Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Hello, Comrade
I don't care what they say about the changes, Moscow is still filled with rude drunks. But some of them are kinda cute.
The Moscow trip was interesting, not exactly what I was expecting, but then again, traveling with a bunch of middle-aged professors and diplomats, what, exactly, was I expecting?
I wanted to do more exploring, but I was there for business so that obviously took first priority. At one point I was thinking, "well, Adrian and I will just have to come back and visit someday," but after being there a week I thought "why?" While Moscow has plenty of history (some of which has been rewritten since 1991) they aren't exactly going out of their way to make it accessible to foreigners. Customer service is also pretty poor, in a "if they pretend to pay us, we'll pretend to work" way that was pretty common during Soviet times. Then again, they may not have liked us simply because we were American.
There's a lot of national pride in Russia, bordering on the manic. From some of the discussions we had that pride seemed to be a response to an inferiority complex more than anything else.
The street we were on, Tverskaya Ulitsa, was nice. It's the "5th Avenue" of Moscow. It was had lots of clothing stores with Western styles (I saw three Mexx stores, one of them across the street from our hotel). The old GUM department store on Red Square, once a place of long lines and empty shelves, is now an upscale mall filled with mostly Western stores, though with some Russian designers. I didn't buy anything, it was more expensive than here at home, but it was fun to see what's considered stylish in Russia. I also thought that if I went into such stores I was more likely to see cute gay boys, but that was rare. The boys only came out at night.
I never made it to any gay bars or clubs, though I found a couple. I'm guessing the big dance club/casino with the billboard-sized posters of shirtless men on the front was probably gay, though I can't find the club ("Astoria") on any of the gay Russia websites. As I walked back to the hotel late Thursday night I saw a doorman and a couple young, kinda sketchy looking guys -- hustlers? -- out front. I thought about going to one bar I located but I was just doing it to "check the square" and say I was in a gay bar in Moscow. I mean, I wasn't going to be able to talk to anyone (English is really not common) plus I'm thinking it would look like I was trying to hook up, which I was obviously not trying to do. Also, given some of the discussions we'd had with the government folks that week, we were advised that we were probably being followed (I think I saw the guy who had me) and they sometimes try to embarrass folks on diplomatic missions when they're upset about something (and they're kinda pissed about some comments VP Cheney made recently...big surprise). Given that I was already violating our team's "2-person rule" (we were only supposed to go out in groups of 2 or more) and the odds of meeting someone just to chat, who would not only be interesting but also speak English, were minimal, I decided to just do some people watching and then call it a night.
One of the first things I saw coming in from the airport, and the last thing upon leaving, was a huge IKEA store.
Our sessions went pretty well in that we exchanged some ideas and at least we realized that there are some major areas of disagreement. We were working with a group from the government on some counterterrorism issues, and they definitely view threats differently from us. Some of the things they said really surprised me, and some of the questions I was asked kind of threw me. One guy from our embassy complimented me on my dancing (good thing I took hip-hop!) as I danced around one question I got; the answer I wanted to give is totally contrary to the US government position, which was awkward as I was kind of representing the US government.
I didn't get flirted with at ALL in this city. I mean, in major western cities like New York, Toronto, London, you can't walk down a major street or stop into a clothing store without at least one guy making eye contact. Even in Bangkok I had Buddhist monks giving me "flirty eyes," but not in Moscow. Bunch'a closet cases.
I ate lunch in a Russian mafia cafe. I always heard the food was better in those. Truth be told, it WAS the best lunch I had there.
Travel back was a little rough. Actually, the travel wasn't so bad (I had a 2-seat row to myself on the 11-hour flight, which was nice, but was pretty exhausted by the second, 3-hour flight) but the jet lag is a bitch. I haven't been getting much sleep -- 4 hours last night -- and I need to get over it soon as I have things to do.
I had caviar for breakfast. Cool.
I may be asked to go back and if so I definitely will, with a more realistic set of expectations this time. It wasn't "fun" in the sense that Adrian and I have fun when we travel, but it certainly was interesting. 20 years after studying the language, I'm really glad I finally got to go.
Pictures will be up soon, I need to resize and upload them.
The Moscow trip was interesting, not exactly what I was expecting, but then again, traveling with a bunch of middle-aged professors and diplomats, what, exactly, was I expecting?
