To Bang or Not to Bang?

G. and I are closing out our third week of vacation, which translates into staying up very late, sleeping in, irregular meals, and lots of movies and tv. Somewhere in this disorderly schedule, I found time to obsess about my bangs. Started out with a little trim to last me until my next haircut in January. Then I trimmed a little more after perusing a magazine. Then I convinced myself that I NEEDED bangs immediately--I was so beguiled by the thought of heavy fringe and straight, straight hair. So I took the plunge and now...not sure I like the look. What a way to kill a hair obsession. Funny thing is, I'm pretty sure I've experienced this bang-thing before. That time, my sister held the sissors. I guess I never give up the hope that it might work out--same situation with turtleneck sweaters...

Oh, well, it doesn't look that bad (does it?!). Can't think about it now; G. and I are off to meet friends. Ah, so nice to have friends in town!

Rosco's Burger Inn Inc (?)

Friends-4-Eva

One aspect of the holidays that I absolutely LOVE is when my two best friends make the trip to El Paso. We went to middle and high school together and stayed friends though attending different colleges, living in different cities, and growing into our adult selves. I think a lot about this stage of my life and trying to reconcile me-now with me-then; it's self-indulgent, it's cliche, it's frustrating, I know. Talking things over with A. and S. help make that undertaking ok in the way that only old, true friends of whatever age can.

On this trip, we braved the post-Christmas melee at the mall (even though there was a high danger for cringe-level encounters with former Burges High alums) and went out for drinks last night (we ended up at a very-El Paso type bar; not complaining, it was so appropriate). It was such a relief to be around two wonderful people who really know you--but it's not like we're the same person times 3. Maybe that's why our friendship works so well.

G. and I had such a beautiful Christmas with our families and spending time with A. and S. really sweetens the season. I am very lucky.

Ravi Ramasamudram, who are you? Where are you?

The New Year is almost upon us--2006, baby! G. and I are closing in on the two year mark of living in El Paso; well, actually, we're five months away from that anniversary, but it's coming. This January marks one year since we moved to this apartment with our little Filomena. This January also marks one year of getting the previous occupant's mail. At first, the mail was a flood of bills, statements, magazines, solicitations. Now, we mostly get letters from charities. Here's what I have learned about Ravi Ramasamudram:

1. He was on a heck of a lot of mailing lists: Special Olympics, Winter Olympics, Republican National Committee, any (and all it seems like) charity for debilitating diseases. Does that mean he gave money to one good cause and then got on the list for all of them? What's up with the Republicans?
2. He attended University of Massachusettes.
3. A neighbor from down the way (a very strange man, maybe not such a good source) told us he lived with his girlfriend.
4. He has not reconciled with his credit card companies.

Who doesn't leave a forwarding address? Did he leave the country? Did he ever stop to think about who would be stuck with his mail? The post office stops delivering his mail for a few weeks before it ends up in our box again. Very frustrating. I write "return to sender" on each piece of mail, plus "does not live at this address" and "take off mailing list." I think I need better, slightly threatening messages. G. suggested just throwing the mail away. Something about throwing it away seems unfinished to me--like tossing it in the trash creates a dead end. But there already is a dead end, no? I'm really annoyed at our mailman who knows Ravi doesn't live here anymore (I've told him, there's a notice in our box), yet still delivers his mail. All I want for Christmas is for Ravi's mail to go away.

On a much, much sadder note, eight years ago this coming January, my friend went missing. She was found three months later, in the desert. She was 18, I was 19. I still think about her all the time.

SURPRISE!!!

I'm very happy to report that my mom's surprise party was a big hit. It became abundantly clear that she had absolutely no idea about the party when she saw me in the doorway and said, "Vanessa, what are you doing here?" She was so shocked as family came up to hug her and wish her a happy birthday. Such a special, exhilerating moment.

Then we got down to some serious partying.

Sun Bowl, 1967

Pup-date

Little Filo is very excited to have G. and I home all day. This rope toy is her first choice out of the toy basket.

Whenever G. and I are at the computer or reading or washing dishes or cooking, she will deliver a toy, lay it at our feet, and then lie down quietly until we pay attention to her. If we don't, she retrieves another toy, as if to say, "You don't want to play with Dirty Rotten Kitty? Ok, here's the rubber-ropey thingy."

We just can't resist.

Just in time for winter break...

On Monday, G. and I were enjoying a rare bagel and reading the newspaper at the Bagel Shop ("rare" because this place is on the Westside, and as you (should) know, we are exiled on the Eastside where the best bagel I can find is at Dunkin' Doughnuts). I'm skimming the obits (just in case) when G. begins to laugh (it was really more of a girlish giggle). I looked over and he passed his paper. Near the TV listings was the most exciting TV related announcement EVER (besides the return of Project Runway): The Rockford Files, released on DVD!!!

G. and I started watching The Rockford Files in Albuquerque a couple of years ago and would even stay up late to catch the episodes (sometimes I was so tired, I would close my eyes, but couldn't bring myself to turn the TV off). James Garner is perfectly cast as Rockford, private investigator with an itsy-bitsy little prison record, no big whoop. He had an awesome wardrobe, great hair, clever sense of humor, steady ladyfriend, troublesome buddy, and pesky--yet sweet- father (that's him the background). Rockford wasn't the best private investigator, hell, he lived in a mobile home on the beach, but the show is captivating. I'm so excited, it's almost embarrassing.

If you don't believe me, here's a review from the Dallas Morning News. If you don't believe that, read the Amazon reviews.

Also, YOU MUST listen to the theme song (scroll down for Rockford Files).

