cainteoir

Estoy Libre!

kmonteith@aol.com — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:13:59 GMT

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!

IMG_1274

kmonteith@aol.com — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:46:59 GMT

IMG_1274
Originally uploaded by jgoshert

Here is a picture of my Nephew!

Welcome Cody!

kmonteith@aol.com — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:22:09 GMT

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!)

the waiting is killing me. . .

kmonteith@aol.com — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:02:41 GMT

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.

Yeah! Three ways!

kmonteith@aol.com — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:50:14 GMT

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!

they followed me?

kmonteith@aol.com — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:53:58 GMT

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. . .

Now that Irish Zombie paper is drafted/finished. . . better frame of mind.

kmonteith@aol.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:07:24 GMT

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.

laptop less!

kmonteith@aol.com — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:56:34 GMT

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

kmonteith@aol.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:45:14 GMT

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

hit and run

kmonteith@aol.com — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:14:35 GMT

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

porto

kmonteith@aol.com — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:23:32 GMT

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

For your consideration. . . Irish Conference!

kmonteith@aol.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:50:32 GMT

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.

Folks who do Irish stuff, or related stuff

kmonteith@aol.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:11:28 GMT

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

Let the summer begin!

kmonteith@aol.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:40:31 GMT

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

Hey, Monster conference people. .. .

kmonteith@aol.com — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:58:10 GMT

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

One small victory!

kmonteith@aol.com — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:32:21 GMT

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

Hilarious!

kmonteith@aol.com — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:05:17 GMT

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

Need your thinking caps. . .

kmonteith@aol.com — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:34:42 GMT

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

Unexpected!

kmonteith@aol.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:37:35 GMT

I asked academic affairs if they would consider reimbursing the 40% travel expenses they offer if faculty present a paper at a conference. It was a conference in Belgium, on Irish Women writers, so I was not sure how it would fly.
Their counter offer -- we will pay for your entire trip (100%!)if you would present something you learned at the conference to a college audience, either in your department, or, the college community at large.

Ummm....
YES!

Am making sock puppets as we speak.
--K

Yeah Puppies!

kmonteith@aol.com — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:48:49 GMT

The beagle wone best in show at the Westminster Dog Show.

YEAH! My favourite breed won! The last two dogs my parents had were beagles (well, one was a beagle mix, but still) so I feel vindicated in a way. Not sure how or why, but vindicated nonetheless!
--K

I should get a cute beagle user pic -- or a superbeagle user pic, but uggg. Am at work.

Oporto!

kmonteith@aol.com — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:44:06 GMT

I just checked my spam folder and found that my paper proposal has been accepted for this summer's IASIL conference! Not sure why Irish conference was forwarded to the spam folder, though.

But in any case -- Yeah! Good news about something! Finally!

Am most happy . ..
--K

Laugh of the day.

kmonteith@aol.com — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:02:28 GMT

My obsession with occultism led me to type in
"http://www.fate.com"
And the result was a blank page with the text:
"Page left intentionally blank."

Ha! best thing ever! Or at least this morning.
--K

Quandry . . .

kmonteith@aol.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:46:06 GMT

Here's my issue --
I have two articles I want to revise and send out. I have been checking the usual Irish journals, yet these seem to be putting out special topic editions with guest editors. Should I just send the articles to the journals and hope that they fit a special issue in the future? Or should I look other places?

Your thoughts?
--K

To Miami to see the Minies (and the other hobbits too!)

kmonteith@aol.com — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:27:36 GMT

Yeah!
We are off to see the minies, mini-hobbit B and C!
Because, because, because, because . . .!
Because of the wonderful things they does.

And, we are also going to visit the mommy and daddy hobbit. . .
And 85 degree Miami, let's not forget!

Have had much coffee before typing this --can you tell?
--K

Yeah! Binge with me!

kmonteith@aol.com — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:43:52 GMT

O.k.
So it is that time of year again when, lo, the angel of the bow flex appears in both infomercial and advertisement form. And, yea, though thou shalt rejoice in the holidays, thou shalt feel major guilt about thy heathenish fat assness. And lack of abs. The lord's chosen people apparently have abs.

AS much as I enjoy a good bow flex commercial, I am also realizing that I have been binge eating like some sort of locust (must keep the religious analogy/conceit going after all). IN other words, I am eating my own weight in not so good foods daily. And I weigh enough already.

I am thinking this points to deep psychological issues so deep I can't even see them. And all the while I am thinking I am detoxing with large amounts of water and diet soda between candy, pie, and other treats.

All I want for christmas?
A personality enima. They must sell those somewhere, yes?

But, at least I can recognize the problem. Yes?

--K