I wanted to do more exploring, but I was there for business so that obviously took first priority. At one point I was thinking, "well, Adrian and I will just have to come back and visit someday," but after being there a week I thought "why?" While Moscow has plenty of history (some of which has been rewritten since 1991) they aren't exactly going out of their way to make it accessible to foreigners. Customer service is also pretty poor, in a "if they pretend to pay us, we'll pretend to work" way that was pretty common during Soviet times. Then again, they may not have liked us simply because we were American.
There's a lot of national pride in Russia, bordering on the manic. From some of the discussions we had that pride seemed to be a response to an inferiority complex more than anything else.
The street we were on, Tverskaya Ulitsa, was nice. It's the "5th Avenue" of Moscow. It was had lots of clothing stores with Western styles (I saw three Mexx stores, one of them across the street from our hotel). The old GUM department store on Red Square, once a place of long lines and empty shelves, is now an upscale mall filled with mostly Western stores, though with some Russian designers. I didn't buy anything, it was more expensive than here at home, but it was fun to see what's considered stylish in Russia. I also thought that if I went into such stores I was more likely to see cute gay boys, but that was rare. The boys only came out at night.
I never made it to any gay bars or clubs, though I found a couple. I'm guessing the big dance club/casino with the billboard-sized posters of shirtless men on the front was probably gay, though I can't find the club ("Astoria") on any of the gay Russia websites. As I walked back to the hotel late Thursday night I saw a doorman and a couple young, kinda sketchy looking guys -- hustlers? -- out front. I thought about going to one bar I located but I was just doing it to "check the square" and say I was in a gay bar in Moscow. I mean, I wasn't going to be able to talk to anyone (English is really not common) plus I'm thinking it would look like I was trying to hook up, which I was obviously not trying to do. Also, given some of the discussions we'd had with the government folks that week, we were advised that we were probably being followed (I think I saw the guy who had me) and they sometimes try to embarrass folks on diplomatic missions when they're upset about something (and they're kinda pissed about some comments VP Cheney made recently...big surprise). Given that I was already violating our team's "2-person rule" (we were only supposed to go out in groups of 2 or more) and the odds of meeting someone just to chat, who would not only be interesting but also speak English, were minimal, I decided to just do some people watching and then call it a night.
One of the first things I saw coming in from the airport, and the last thing upon leaving, was a huge IKEA store.
Our sessions went pretty well in that we exchanged some ideas and at least we realized that there are some major areas of disagreement. We were working with a group from the government on some counterterrorism issues, and they definitely view threats differently from us. Some of the things they said really surprised me, and some of the questions I was asked kind of threw me. One guy from our embassy complimented me on my dancing (good thing I took hip-hop!) as I danced around one question I got; the answer I wanted to give is totally contrary to the US government position, which was awkward as I was kind of representing the US government.
I didn't get flirted with at ALL in this city. I mean, in major western cities like New York, Toronto, London, you can't walk down a major street or stop into a clothing store without at least one guy making eye contact. Even in Bangkok I had Buddhist monks giving me "flirty eyes," but not in Moscow. Bunch'a closet cases.
I ate lunch in a Russian mafia cafe. I always heard the food was better in those. Truth be told, it WAS the best lunch I had there.
Travel back was a little rough. Actually, the travel wasn't so bad (I had a 2-seat row to myself on the 11-hour flight, which was nice, but was pretty exhausted by the second, 3-hour flight) but the jet lag is a bitch. I haven't been getting much sleep -- 4 hours last night -- and I need to get over it soon as I have things to do.
I had caviar for breakfast. Cool.
I may be asked to go back and if so I definitely will, with a more realistic set of expectations this time. It wasn't "fun" in the sense that Adrian and I have fun when we travel, but it certainly was interesting. 20 years after studying the language, I'm really glad I finally got to go.
Pictures will be up soon, I need to resize and upload them.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Cowboy Up
Still overcoming jet lag, I had trouble sleeping last night and woke today with a head filled with cotton. Which is strange, because I thought I filled it with Jello.
