cainteoir's Journal

3:52PM - academic martyr. . .

Finally got my body and laptop to the UTEP library today, only to twist my ankle walking from visitor parking to the mount upon which the library sits. And of course, to make it more interesting, my ankle gave out around a group of undergrads, who got to see the oh-so-dramatic fall with papers in the air and much gay flailing. Several were concerned and stopped to help--they get an A. It does not matter if I do not teach there, they get an A anyway. and plus, I am out of gold stars and smiley face stickers.

The library itself -- completely crowded. Full. Never I have seen so many students in a place where they keep the books. It would have warmed the cockles of my heart except for A: Ankle, and B: get out of my way kid, there is research to be done.

Long story short -- found most of the books I needed except one, but I have decided that I really don't need that one anyway.

Am now back in Mexico. where I am sure I have seen my ankle brace, but I can't remember where I have seen it.

hmmmm...

--K

11:59AM - Another project . . .

I presented a disability paper dealing with one of Yeats's plays at a conference in Atlanta last May, and was approached by an editor who was putting together a special Irish issue of the Southern Review. She asked if I would consider sending her somethings.

Ummm... Yes!

So that something is due Jan 31. I should have enough time to revise the presentation, slap some more stuff in, cinch up the thesis, and throw some MLA style at it. The drawback is that all of my academic stuff is in storage awaiting Mexico customs to recognize us as diplomats. Blah.

So, after e-mails to said editor, I have some room to wiggle if I need it. My plan for yesterday was to drive to the UTEP library and get the Yeats books I have (in storage) so that I can get the passages/quotes that I want to use, but do not have in front of me. After many telephone conversations with UTEP folks, I was able to determine that I CAN use their materials, but I can't check anything out. Which is fine because it makes me get out of the house and WORK out of the house.

O.k. So the fly in the ointment. The weather casters were predicting rain, and predicting rain in such a way that they were basically telling their southwest/mexico viewers HOW TO USE THEIR WINDSHIELD WIPERS. totally kid you not. And they were already saying that there would be major traffic tie-ups because they were expecting accidents. They all but said "You people can't drive; and, You people can't drive in wind. But, you people, we are getting wind and rain. So you might as well be dead on the highway."

So I said, "self, let's not tempt fate, and let's go across the border another day."

So we had -- wait for it -- nearly half an inch of rain. I know. Northeastern (and most other drivers) would look at a half an inch of rain and say "Does that mean I need to put the top up on the convertible?" "is it worth even bringing an umbrella?"

And for my Irish readers. 1.1 centimeters of rain. I know.

But (BUT) there were loads of accidents. And Jake almost got hit by no less than five different cars on his drive from the consulate back home here. And we literally live a four minute drive away.

So my new plan -- library on monday.

Still have not heard from places about teaching, but semesters have started anyway. I do not want to do the online teaching thing, because I am housebound as it is.

And, In April, I have a deadline for another collected essays based on a conference. So if nothing else, at least my C. Juarez time should translate into some published work.
--K

3:11PM - Estoy Libre!

Yesterday was quite wild --
First, went to the library at the FSI training center and worked on a conference presentation for November. I kid you not -- I wrote TEN freakin pages of notes, ideas, and outline. (well, five single spaced, but that is ten pages in conference parlance, no?) Now I just have to rearrange, put in a few transitions, and I have the presentation completed.
-This also proves to me that I have not been a lazy lump, but that the Yeats project is muy deficile. And Mas annoying.

Second -- Had my meeting with the Head of Spanish, who insists on speaking spanish for most of the time you are in her office (go figure). But after we had a discussion, and after I raised my concerns with my present instructor, She suggested that I could study on my own, taking advantage of all the resources, while coming in every tuesday to meet with an instructor from Mexico for two hours in the morning! So that works out much better for me. The Department Head also wanted some gossip on the class, and for once in my life, I was diplomatic about it. IN other words, I dished w/o giving names. She did agree with me that being told to "ask each other questions in Spanish" without a topic is really quite difficult. And she also added, "no wonder you were doing all this extra work for class, if you had to do the book work, and prepare random questions that might be used the next day." Long story shorter, Ella es me mejor Amiga, ahora.

finally -- the power went out last night, and of course, Jake and I just got back from a big grocery trip with LaToya. The power came on about an hour ago, so I have been doing laundry and encouraging things in the refrigerator to refreeze back to their natural goodness. WE will see how that goes.

I also found Jake's book of spanish verbs, which I have been working on while the power has been out. Must eat verbs for breakfast!

10:46AM - IMG_1274

IMG_1274
Originally uploaded by jgoshert

11:08AM - Welcome Cody!

My sister in law was due on 8/20, but last monday when she went into the Dr. she discovered that she was 50% effaced and at 3 centimeters. So we were all expecting a baby any day -- this past monday, she went back to her Dr for a check and everything was basically the same. The baby had his head in a strange position, so that might have been holding things up. In addition, my sister in law (Anna) had twisted her knee, so her Dr. had proscribed vicadin-- which all Dr's concerned said was safe.

