peevish

Adjective: 1. Easily irritated, esp. by unimportant things.
Synonyms:
sullen - petulant - morose - testy - crabbed - pettish

And that pretty much describes my mood the past 24 hours.

Example 1:  BA comes to class unprepared (again) and then proceeds to ask me questions that I have literally just answered to the rest of the class. He doesn't "understand" what a noun phrase is and asks what the topic is for the Thursday presentation that we've been working on since last Thursday. I try not to explain things to him like he's a 4-year-old. I'm only moderately successful and it takes all my self control.

Example 2: T-rav was in charge of loading the dishes last night, but neglected to run the very full dishwasher before going to bed. It doesn't really affect me that much since he handwashed a spoon for my oatmeal this morning, but I have a compulsive need to lash out about it. I refrain...until on the way to work. (Sorry, tio!)

Example 3: AK, one of the most extravagantly wealthy students I've ever had (no really. This guy dropped a double digit grand to buy an imported chess table) comes to class unprepared (again) and somehow manages to turn every group discussion topic into an illustration of his wealth or high-level connections. I listen as politely as I can without rolling my eyes in front of him. Frankly, AK, I don't really give a damn that your clothes are from some Italian designer, your watch was purchased in a fancy shop in Switzerland, or that you've had personal tours of such and such famous factory. Your English isn't awesome and you never bother to do homework assignments, and that's really all I need to know about you at this point.

Example 4: I run for 40 minutes, drink far too much water, and promptly feel woozy. There's no one to blame but myself, so I send myself to bed so I don't say anything nasty to poor tio for no reason.

I have more examples, but even if you're fond enough of me to read this far, you probably aren't interested in a list of all the things irritating me today. So I'll stop. On the positive side, I finally remembered to bring my electric blanket to work (there is no heater in my office, and the building almost never turns on the main heating when the outside temperature reaches 52), so I am now snuggled up at my desk like a little kid. Hopefully it will bring some improvements to my testiness. Also it's Leap Day which seems important somehow. 

Gettysburg

This weekend I was itching to get out of town, and to be quite honest, I would have preferred somewhere a little warmer and a little farther (like Florida. Or Spain), but instead we settled for 80 miles north to the Gettysburg battlefield. And this way SS could come along, which made it a bit more worth it. ;) 

Gettysburg National Military Park has a rather ostentatious new museum and visitors center, and I'm sure the displays were very nice, but I wouldn't know. We were feeling a little cheap (surprised?), so we skipped the $36/person total package and opted to create our own tour using a brochure the lays out a 24 mile driving tour of the area and a printout of the Wikipedia article on Gettysburg. If I’d had the money, I might have paid the $65 to have a personal guide ride in our car with us and tell us all about the sites. We saw them at almost every stop, and they seemed to know everything—a true dream job for a Civil War nerd. 

My overall impression was just how huge the battlefield is (at one point the Confederate line was over 5 miles long) and in the 3 1/2 hours we were there we only saw the major highlights. Even though I’ve read about the battle and studied it in history class and seen the movie Gettysburg, I still imagined a nice mostly open field where the soldiers lined up to slaughter each other. Not so, however.  

The powers that be have constructed a road along the battlefield that mostly follows the battle lines. The big monuments you can see in the picture above mark the center of the line of each group of men so you can get an idea of what kind of area they were defending. They were all built by the state or group that they represent and show a little character of the home state. They usually say "Pennsylvania 5th Regiment," or something like that, and then list battle dates, casualties, and other campaigns they were involved in. Between each of the large monuments there are often small stone markers that show where the left and right flank of each group were. Some groups held a line that was only 50 or 100 feet long, while others held several hundred yards. 

On Big Round Top

This is the view from Little Round Top, looking down into the Devil's Den. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but from the top you can see most of the battlefield and you can see why it was such an important strategic position. 

Apparently the Pennsylvanians didn't want to feel left out, so they built this 110' tall monument in the middle of the battlefield. I think it looks more like a Hare Krishna temple, personally. Our driving tour ended, naturally, at the cemetery where Lincoln his legendary speech. For whatever reason, I didn't take any pictures there, but mostly it looks like a cemetery. I thought I would feel solemn and somber in such a location, but I didn't really. Maybe it's because all of Gettysburg seems like a cemetery, and the whole place seems somber. I also decided that with all of the soldiers that died there, there's no way it isn't haunted. If you believe in that sort of thing, of course. 

a gastronomic adventure

I've eaten my fair share of exotic food since I started teaching ESL. My general rule is that as long as it doesn't have multiple, still-wiggling legs, I'll try it. I've discovered that: I really really like (almost love but not quite) Korean food, yes, even kimchi. Chop Chei is my favorite. Kim chi pancakes (at left) are not awesome, but might be better warm than cold like the ones I ate. Japanese food made with ingredients found at the regular grocery store is not nearly as good as the "real" thing from the Asian market. Empanadas/samosas are pretty much awesome no matter where they come from. Eastern European food has a bit too much vinegar and cabbage for my taste. Chinese rice balls have the texture of eye balls (at least what I imagine eye balls would be) and should be avoided at all costs. Tongue tacos are the best. Tamales made by a student's mom who woke up in the middle of the night to finish cooking them so her daughter would have something to share with the class taste infinitely better than the ones you buy at a restaurant. Mongolians make killer dumplings. If I could spend a week lounging in the Middle East doing nothing but eating kunafa (see the picture-shredded phyllo dough on top of a layer of sweet cream cheese and soaked in rose water syrup), Lebanese pudding, and baklava, I might never leave. I might also collapse from a sugar overdose and then look down at my hips to see them double in size.