It was a beautiful day so we drove about 150 miles north to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Why oh why would we go to Cheyenne? Well, I used to live there many years ago and have wanted to take Adrian up for a visit for about 3 years now, and since we're leaving in two weeks the time seemed right. It was a nice drive (except for the grass fire that we drove through along the highway) and we took a nice little tour of the town, including the place I worked and the three places I lived during my four years there. We also looked for some buffalo though they weren't where they used to be, but at least we stumbled across an antelope. Oh, and some moo cows.
We had lunch at a little brew pub that wasn't there when I lived there. Our waiter was a little gay boy who also wasn't there when I lived there. Actually, he was probably born only about 2 years before I moved there in 1989.
We shopped for some western wear but Adrian decided that even though he looked fabulous in a cowboy hat he didn't know when he would ever wear it, now that we're leaving (though to be honest I don't know that he would have ever worn it even if he'd bought it right after we moved here). He also couldn't find any size 26 jeans because apparently cowboys typically have bigger waists than his. I, of course, got some jeans that make my ass look fabulous (well, something has to).
Photos to follow (of Wyoming, not of my ass).
It was a beautiful day so we drove about 150 miles north to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Why oh why would we go to Cheyenne? Well, I used to live there many years ago and have wanted to take Adrian up for a visit for about 3 years now, and since we're leaving in two weeks the time seemed right. It was a nice drive (except for the grass fire that we drove through along the highway) and we took a nice little tour of the town, including the place I worked and the three places I lived during my four years there. We also looked for some buffalo though they weren't where they used to be, but at least we stumbled across an antelope. Oh, and some moo cows.
We had lunch at a little brew pub that wasn't there when I lived there. Our waiter was a little gay boy who also wasn't there when I lived there. Actually, he was probably born only about 2 years before I moved there in 1989.
We shopped for some western wear but Adrian decided that even though he looked fabulous in a cowboy hat he didn't know when he would ever wear it, now that we're leaving (though to be honest I don't know that he would have ever worn it even if he'd bought it right after we moved here). He also couldn't find any size 26 jeans because apparently cowboys typically have bigger waists than his. I, of course, got some jeans that make my ass look fabulous (well, something has to).
Photos to follow (of Wyoming, not of my ass).
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Moscow Boys Do It For the People
Hi!!!
I got home Friday night, walking into the house exactly 24 hours after waking up in Moscow. Adrian had painted this on the sidewalk out front:
Just in case you don't speak Russian, it means "Welcome Home!"
I slept about 12 hours last night, interrupted only by a call this morning from one of my mortgage companies offering me some sort of deal and a little girl who asked for her grandfather. I just said "he's dead" and hung up.*
And of course, we had wild animal sex last night.
We're off to get massages. 'Cuz we need 'em.
* no, of course I didn't really say that
I got home Friday night, walking into the house exactly 24 hours after waking up in Moscow. Adrian had painted this on the sidewalk out front:
Just in case you don't speak Russian, it means "Welcome Home!"
I slept about 12 hours last night, interrupted only by a call this morning from one of my mortgage companies offering me some sort of deal and a little girl who asked for her grandfather. I just said "he's dead" and hung up.*
And of course, we had wild animal sex last night.
We're off to get massages. 'Cuz we need 'em.
* no, of course I didn't really say that
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Playing Tourist Today
Today's my last full day in Moscow.
My presentation went well Tuesday afternoon, though I went a little too fast for the translator and had to go...really...slow...ly. Anyway, meetings are over, we're off to a museum today and then to a big outdoor market.
Sleeping has been a weird issue...last two days I've gotten back from meetings in the evening and just fallen in bed, not even eating dinner. Two nights ago it was the vodka (I got a little ripped, a Russian insisted on many toasts because we never went to war) but last night I don't know what it was. Tonight I am NOT laying down "just for a minute," I'm going to get something to eat first. It is still light out here at 10pm so I'm going to try to wander a bit. Will probably leave for the airport tomorrow at about 8:30 am to make our 12:30 flight...traffic has gotten a tad worse since people have cars now and the roads weren't designed for that.
Da svidanya.
My presentation went well Tuesday afternoon, though I went a little too fast for the translator and had to go...really...slow...ly. Anyway, meetings are over, we're off to a museum today and then to a big outdoor market.