I've Got Something to Say!

Yikes, I never planned to keep quiet for so long. It actually served a purpose in giving me plenty to talk about. Let's see if I can remember it all...

The Fall semester is officially over, well sort of. I slogged through the grading process--I try to get psyched up for grading by thinking of it as a way to gauge what the students understood from the lectures/textbook. I'm trying really hard to be as fair a grader as possible, especially since my exams involve short answer and essay and not so much multiple choice. But once I hit exam #30 (or #55 during finals week), a lot of these concerns go out the window and I just want to focus on finishing. I guess I'm doing an adequete job since altogether the grades fall in the expected "curve." Hurray, my students are normal and I AM an effective instructor.

I put a lot of effort into this semester's History 1302 courses (1302 covers the second part of US History--1865 to some point in the 20th century). All the subjects I find completely fascinating occur in that time period, it's my freakin' field of study! Yet it's only the second time I've taught 1302. For some reason, I'm always assigned to 1301, which encompasses, in a nutshell, Colonies-Revolution-Constitution-Indian Removal-Slavery-Industrialization-Civil War. No, that's no fair and way too trite, but who wouldn't want to discuss Malcolm X over Thomas Jefferson?

This semester, I dealt with my first open quasi-Republican who "outed" himself on the class message boards. I want the message boards to be a place where students can express their thoughts on class topics because they sure-as-hell don't want to express them in class. And I try to ask questions that relate the topic to something contemporary. The student posts are...interesting. Besides the thoughtful, correctly spelled posts, I get a whole host of misspelled, barely intelligible, and frustratingly closed-minded posts, too. I don't expect them all to be winners, but I do expect them to, gee I don't know, proofread their messages and think through the question a bit.

So the quasi-Republican posted this insane rant about tree hugging hippies and how if you can't afford flood insurance, you shouldn't be living in New Orleans and Social Darwinism is actually a good idea. The original question concerned the Robber Barons (and the rich in particular) and if they have a responsibility to share their wealth with society through charitable donations (J.D. Rockefeller, Bill Gates). You can easily guess his answer--HELL NO and then proceeded with the aforementioned dribble. I wavered between hot anger and pity after reading his post. It all sounded like Bill O'Reilly bullshit soundbites, which made more sense after I found out the student is in the Marines. But the real problem I had with this particular (and a subsequent) post is his outlandish generalizations; for example, bums (his word, not mine)can get assistance from the federal government, federal government gets money for assistance from taxpayers, I as taxpayer am forced to support bums, therefore, government should stop using my taxes for all programs. Also, his wide definition of bums include the homeless, low incomes, and single mothers. Does that make sense? Uh, bottom line is that this guy made very sexist, single-minded comments that reflect his gender, age, occupation, and total lack of life experience (By the way, I do know that not all members of the military are conservative).

Which brings me to another point: I love watching The Daily Show and really dig the Colbert Report. Talk about precise satire that cuts to the heart of what's wrong with media, president, politics, cult of celebrity, etc. As I watch, I start to forget that their satire is based on ACTUAL news or tv shows or press conferences or whatever, that they lampoon existing opinions circulating in public space. So reading this guy's posts are surprisingly shocking in that I don't expect someone so young to be so sure of himself and yet so loudly wrong. I don't want to turn consevative minded students into liberals, but I do expect them to learn how to look at a situation from all angles, to THINK CRITICALLY, to differentiate between the plight of the discriminated and exploited verses a no-good bum!! Is that so wrong? Is that too much to ask?

This post has turned into a rant and perhaps altogether not a very interesting one. As you can see, my next few weeks of vacation are sorely needed.

NaNoWriMo Flunk-o

December snuck up on me. I feel like I left some loose ends in November--one big loose end was my failed NaNoWriMo project. It wasn't a total failure. The final word count was in the low thousands, nowhere near my personal goal of 25,000 however. From what I've gathered on the website, most first-timers don't do well, so I guess I'm not alone in my disappointing preformance. I'm trying to be positive rather than disheartened (my usual reaction is "It's all my fault, I suck and will never amount to anything", which really isn't constructive). G. bought me two books to help work out the kinks of writing and I'm determined to keep up the effort through the winter break.

Another loose end: I haven't updated my I Heart El Chuco list since, well, I never added anything to the original valentine to El Paso. Here's something new: I love this year's version of winter weather--60's and low 70's, clear skies, bright sun, and wind gusts that make your hair frizz and your cheeks pink. I love how you can be cold in one spot and then feel very warm just five steps away. I love how I can be dressed in a sweater and the guy next to me is decked out in shorts. Actually, there are El Pasoans who wear shorts year round, even when temperatures really drop. Nippy, snowy weather is romantic and appropriate for the holidays and maybe G. and I will eventually settle somewhere that delivers that kind of winter. But for now, we're definitely not complaining.

Last night G and I saw the (International) Noise Conspiracy at this really tiny bar. It was an amazing show, the kind of music experience that makes you want to quit your job and become a musician; or in the case of the INC, quit your job and start the REVOLUTION!! The Revolution must start early in the morning because it was a short set. We headed to an Eastside bar that turned out to be a total disappointment--more proof that the Eastside is not cool. Our company salvaged the outing. It was really fun and exhausting and I've been working on my mom's party decorations all day. And I think I have acid reflux or maybe just old fashion heartburn. Regardless, I'm too pooped to keep blogging, so "goodnight and good luck" (by the way, watch that movie-- it is so unbelievably well acted and such an excellent message, too, and it makes smoking look cool, which as an ex-smoker is like watching cigarrette porn).