Today, however, I am bringing something home that I haven't yet tried, at least in this form. You see, today was they Gtown potluck lunch, and when the Saudis cook khabsa (rice and meat/chicken) they don't mess around with small pieces of meat. They roast the entire beast. And then they serve the entire beast...including the head. So today I am carrying the skull of a lamb in my bag in order to carve out the tongue because the tongue is the best meat, and I simply "must" try it. So I was blessed with the leftovers and the dubious privilege of digging out said tongue. And while this seemed like an excellent, adventurous idea while at school with my co-teachers rooting me on, it's suddenly feeling like a less good idea, especially considering that I'm only carnivorous these days when someone feeds me meat. And now I'm going to dissect a poor lamb?

Yes. I think I am. After all, I might as well try it, right? Wouldn't you?

in which I describe my preferences on social events

I'm married. Y'all are single. No, I don't want to go to your dance party.

Now before you misjudge me or act surprised at this recent turn of events (having been married at the tender young age of 20, I've been going to parties with single people for years and years), let me explain. Back when all my friends were still single, it never bothered me to go to things together. I went to, and sometimes even helped host, myriad house parties, movie nights, bbqs, etc. It was never weird. I tried to remember to wear my ring, and if it so happened that a nice boy started to chat me up, I or one of my friends usually managed to mention T-rav. Sometimes said boy would keep talking...more often he would move on to his next prey. Totally understandable. But I don't believe in the mysterious "line" between married and single people. There's no reason to stop hanging out with your single friends just because you're married. That's weird. And dumb.

So now we live in a new place smack dab in the midst of a bundle of LDS singles. Obviously they're all lovely people, but I only really know about 4 of them, making it a bit awkward for me (and possibly for them) to go single's events where the main point is to mix, mingle, and, most likely, scope out any potential inamorati. Which, again, is totally understandable. If I were still single, I would be doing the very same. But I know very well that the highlight of their evening is not going to be making small talk with the one married girl from down the street. I've been in situations where a boy doesn't know my marital status, is acting very flirty as he introduces himself, and then when I mention the word husband, he suddenly starts squirming and the conversation abruptly ends. And I start squirming because I dislike watching other people feel uncomfortable almost as much as I hate the feeling myself.

In summary: I have no problem socializing with single people. I would be a weirdo if I did. I do feel more than a little awkward going to events that are intended to help people hook up (in the PG kind of way) where I don't know anyone. I'm happy to go to, say, a bbq or a casual get together. Or something that didn't involve dancing or a romantic holiday. Otherwise, thank you for the invite, but please don't think me rude or ungrateful if I don't actually show up.

belly buttons...

...give me the willies. I hate them. I hate how they feel when you poke them (shudder), like your finger is going to go all the way through your stomach to brush the inside of your spinal cord. I hate how lint can get stuck inside, especially if you have a bottomless crater like T-rav, and then you have to clean them out with more vigor than usual because they're all foldy and wrinkly. I hate seeing someone with their belly button pierced because it means that they let someone get that close to their button with a sharp object. (double shudder). I hate how they become deformed on pregnant bellies and even pop out. 

They're horrible. My arm hair is sticking up just writing about them. 

That is all. 

'My English is good enough"

In a small Arizona town, a woman named Alejandrina Cabrera is running for city council. She is Hispanic and bilingual...sort of. A judge recently ruled that her name couldn't be on the ballot because she doesn't speak English well enough to run for public office (you can read the full article here).

According to the article, Cabrera's community is 98.7% Hispanic, and 87% of them speak a language other than English at home (ie Spanish). Cabrera is a US citizen who graduated from a bilingual high school. She rates her own English skills as a 5 out of 10. Most of (dare I assume all) the other city council members are bilingual. Meetings are conducted in English, but with a Spanish-speaking community, and much of her interaction would be in Spanish. As with most foreign language speakers, her comprehension is higher than her productive abilities, but in a court evaluation, she struggled to answer questions put before her by the court.

Arizona does have an English-only law, and in 1910 Arizona became a state under the stipulation that "The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature." Now if Cabrera's English is so poor that she requires a translator, I would agree wholeheartedly with the judge. Cabrera, however, believes she can function efficiently as is, and even studies with a tutor to improve her English. The law does not specify a particular level of English one must speak as long as one can understand sufficiently well.