Sleeping has been a weird issue...last two days I've gotten back from meetings in the evening and just fallen in bed, not even eating dinner. Two nights ago it was the vodka (I got a little ripped, a Russian insisted on many toasts because we never went to war) but last night I don't know what it was. Tonight I am NOT laying down "just for a minute," I'm going to get something to eat first. It is still light out here at 10pm so I'm going to try to wander a bit. Will probably leave for the airport tomorrow at about 8:30 am to make our 12:30 flight...traffic has gotten a tad worse since people have cars now and the roads weren't designed for that.
Da svidanya.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Another Day in Moscow
Just got back from Lenin's Tomb. I can report that he is still dead. And covered in wax.
Thought I woke up at 7am, waited for alarm to go off. It didn't, so I thought maybe I'd set it for 7:15. Looked at my watch, it was past 7:15, still no alarm. Got up and looked out the window, Pitch black. Weird. Looked at the clock and realized it was 1:50am. I was looking at my watch upside down. I thought it said 7, what it said was 1:30, then at "7:15" it was 1:45. Uh oh. Problem is, I never got back to sleep. I was trying to sleep without sleeping pills since I'd used them on the flight over and also my first night here. Guess I should've gone for one more night, considering this afternoon is our first round of meetings and I have to give my presentation at 4pm. Hope I'm still awake for it.
Not a lot of ethnic diversity here. Then again, who moves TO Russia??
Thought I woke up at 7am, waited for alarm to go off. It didn't, so I thought maybe I'd set it for 7:15. Looked at my watch, it was past 7:15, still no alarm. Got up and looked out the window, Pitch black. Weird. Looked at the clock and realized it was 1:50am. I was looking at my watch upside down. I thought it said 7, what it said was 1:30, then at "7:15" it was 1:45. Uh oh. Problem is, I never got back to sleep. I was trying to sleep without sleeping pills since I'd used them on the flight over and also my first night here. Guess I should've gone for one more night, considering this afternoon is our first round of meetings and I have to give my presentation at 4pm. Hope I'm still awake for it.
Not a lot of ethnic diversity here. Then again, who moves TO Russia??
Monday, May 22, 2006
Call Me Sasha
Just checking in real quick. Got in here yesterday morning, no problems, got settled in the afternoon. The hotel is nice, and close to Red Square. Took a walk down there last night with a couple other folks, had dinner nearby (at TGI Friday's -- one of the guys has health issues and there's not much he can eat, so I'm going to avoid going out to dinner with him as much as I can!) After breakfast today I went back down for some photos, etc. Strolled around the Square, saw the Kremlin from the oustide (it's closed to visitors), went around the GUM store (capitalism has come to Russia -- it's now full of high-end European stores) and an underground mall (same kinds of stores), walked back up to the hotel. The street I'm on is a big shopping district -- there's a Mexx across the street but I think I'll hold off on that 'til we move back to DC! Meetings are Tuesday and Wednesday (the team leaders have some meetings today as well) so I'll do my walking around today and Thursday, when I hope to see Lenin's Tomb (only open a few days a week) and then go out to a big flea market. The language is slowly coming back to me, which is good. The city feels a lot like New York, though the population is older...or maybe they just look older! Where are the cute boys???
Probably no clubbing, I don't want to venture out too far at night, most clubs are far from here and English isn't that common so cabs could be an issue. Couple of cafes in walking distance, but again, I don't expect to go out by myself much at night. There was talk of having a 2-person rule for venturing out at all but I think we've killed that idea.
Good times so far. More to follow when I get the chance.
Probably no clubbing, I don't want to venture out too far at night, most clubs are far from here and English isn't that common so cabs could be an issue. Couple of cafes in walking distance, but again, I don't expect to go out by myself much at night. There was talk of having a 2-person rule for venturing out at all but I think we've killed that idea.
Good times so far. More to follow when I get the chance.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Da Svidanya
Farewell to teaching...for now anyway. My last exams were Thursday night and as of Friday noon all my grades are in. All my students passed, though for one it was by the skin of his teeth. I'll miss teaching. I won't miss grading.
And farewell to the US, for a few days. I'm leaving for Moscow Saturday morning and will be back Friday night. My first taste of diplomacy...given what I'll be doing in my next job, this is a good warm-up. I don't know if I'll be able to post from there, but I'll try. Finally, 20 years after I studied the language at UVA, I get to use it.
See you next week!!!!
