot mystery to listen to in the car. That is, if I remember to bring my phone...

A funny post I saw on the Huffington Post in regards to an article about Samantha Power rejoining the Obama team.

New Computer!

I cashed in my "One Free Computer" birthday coupon from Trevor this afternoon. We braved the Black Friday crowds--and they were intimidating, indeed--to go to the Michigan Avenue Mac store. It was crowded, but since we knew what we wanted, we were in and out in fifteen minutes. We stopped to get ingredients for the green bean casserole I'm bringing to the Power's post-Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, then came back home for sandwiches and new-computer hijinx.

The photo above is our family portrait as taken on my new computer. 

Did I mention that today I got a new computer? It's all very exciting. 

Tonight we're staying in and enjoying a lazy couch-fest with a movie (and, if I can convince Trevor [he's not hard to convince], Thai or sushi from Butterfly for dinner). I ordered two pies from our local grocery spot, though I neglected to find venues for them. So Trevor and I will be consuming two pies (one apple, one pear-cranberry, both with oatmeal struesal topping) over the next couple of days. We've already started in on the pear-cranberry, and it's delicious so far. It won't be long until we conquer them both. We might not be able to get off the couch for a little while, but that's okay. Pie is worth it. Yum! 

We spent yesterday's Thanksgiving afternoon and early evening with the family at the Bux Estate in Huntley. We got some excellent news: my cousin Michael got engaged! His girlfriend, Sheena, is pretty fabulous (she's got a Masters in Political Science and likes horror movies. She's impossible not to like), and she and one of her brothers were at the festivities last night. We got to meet her and Michael's puppy, Presley, too. She's was pretty adorable, though it's curious why we're the only couple with a normal sized dog in the family. Yes, everyone, that's what I said. Our dog is normal sized. Your dogs are tiny little shrimps. 

Tomorrow we got to the Power's for a fabulous extended Thanksgiving celebration. I'm bringing a green bean au gratin, and Sean and Angi are picking us up in their Toyota loaner (which will hopefully get the dealership on the ball to get them their real car). Sunday Trevor finally has to go to work, and I've got to grade some papers. Monday morning I get the news about this student grade appeal hearing I had last Friday, so I'll let you know about that. Hopefully logic (me) will overcome entitlement and laziness (not me). Can you tell that it's the end of the semester and I'm a little sick of students right now? It is. And I am.

We're over and out for now; it's off to sushi and pie (not together), and a night on the couch under an afghan. This is the life!

Happy Thanksgiving, all. Love, T. and L. Power and H. Bork 

Gobble, gobble!

Yes, it's been nearly a month since our last post, and I have no excuses. School is almost finished for the semester (yahooooo!) and I got swept up grading all of my slacker students' late papers and going to grade appeal hearings for other slacker students, and attending meetings to find out the latest negotiations for our contract (We've been teaching since August without one. I've learned a lot about unions this semester. More than I cared to in the span of two months, actually). 

But other than busy-ness, Trevor, Henry, and I have been quite good. We're working our respective butts off (Trevor at his job/s, me at mine, and Henry at the gym because he gained 4.8 lbs. since August) and looking very much forward to the next couple of days. Today we're up to the Buxes house to celebrate Thanksgiving, and then Trevor has the next couple of days off because the gallery is closed. Tomorrow we'll go to the Mac store to get me a new computer (Trevor's birthday gift to me! And speaking of birthdays, I had a great one earlier in the month: everyone sent cards and well wishes, and I got some really thoughtful gifts and I all around felt loved. Thank you everyone!), and perhaps see a movie (I have a gift card from a student of mine [one of my favorites from summer semester] and we want to see Role Models for giggles and Paul Rudd). Saturday is post-Thanksgiving at the Power's, where we will hopefully be playing some Catch Phrase and certainly be eating delicious food. 

We're also THRILLED about our new president-elect, Barack Obama. Although now it's a bit belated, we celebrated (rhymed!) at a neighborhood bar called Archies, where they let us have full run of the place and gave us drink specials. We watched the election returns on their 80" projection t.v. while we ate pizza Dan had brought from Uno's, and we ate cupcakes Liz had baked (50: one for each of the 50 states. I ate Oklahoma. It was delicious). There were about fifty or sixty of us there, and the evening was just a lot of fun, and obviously a success. 

Next week is the last week of classes this semester, and in two weeks I'll have a nearly month-long vacation (And still get paid! It's kind of astounding and I'm still reeling from this perk of being a full time faculty member). I've got quite a bit of work to do while I'm home, though. I'm teaching the creative writing class next semester, and while I'm over the moon with excitement, I'm a bit nervous because it'll be my first time teaching this. I've got to perfect my syllabus by December 13th and then fix up my lesson plans. I'm also the new faculty literary representative for our literary magazine, Voices, so I've got some planning to do for next year's issue, and I'm the new MCC rep. for a writing festival we're hosting at the college in April. I've got to round up four judges for the competition who will also be leading workshops during the festival, and then choose student finalists. It's such an honor to be doing it, but it's going to take a lot of work. I'll let you all know how it goes. 

Well, the kitchen is calling my name; I've got to bake up some macaroni and cheese to bring to tonight's dinner. Yum! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and we'll be updating this with much more regularity. Eat lots of turkey, potatoes, and pie! 

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!

It's a beautiful, warm day and it's perfect for dressing up like a monster, princess, hobo, or presidential candidate and wreaking havoc across the city. And by wreaking havoc I mean running around, looking for candy to eat until we can run no more.