Anyway -- baby dr told Anna to go swimming, since that should put the baby in the right position. Anna went to the Y on tuesday with her mother and sister, and she felt the baby move.

Wed. morning at 4:30 ish, she had to use the restroom, and her water broke. Everyone told her that her first delivery would take well over ten hours or more, so she took a shower, her and my brother loaded the dishwasher, did some house work. They left for the delivery room at 6:00 ish and arrived a little after seven. By 7:30 she was having contractions and was in the delivery room --
Long Story short: Three contractions and three pushes later, Cody was born! He arrived at 8:20, and the delivery room staff did not even have enough time to give Anna an IV of pain medication! So it was natural childbirth with an emphasis on the natural.

One good thing about no pain med.s is that Anna was not groggy at all when we went in to visit -- she is fine and the baby is doing well. He weighs in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

So the delivery went incredibly fast, but Anna had been having practice contractions for several days (since being 50%).

But I have my first Nephew!
Cody John Monteith --

(when my dad was in the hospital on his meds, he kept asking my brother if "chad" had been born yet. Both my parents can't get their heads around Cody as a name -- my mother keeps sliping and calling him Carl, Colin, Corey. I plan to call him CJ in honor of Ciudad Juarez!)

12:08PM - the waiting is killing me. . .

It could be that I have loads of unstructured time of which I should be using more constructively. . .
BUT !!
My sister in law has been having contractions for about two days now -- yet they are not close enough together for the big event at the maternity ward.

So I anxiously await the arrival of my nephew.

Which also means I check facebook every four minutes.
Must stop.

8:56AM - Yeah! Three ways!

My friend who works on crazy Yeats stuff, and who is British with a partner in the British foreign service, E-mailed to say that they are being posted to D.C. in September! Currently they are finishing a tour in Madrid.

So I will have someone local to kick my butt into researching and writing!

10:59AM - they followed me?

The men who insist on doing road work whenever I tried to get some of my own writing done have somehow followed be to Falls Church. As I try to write/research, there is a crew of men jackhammering outside our building.

But I guess this is a metaphor for my own writing process? Jackhammering toward a thesis. . .

1:10PM - Now that Irish Zombie paper is drafted/finished. . . better frame of mind.

I found this on one of my fav. sites -- thekitchn.com (sister site of apartmenttherapy.com)

I bet this could be adapted for crockpot use!


Vegetarian Guinness Stew
serves 6
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 celery stalks
3 (small) onions
1 lb. button mushrooms, cleaned
3 lb. russett potatoes, peeled
3 large carrots, peeled
1 Tablespoon flour
1 11.2-ounce bottle of Guinness
1 teaspoon mustard
1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon vegetable base
2 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Finely chop celery, 2 of the onions and 4 mushrooms. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add chopped vegetables. Cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the remaining onion, potatoes and carrots into large chunks. Set aside.
Add flour to the softened mixture and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour in Guinness and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until all vegetables are fork-tender, about 45 minutes.

11:49AM - laptop less!

I always haul my laptop whenever I go visiting relatives over breaks, thinking I will get Loads of work done whilst I am there. I get some work done, but not loads. So I decided to go no laptop to South Bend, IN and just not think academic thoughts.

I am hoping that this will jump start 2009, where I have two fellowships to apply for, two papers to write/revise, a conference presentation to write (for February) and all these deadlines are before the Spring semester starts!

And classes to plan for -- I signed up to teach a comp. course and research course as part of a learning community. Our theme is "Decentering Normal." We are reading Wit, Glass Menagerie, and Rent, and maybe something else. All plays! I am paired with a theater guy, who is teaching two courses: one of theater arts, and one on acting -- so we have four courses and then one extra seminar on how to be a student that the two of us are team teaching. It should be interesting though since all the students will be theater people.

Plus I am teaching my disability course again, but this time as a night course -- they say the night students are better.

Happy holidays, y'all!
--K

7:45AM

WE don't get showtime! But are hoping that we can get it through I-Tunes or something. Ack!

12:15PM - hit and run

A young woman was just run hit by a car outside our apartment -- I think she was crossing the street and got hit. I have called 911 and given all the info I can. Our neighbors are helping her and it looks like she has a head wound. 911 was very helpful and now the police and an ambulance are here.

But the car that hit her took off. The EMT's now have her on a back board and are getting her into an ambulence.