And farewell to the US, for a few days. I'm leaving for Moscow Saturday morning and will be back Friday night. My first taste of diplomacy...given what I'll be doing in my next job, this is a good warm-up. I don't know if I'll be able to post from there, but I'll try. Finally, 20 years after I studied the language at UVA, I get to use it.
See you next week!!!!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Tryin' to Catch Me Ridin' Dirty
The goodbyes are starting (sob). I had my last dance class tonight. Even I, who tends to be pretty tough on myself, must admit that there has been DRAMATIC improvement over the last 4 months. Props to Casey, my coach, for there probably aren't that many dance teachers who'll take on a 40-year old hip-hop student.
I have plans to continue dancing in DC, and have talked with Dancin' Mike about coaching me. He seems to be up for it, but we'll see how he feels after the first session. And hopefully, he'll be back on his feet soon. What happened? Well...
Driving to work this morning my phone gives me its "text" beep. I check and it's from Dancin' Mike, who says "I just woke up and I feel fine." I figurd this meant he was feeling better about some personal stuff that he's talked about recently, so when I got to work I texted back to him "Yay that makes me happy 2 hear that." About a minute later my phone rings and it's him, saying "I'm guessing you didn't get my text last night...I just woke up from having my appendix out." Ah hah. Ummm. Ouch. He had a run to the emergency room last night followed by open-Mike surgery, but he's fine now. At least, the drugs he had this morning were keeping him fine. You hate to think they could actually cut into someone that cute. Anyway, I called the hospital gift shop and sent some flowers to his room, and he was still pretty groggy so his mom read the card to him, and fortunately I didn't say anything too cheesy. Or dirty. 'Cuz I do that, y'know.
I also talked with River today, ending a month-long game of Phone Tag. I got the feeling he wanted to chat about some stuff but since his agency has moved to a new building he's gone from having a private office to living in a cube farm. Not conducive to good gay gossip.
Grading is going slowly, but I should have all my research papers completed by tomorrow, and my last exams are Thursday, so everything will be done before Saturday's departure. Anybody know what the weather's like in Moscow this time of year?
Oh, and I was driving back from dance tonight "Ridin' Dirty" popped up on the radio and I cranked it until I was at a stop sign and a police car pulled up next to me and the officer gave me "that" look. I turned it down 'cuz I don't want The Man hasslin' me. We all know ain't nothin' more thuggy than hip-hop blaring from a pimped out techno-blue VW Beetle. And by "pimped out," I mean there are flowers in the bud vase on the dashboard. Word.
I have plans to continue dancing in DC, and have talked with Dancin' Mike about coaching me. He seems to be up for it, but we'll see how he feels after the first session. And hopefully, he'll be back on his feet soon. What happened? Well...
Driving to work this morning my phone gives me its "text" beep. I check and it's from Dancin' Mike, who says "I just woke up and I feel fine." I figurd this meant he was feeling better about some personal stuff that he's talked about recently, so when I got to work I texted back to him "Yay that makes me happy 2 hear that." About a minute later my phone rings and it's him, saying "I'm guessing you didn't get my text last night...I just woke up from having my appendix out." Ah hah. Ummm. Ouch. He had a run to the emergency room last night followed by open-Mike surgery, but he's fine now. At least, the drugs he had this morning were keeping him fine. You hate to think they could actually cut into someone that cute. Anyway, I called the hospital gift shop and sent some flowers to his room, and he was still pretty groggy so his mom read the card to him, and fortunately I didn't say anything too cheesy. Or dirty. 'Cuz I do that, y'know.
I also talked with River today, ending a month-long game of Phone Tag. I got the feeling he wanted to chat about some stuff but since his agency has moved to a new building he's gone from having a private office to living in a cube farm. Not conducive to good gay gossip.
Grading is going slowly, but I should have all my research papers completed by tomorrow, and my last exams are Thursday, so everything will be done before Saturday's departure. Anybody know what the weather's like in Moscow this time of year?