We're meeting Dan and Mona at Archie's for some drinks before going to Bull eh Dias for a costume party. Simona's working and will apparently be dressed as a '20's flapper, Dan's going to be the Dow Jones, Mona's going to be Universal Healthcare, Trevor will take on a modern-day Groucho Marx (using the nose featured below), and I'm going to be a jack-o-lantern. Fun will be had by all, and hopefully a lot of candy will be consumed. 

Tomorrow night we're going to hang out with Trevor's uncle Mark, who's coming to the States from Amsterdam for the first Halloween in years. Tomorrow is also Greg's birthday and he's having dinner and beers with friends, so I'm hoping to fit that into the mix as well.

In less pleasant news, Tuesday morning, about 2 a.m., the water heater in the unit above ours split open and flooded our next-door neighbor Sarah's place. We got water leaking through half of our closet ceiling and some bubbling in the bathroom wall, however it's apparently 'ignorable,' said Trevor, compared to Sarah's damage next door. He said that there was literally water pouring through the ceiling, walls, and light fixtures. His glasses fogged up when he walked into her place, and his shoes were getting wet as he stood there talking to her. And of course, she took it all in stride because she's fantastic. Thankfully this time it wasn't my fault! The girl upstairs, though, is out of the country (in Mexico) until Sunday at midnight. She's already submitted a claim to her insurance company (thankfully she has insurance), so we've got to figure out how and when to fix it. Yahoo.

Rather than leave such a fun holiday on such a craptastic note, here's a wonderful shot of Trevor's costume for tonight (while I was writing, he came in dressed up and let me snap a shot). Happy All Hallo's Eve!

Maureen K. Coleman 1953-2004

       

October, Chapter One:
Laura Makes the Front Page

Yes, I made the front page--of the Northwest Herald, the McHenry County newspaper. But still...the front page! Some of you might recall my early Banned Books Week celebration blog and the story about my "religious" student's objections to the book we read in my summer Comp 2 class. Well, she and her mother, dissatisfied with the dean and administration's refusal to discuss the banning of books from any class's curriculum, went to the press. Yup. That's just how crazy they are! It's curious that the NW Herald published the article at all, given the one-sided nature of their information. Much of the article's "facts" are untrue as filtered through one girl and her mother. So have fun, and read on.

Did you like it? I've finally stopped losing sleep over this (just about eight long nights of restlessness and anxiety). Everyone at school has been very supportive, and some of my students have commented on it to me (in my favor, which, though I couldn't say anything, was reassuring). A number of my English Dept. colleagues have used it in their classrooms as examples of biased journalism. The plight of celebrities has finally touched a nerve in me and I'm thrilled to never have something negative written about me again. But I guess that means I'll have to stop disseminating pornography! (damn.)


October, Chapter Two:
Sonny Acres

Last Sunday we went with Sean and Angi to watch the Bears game at Neill, Fran, and Destiny's. Although the Bears lost (it was really a heartbreaker), we had a great time watching with everyone, and then we drowned our sorrows in elephant ears and lemonade at Sonny Acres. None of us got a pumpkin, but we got some goodies nonetheless: carmel apples, chocolate covered pretzels, miniature foam skulls, pumpkin pencils...such good stuff. Destiny was unimpressed by the haunted house, though did like this wrapped up fellow:






For more goats and pumpkin witches, check out Trevor's Flickr page.


October, Chapter Three:
David Sedaris

When Trevor picked me up from the train station Monday evening, he had a surprise: David Sedaris was reading at the Auditorium Theatre and there were still available tickets. We sped home on Trevor's trusty steed (we ride in style), hopped on the bus/train to get downtown, grabbed some tickets, and still had time before the reading to eat some dinner.



The reading was great (although he didn't have the monkey); Sedaris read all original stuff, including something that will be in The New Yorker later this month (likening the "undecided voter" in the upcoming presidential election to an airline diner debating between the chicken and a pile of dog poop peppered with shards of broken glass. Guess who's the poop?). It was a terrific reading and a great idea by Trevor.


October, Chapter Four:
Art Openings, Ribs, and Next Semester

Last night while I was eating ribs and talking books with my friends Angie and J.C., Trevor and Angi Power were checking out art at some gallery openings in the Fulton Market district. Since Flatfiles' openings usually coincide with the other neighborhood openings, Trevor isn't usually able to go. He was excited to see some of the good, the bad, and the pooping:





The ribs I was eating were messy and delicious, and the Rice Krispie treat I got for dessert tasted like it was made with horchata, and was hands-down the best Krispie treat I've ever had. I traded books with Angie, got a couple of dvds--one of an afro-samuri t.v. show starring Samuel L. Jackson, and the other, a movie called The Fall by the same director who did The Cell (dazzling to look at, though not so great on plot)--and got caught up on After-Words gossip. I was just happy to have finally gotten rid of a two-day migraine and successfully turned in my book orders for next semester. I'm teaching two developmental classes, two Comp 1 classes (with a new e-book), and the creative writing class! I'm thrilled and nervous about it and will probably start developing the syllabus soon.

Henry and I went on a walk to the park today and stopped by a corner grocery store that didn't nearly measure up to our corner Green Grocer. But I did get a cherry soda and food for tonight's dinner (I made tacos. Yum). Trevor has also recently become obsessed with a dice game called Farkle, which he's currently playing on his phone right now. He keeps yelling, "Farkle!"

I've got to buckle down tomorrow and grade some papers, and Trevor's got to work. Though we're going to end the night with pumpkin raviolis for dinner, so all will not be lost. Hopefully there aren't more front-page stories in our future, but if there are, you'll all be the first to know. Cheers to the First Amendment, academic freedom, pumpkins, and Farkle!