I'm reminded of a particular southern state representative who, when giving a testimony at a congressional hearing (or some similar type of event...I can't quite remember) was nearly incomprehensible to a speaker of Standard American English. But her constituents understood her well enough to vote her into office, so who am I to complain that I didn't understand her dialect? I think the same principal applies here. Cabrera is an ideal representative of the people of her community; they want someone who speaks like they speak and knows what it's like to grow up bilingual. 

I tend to agree with them. I think this issue goes beyond the English-only debate; Cabrera is not arguing that Spanish should be used on the city council, but that her English, imperfect thought it may be, is good enough. And in a country full of languages, dialects, and accents, I think that's all we should ask for. Thoughts?

taxes

Romney.

What do you think? Does it bother you that he is so ridiculously wealthy? Does it bother you that he only paid (quite legally) only 15.4% tax rate?

I don't love Romney. I don't hate him. (I actually quite liked Huntsman, but we all knew he never really had a chance). I like him more than the rest of the current Republican candidates. I'd vote for him in the primaries (in Virginia those with no party affiliation may vote in either primary. I think). I might vote for him in the general election if he gets the nomination...then again, maybe I'll stick with Nader. I haven't decided. It doesn't bother me that Romney is wealthy or that he paid a smaller percentage of taxes than Obama or Gingrich. It DOES bother me that the current tax system will require that someone like me pay 22-25% taxes, but the millionaires don't because of capital gains or something that I don't really understand (Father or sister, here's your cue to offer a SIMPLE explanation of tax law). It seems the system could use an overhaul. But I don't think that should influence one's opinion of a candidate's politics. Because who would volunteer to pay more taxes than required by law? As long as it's all legal, what's the big deal?

I'm just wondering what you think. Please share. All six of you who still read my blog on occasion.

jobs jobs jobs

In a few months, the project I have been working on at the company that hired me when I moved to DC will be over and I'll either have the option to stay and start a new project or quit.

I'm not sure what to do.

I don't love my job. It's rather boring, sometimes mindless, and keeps me cooped up in an office all day long. I'd rather be teaching, and having this job prevents me from taking more classes and really getting my foot in the door at Gtown.

On the other hand, it gives me a salary, and I really like getting paid. I have decent benefits, excellent co-workers, and the most diverse, flexible work environment one could want. One might say I'm crazy for even considering leaving something relatively stable to be an adjunct at some university where the pay is always minimal and respect hard to come by. In reality, this decision will mostly be based on what kind of job T-rav gets (ie how much money he makes) after he finishes up his temp job next month. I only have the option of quitting if Trav's job, whatever it ends up being, is enough to pay the bills.

But it's made me think lately about what's more important: doing something you love (or at least really like) or doing something that makes a lot of money (relatively speaking, of course. I AM in the language field after all). What do you think?

MLK day

Today both T-rav and I had the day off. And although I felt weird all day--I think I'm coming down with some sort of cold or flu or sinus something--after a moment of silence for Dr. King, we decided to go oot and aboot anyway. We started with a trip to the nearest Wegman's (which, by the way, now sells their own brand of most delicious organic milk) accidentally took a wrong exit on the way to Ikea, putting us back on the right road 20 minutes later--so typical for a DC detour--and then stopped at a little state park on the banks of the Potomac called Mason's Neck. I'm sure it would be much lovelier in a non-winter season. As you can see in the picture below, it bears strong resemblance to the Fire Swamp, but I think we'll go back when things start to green up a bit.

I've been lamenting my lack of a social life lately. We've been bad about making new friends around here, but it seems to me that everyone is So Busy! and Important and no one has time to make new friends. Or maybe we're not trying hard enough...honestly, it's probably mostly that. The good thing is that neither Trav nor I really have any friends (aside from Ryry, of course), so we've been spending a lot more time together. We're a good match, if I may say so myself. We generally have low expectations of our "adventures," have plenty of things to talk about (even if I occasionally end up ranting), and aren't afraid to try weird things. And while I'm being forthright, I might as well admit that a large portion of the time I'd much rather sit at home and read a book or cook or watch reruns of Law & Order than make new friends. It's much less intimidating, don't you think?

may 2012 bring...

my very first race since high school (an 8K in March) and a Ragnar, perhaps (Adirondacks, DC, or PA, anyone? I'll only be motivated if I can run with Kee)
more patience
trips to: Turkey, somewhere in the Balkaans, Norway, Morocco? Brazil? and of course US-bound road trips (anyone up for the Appalachian trail?
less self-loathing
uileann piping
less cynicism
a dog crossed off because Trav said I shouldn't put unrealistic things on my list :(
lots of bread baking and Irish dancing
some Portuguese to my tongue
friends to my house in DC

This picture is actually a couple of years old (ie note the  rounded bottom..not that it's that much smaller these days. Us Hill girls are a little bootylicious), but I felt it was a promising way to usher in the new year. ;)