Oh, and I was driving back from dance tonight "Ridin' Dirty" popped up on the radio and I cranked it until I was at a stop sign and a police car pulled up next to me and the officer gave me "that" look. I turned it down 'cuz I don't want The Man hasslin' me. We all know ain't nothin' more thuggy than hip-hop blaring from a pimped out techno-blue VW Beetle. And by "pimped out," I mean there are flowers in the bud vase on the dashboard. Word.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Polly Prissy Pants
I guess I haven't been writing much these days, but then, there's only so much you can write about watching TV, grading papers, and getting ready to move. That's really all we've been doing lately. Actually, Adrian and I had a talk about that last night, and we've realized we don't want to miss out on opportunities to do fun stuff in the future. We've had the chance to do some things here that were kind of important to me, but for one reason or another we haven't. And that's no good. But we'll definitely be changing that soon. Like, when we get to DC in a month.
I'm finally getting some more of my old, Diary-X entries posted here. I was reading the stuff from February 2001 and either I was a much more interesting person then, or just a more interesting writer. Must...recapture...that...feeling...
Speaking of interesting adventures, I'm off to Moscow Friday. But first I have to grade this week's final exams. I suppose if I just randomly assign grades it might go faster, but there's a slim chance I might feel bad about that.
Saturday we went to a wedding between two of Adrian's clients. He's from England, she's from North Dakota, so mixing those two families together was...interesting. The wedding was in a Catholic church, and even when I walked in lightning didn't strike, so THAT'S a good sign. Anyway, at the reception we were at a table with a bunch of the bride's college classmates from North Dakota, but since that's where I went to high school, it was all good. The Brits got pretty drunk, and while there's nothing I enjoy more than watching drunk straight people dancing to 70s music, we only lasted until about 10:30 that night, whereas the 73-year old grandmother was still drinking when we left. Seriously, I love British people.
Tonight for dessert Adrian grilled peaches with white chocolate, brown sugar, and pistachios. This might seem pretty random, but hey, it makes up for al the grading I did today.
I heard that one of my grad school professors was on The Daily Show last week. And not one of the ones that sucked. So I'm off to iTunes to see if I can find a clip from the show.
I'm finally getting some more of my old, Diary-X entries posted here. I was reading the stuff from February 2001 and either I was a much more interesting person then, or just a more interesting writer. Must...recapture...that...feeling...
Speaking of interesting adventures, I'm off to Moscow Friday. But first I have to grade this week's final exams. I suppose if I just randomly assign grades it might go faster, but there's a slim chance I might feel bad about that.
Saturday we went to a wedding between two of Adrian's clients. He's from England, she's from North Dakota, so mixing those two families together was...interesting. The wedding was in a Catholic church, and even when I walked in lightning didn't strike, so THAT'S a good sign. Anyway, at the reception we were at a table with a bunch of the bride's college classmates from North Dakota, but since that's where I went to high school, it was all good. The Brits got pretty drunk, and while there's nothing I enjoy more than watching drunk straight people dancing to 70s music, we only lasted until about 10:30 that night, whereas the 73-year old grandmother was still drinking when we left. Seriously, I love British people.
Tonight for dessert Adrian grilled peaches with white chocolate, brown sugar, and pistachios. This might seem pretty random, but hey, it makes up for al the grading I did today.
I heard that one of my grad school professors was on The Daily Show last week. And not one of the ones that sucked. So I'm off to iTunes to see if I can find a clip from the show.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Last Day
Of the last 13 years I've spent 7 teaching at this school. Today was my last day in the classroom. It was a bittersweet moment. I don't think anyone else has realized the significance of it, but this place has been a huge part of my life, and despite some issues I have with the administration here and some frustration with my students, I am sorry to leave. It was teaching here in the mid-90s that made me realize how much I want to teach. It was an opportunity created by a department here that allowed me to go back to grad school, where I not only earned my PhD, I also met Adrian. Doors have opened through this job, possibilities for later in life have been created, and I have had fun. Mostly.
The political science department chair is retiring next year and my name has been tossed around as a possible replacement. As interesting as that would be, this school is very conservative and being a gay man here is difficult, so I will not be applying for the position. From their perspective, they might look at that and think "our views kept a fag out of here...cool!" But from MY perspective, their policies kept a good professor from applying. Their loss, in my opinion. I'm sure I'll teach somewhere, but not here.
I still have final exams to get through (well, so do my students), and I have 23 papers that were turned in today that need to be read and graded, but my eyes are now looking ahead at our move to DC. I hate the unsettled feeling in preparation for a move, and I know I have a lot of work to do between now and then, not just at the office but at home, and I hope I can get everything done without getting too stressed out.