I am freaked out!
But I feel I helped in a way.
--K

12:15PM - porto

Hello Yall
I made it to Porto after flying the one flight ryan air offers to the city a week. needless to say the plane was full. and the seats do not recline, because that way you can actually get several more rows of seats onto the plane. invigourating! we also had a school group on the flight, who apparently do not know how to function as indipendent entities. much confustion infront of the check in line (in front of me, mind you) while bimbos figured out how much can possibly fit in a suitcase, and what the true definition of carry-on might be. almost committed international incident.

one good thing -- we boarded from both front and rear of plane, so much less crazy than I had thought.

in other news. am allergic to the antipersprint I brought. not a pretty sight. am walking around with outstreached arms like zombie. oddly, am not making friends.

also. I cant read maps. in portuguese. because the street names are four times as long as many of the streets they name, so the map decides to abreviate. not in logical abreviations, mindy you. and then some names\places donºt line up at all.

other things not lining up- euro keyboard on this computer and where <i expect things to be. arg. jet lag is catching up with me, oddly. since my plane from jfk was delayed 5 hours, then we sat two hours on the tarmack. We got into dublin at 1:00 pm, so it was like 8:00 am at home. feel like I missed a day in there somewhere. o.k. must go and do something touristy. --K

10:52AM - For your consideration. . . Irish Conference!

ACIS (American Conference for Irish Studies) Mid-Atlantic Regional conference

Enabling/Disabling Ireland: Law, Literature, Politics, and Historical Change.

When the Republic of Ireland joined the European Union in 1973, the nation was required to enact human rights legislation ensuring equal protection and equal access for all its citizens. As such, this legislation focused attention on the various ways Ireland enables and supports its citizens. This conference investigates the various ways Irish culture, literature, law and society enable identity and politics. We seek to examine both the positive and negative aspects of enabling, raising the following questions: In what ways does literature empower, or reinforce, issues of social identity? How might historical events and practices be seen through the lens of enabling? What effect does legislation have on altering the social perceptions of disabled individuals or even political identity? In what ways do nostalgia, historical perspective, or social critique serve as enablers, or negative influences, perpetuating stereotypes? How might global forces—multinational capital, transnational human rights movements, supra-state mechanisms—shape and be shaped by Irish constructions of disability? How might projections of Irish identity seek healing for the disenfranchised or offer succor to those in need?

Abstracts of no more than 250 words to Ken Monteith by August 15, 2008.

Although the conference does have the above theme, other topics are welcome. The conference will take place from October 10-11, 2008 at LaGuardia Community College. Part of the City University of New York, LaGuardia Community College boasts one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and was recognized as one of the top three community colleges in the United States. A pioneer in e-Portfolio and collaborative teaching practices, LaGuardia not only serves the borough of Queens and the greater New York metropolitan area, but also stands as the world’s community college, with over 15000 full-time students enrolled, originating from more than 160 different countries.

LaGuardia Community College is located 15 minutes away from Grand Central Station and is easily accessible from all major airports.

Send abstracts to: enable.irish@gmail.com

Ken Monteith
Department of English
LaGuardia Community College
31-10 Thomson Avenue, Room E-103
Long Island City, NY 11101

Questions to: kmonteith@aol.com or kmonteith@lagcc.cuny.edu

When e-mailing your abstract, please include your last name and a condensed topic title in your subject heading.

11:11AM - Folks who do Irish stuff, or related stuff

Hey everyone!
Spread the Word -- I am on the steering committee for the Columbia University Irish Studies Seminar, and we are looking for people to present work at our monthly meet, discuss, then eat and drink lovely things afterwards.

If you have something that can be presented in about 40 minutes, then let me know!

This would also be great "job talk" practice, and would provide valuable feedback and networking. :)

You get a free dinner out of it, and the admiration of Irish scholars in the Tri-state area.

--Ken

7:41AM - Let the summer begin!

Grades are submitted,
Seminars have been attended,
papers are stacked in office,
said goodbye to co-workers moving on to other places

Hove bought guidebook for Portugal. . .

Let the summer begin!

Wahoooo!

--K

7:59PM - Hey, Monster conference people. .. .

Have folks filled out their booking form yet? The original e-mail suggested that we could e-mail the form to the organizer, but the form itself does not seem to be set up to be filled out on screen and then sent as an attachment.

And it is a four page print out, so faxing is going to be awkward.

--suggestions?
---K

9:33AM - One small victory!

My cross-grader for composition e-mailed me, letting me know that all my students passed their exit exam!

Much happiness on my end, since either the grader is easier than I am, or, the students actually learned how to write a researched essay, written in two hours time.

All but one of my students included a work cited!

much more happiness, since they thought it was for extra credit.
--K

2:04PM - Hilarious!

The AARP sent me an application in the mail, with a card to use while my application is being processed.

the AARP.


Suck it monkeys! I am making "the most of my life over 50!"
Next on the list: track suit, mobile home, and preparation H.

not in that order.
--K

8:35PM - Need your thinking caps. . .

Feedback Please!
I proposed an international course to my department head, who loved my idea, but wants me to think of ways to offer the course as an internship rather than an elective -- apparently it would be too much of a pain to write up a new elective course description, but the internship is already written.

So, how can I spin two weeks of intensive Irish literature as an internship?

Ideas?
--K