implosion

Work got exciting yesterday. Some of you may recall my lamenting the debacle that was our search for a new faculty member in Arabic. Most of us thought we had found someone terrific only to be torpedoed by the Middle East Center who opted for a less-qualified (less-threatening?) candidate. The search was scuttled due to lack of agreement. This past weekend as a result of some "reassignments" from higher up, the director and associate director of the center resigned. Everyone is high drama mode - personally I hadn't expected such a shift, but think we might actually be able to work at bringing the place into the modern age. I am at work bright and early to meet a former student who is coming in to do a recording for me to use in my phonetics class. This meant I actually laid eyes on Catherine before she went off to catch her 7am school bus. Last night I popped in to her room to say goodnight and make sure she knew her lunch was in the fridge. Her response: "Go away, mom. I don't need you anymore." I thought this day would never come -- those of you who know her well, remember the years of her being the extreme cling-on child.

unsuccessful getaway

Craig and I had a less than successful two day getaway to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. Reason one: it's in southeastern Idaho. It is very brown there, except where there is snow, in which case it is white. Craig attributed the brownness to 'high desert' which may be topograhically accurate, but nonetheless dull to the eye. We did have a nice pool connected to our lodgings. It was among the trees and full of quite hot mineral water. Reason two: I had a wicked cold so kept falling asleep. When I was awake I was not much fun. Reason three: there really wasn't much to do. The town itself merited a 15 minute stroll from end to end and you can really only spend so much time submersed in hot water. We did drive around the area seeing such hotspots as Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, but these each consisted of more or fewer strip mall type shops depending on size. By the time we got to Soda Springs, I confess we did not even exit the car to see the local landmark geyser. We did slow down as we drove past. I think we were both a bit relieved to get home and be able to get back to our normal routine. I went into the office where we settled on the miniscule raises for staff and faculty that the legislative appropriation affords us. Tomorrow, I head off in a different direction with Catherine and a friend to stay at The Homestead for two nights. http://www.homesteadresort.com/

Parental Duties

Last night we went to see Catherine's school musical. They are doing Bye Bye Birdie and she is in the "adult chorus". Pretty much it was interminable... Am I a terrible parent for saying that? She was in a few highly populated scenes. Our first sighting of her went like this" "Oh, look, that's her, you can see her forehead behind that girl in the fuschia". I think she has been enjoying the actual performances -- lots of adrenalin and fun.

out of the mouthes of babes

Wednesday Sam and I were driving to his indoor soccer final, and he asked from the back seat: "What's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?" Well, I answered, there are basic ideas about life and how we live that one can generally attribute to each of the parties. I hazarded that Republicans on the whole believe that people are responsible for themselves and their own well-being. At this point, Sam said, "Oh, so if you're poor, it's your fault?" Well, yes. Certainly it isn't really the government's job to sort you out. Democrats on the other hand, I suggested, felt that society as a whole might take some collective responsibility for everyone's well-being. He said something about this making sense because some people have a harder time. I asked him if he knew the phrase "level playing field"? "no". So I asked him to picture playing soccer on a hill where his team had to kick uphill to the goal - that wouldn't be fair would it? The idea of course being then to explain the metaphor in societal terms. But, he countered, "Yes, but at half time you switch sides". Ah, but there's the rub my boy. In life there is no half time. He's a thoughtful little bugger.

nose to the grindstone

Apparently I missed a bit of a downer week at work. We failed to hire for one of our two Spanish positions and everyone was feeling pretty beleaguered by week's end. Then there was the college executive committee meeting where all sorts of budgetary doom and gloom was meted out. Glad I missed that. It was warm while I was away and a lot of the snow has melted. I'm pasting in a picture of my favorite billboard from the Moscow trip. It's a play on alphabets.

Moscow getaway

My sister asks why I am here in the middle of the term. I got invited to a conference and it seemed too good a chance to pass up. My way was paid, I got to attend a two day, quintessentially Russian academic event, and see my dearest friend Liz and family. The only disappointment has been the unseasonably warm weather - it hasn't dipped below freezing at all really. Yesterday Liz's daughter skipped school and we hit the town - galleries, shopping and a sushi lunch. The Tretyakovsky which is my favorite gallery bar none has a whole slew of previously undisplayed paintings up now which was great fun.

Spain in Moscow

Last night we went to a wine tasting at "the premier Spanish restaurant in Moscow". Of course, it is probably the only Spanish restaurant in Moscow, but that should not detract from its reputation. It was great fun, mainly because I got to see a New Zealander whom I only see each time I drop into Moscow. He is very funny and we had a grand time snatching up the gustatory glasses and nibbles.