Also, it snowed here two nights ago, and that's just weird. Well, not weird for Colorado, but weird for any other place.
The political science department chair is retiring next year and my name has been tossed around as a possible replacement. As interesting as that would be, this school is very conservative and being a gay man here is difficult, so I will not be applying for the position. From their perspective, they might look at that and think "our views kept a fag out of here...cool!" But from MY perspective, their policies kept a good professor from applying. Their loss, in my opinion. I'm sure I'll teach somewhere, but not here.
I still have final exams to get through (well, so do my students), and I have 23 papers that were turned in today that need to be read and graded, but my eyes are now looking ahead at our move to DC. I hate the unsettled feeling in preparation for a move, and I know I have a lot of work to do between now and then, not just at the office but at home, and I hope I can get everything done without getting too stressed out.
Also, it snowed here two nights ago, and that's just weird. Well, not weird for Colorado, but weird for any other place.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Star Trek
Is anyone else as excited as me by the fact that JJ Abrams (who created "Lost" and "Alias") is going to be producing (and possibly directing) the next Star Trek film, due out in 2008?
I realize this news is a couple weeks old, but I'm in Colorado, and news takes a while to get here.
I realize this news is a couple weeks old, but I'm in Colorado, and news takes a while to get here.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Gusburger
If there's anything better than a quarter pound cheeseburger with onions, mayo, catsup, mustard, and a fried egg on top, I have yet to find it.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Ballcock
I had to buy some parts today to fix one of the toilets. Turns out I didn't actually need all the parts I bought, but at least it gave me an excuse to talk about a ballcock.
Heh heh...I feel like Peter Griffin.
Quiet day around the ranch, quiet weekend actually. I had been hoping to take a weekend trip but plans changed, and in the end we probably could have gone anyway but didn't realize until too late that a get-together we thought we were getting-together at this evening wasn't happening. Poo. Oh, well, it gave me an excuse to sit around and watch Napoleon Dynamite last night. I went to school with people exactly like those in the movie. I, of course, was NOTHING like any of them.
We're down to our last week of classes. I know my students think THEY are happy about that, but they have no idea how ecstatic the faculty is. I think I'll take champagne to work on Friday.
Speaking of classes, I had dance class today, and I was amazing. No, really.
Oh, and I managed to fix the toilet. I'm so handy.
And I made cookies again. After fixing the toilet. But I washed my hands first. A dozen times.
Heh heh...I feel like Peter Griffin.
Quiet day around the ranch, quiet weekend actually. I had been hoping to take a weekend trip but plans changed, and in the end we probably could have gone anyway but didn't realize until too late that a get-together we thought we were getting-together at this evening wasn't happening. Poo. Oh, well, it gave me an excuse to sit around and watch Napoleon Dynamite last night. I went to school with people exactly like those in the movie. I, of course, was NOTHING like any of them.
We're down to our last week of classes. I know my students think THEY are happy about that, but they have no idea how ecstatic the faculty is. I think I'll take champagne to work on Friday.
Speaking of classes, I had dance class today, and I was amazing. No, really.
Oh, and I managed to fix the toilet. I'm so handy.
And I made cookies again. After fixing the toilet. But I washed my hands first. A dozen times.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
I Thought We Were Done With This
Yesterday morning I get a phone call at work asking if our buyers can come through the house with their agent. I guess they wanted to measure for drapes or something. Anyway, we let them, though that meant I had to call Adrian and have him rush back home to make sure we hadn't left any underwear lying around or anything. Because who knows what they might do with it??
I kind of thought that since they'd signed a contract to buy the house we were done with the whole "hurry up and get out" thing. Apparently not.
One thing I realized today is that I really needed to set up my class schedules a little better. I thought I had balanced exams and such pretty well between the two courses I teach but what i didn't realize was that by making sure i didn't give tests at the same time I'd end up grading one thing after another. By the time the semester ends and final exams are over in three weeks I will have been grading continuousl for about 6 weeks. And we all know how much i hate grading. Though some people seem to like it (hi, Ivan!).
I'm really, really ready for this semester to end. Frankly, it hasn't been my greatest. I'm totally fed up with one of my courses, I was telling a friend that 7 out of my 24 students were actively involved in the class and he said, "7? That's pretty good." Sad. Yeah, I need to step back, step away from students who aren't really interested in learning. And it's entirely possibe that I've dicked it up, taking an interesting course and making it boring. Always a possibility.
I taught a graduate school class for a friend at another university last night. I once said I'd never want to teach grad school, only undergrad, but I have definitely changed my tune. THOSE students were interested.
My folks sent us some money for the new home, which was nice. It will help us outfit it with some nice new stuff. We are leaning more toward West Elm over Bo Concept, and not just because West Elm is much less expensive. Though that's probably at least one reason. Because I am a cheap bastard.
And we made cookies tonight. Yay for cookies!!!
I kind of thought that since they'd signed a contract to buy the house we were done with the whole "hurry up and get out" thing. Apparently not.
One thing I realized today is that I really needed to set up my class schedules a little better. I thought I had balanced exams and such pretty well between the two courses I teach but what i didn't realize was that by making sure i didn't give tests at the same time I'd end up grading one thing after another. By the time the semester ends and final exams are over in three weeks I will have been grading continuousl for about 6 weeks. And we all know how much i hate grading. Though some people seem to like it (hi, Ivan!).
I'm really, really ready for this semester to end. Frankly, it hasn't been my greatest. I'm totally fed up with one of my courses, I was telling a friend that 7 out of my 24 students were actively involved in the class and he said, "7? That's pretty good." Sad. Yeah, I need to step back, step away from students who aren't really interested in learning. And it's entirely possibe that I've dicked it up, taking an interesting course and making it boring. Always a possibility.
I taught a graduate school class for a friend at another university last night. I once said I'd never want to teach grad school, only undergrad, but I have definitely changed my tune. THOSE students were interested.
My folks sent us some money for the new home, which was nice. It will help us outfit it with some nice new stuff. We are leaning more toward West Elm over Bo Concept, and not just because West Elm is much less expensive. Though that's probably at least one reason. Because I am a cheap bastard.
And we made cookies tonight. Yay for cookies!!!
Monday, May 01, 2006
One Hour to Go
I'm leaving for the airport in an hour to pick up Adrian. Yayyyyy!!! This is only the second or third time I've been home alone while waiting for him whereas he puts up with this a lot. I had plenty to do over the weekend so it's not like I got bored but I can see the potential for that if this goes on too long. Fortunately we'll be back in DC soon so that when I have to travel (and my new job will require it) at least we have plenty of friends around to keep him busy.
Speaking of busy...I need to tidy up the kitchen.
Speaking of busy...I need to tidy up the kitchen.
Painting Boy
I've been home since Friday night but Adrian is still in DC, sleeping on an air mattress in our empty condo. He's safe, though; his mom invited herself over the first night to perform various Lao Buddhist rituals to bless the house. Then Adrian had to get up at 6 to drive her to work. Obviously, if he had to get up at 6am, there must still be some bad karma in the place.
We picked out colors while I was there and he's been applying them since I left. The primer went on first (a couple coats, in some cases) and he's been up late most nights doing it. His brother came over today to help which moved things along a bit. There will still be some left to do when we get there, but not nearly as much as we did when we moved here to Colorado, when the whole house got a paint job.
Speaking of Colorado our home inspection was last week and we had only a couple minor things to fix (I assume the gas leak outside by the gas meter is considered "minor"). Total cost: no more than a couple hundred dollars. I'd had pessimistic visions of thousands of dollars of work needing to be done to fix hidden defects we had no idea existed. However, we must have both done something nice in a past life to score points for this one because now we have more money for furniture. Oh, and for savings, too of course.
We picked out colors while I was there and he's been applying them since I left. The primer went on first (a couple coats, in some cases) and he's been up late most nights doing it. His brother came over today to help which moved things along a bit. There will still be some left to do when we get there, but not nearly as much as we did when we moved here to Colorado, when the whole house got a paint job.
Speaking of Colorado our home inspection was last week and we had only a couple minor things to fix (I assume the gas leak outside by the gas meter is considered "minor"). Total cost: no more than a couple hundred dollars. I'd had pessimistic visions of thousands of dollars of work needing to be done to fix hidden defects we had no idea existed. However, we must have both done something nice in a past life to score points for this one because now we have more money for furniture. Oh, and for savings, too of course.
