Southern Indiana Charm

A few weekends ago Greg & I drove all around Southern Indiana with his parents, searching for covered bridges from the 1800s. I took some photos. It always amazes me to see the different ways that human-made things decay and age over time.

So here are the bridges. Or a sampling of them, I should say.

Last days before the storm

This is, by most accounts, my last full day of "summer." My last days of summer are later than most, so I really can't complain. On today's list of last minute summer things:

-Finish reading Don Quijote (only about 25 pages left)
-Attend seminar about teaching the first day of class & how to start the class out right (this could be some useless roundtable handholding, or it could be very useful & good; but I figure it's worth a shot either way, & it's only 2 hours of my life)
-Meeting with other MA students to discuss novels & other MA exam list things that we read over the summer
-Fajita dinner with Greg (complete with homemade guacamole, our favorite!)

Tomorrow: workshops in the morning about teaching, meetings with my section supervisor, and our first meeting for Grupo Teatro VIDA (the new group we are starting that will be putting on plays in Spanish). Then, in the evening, a cocktail party put on by the department that includes all of the new students & such.

I wonder if our weeks would be better if every Friday ended with a free cocktail party. (Next Friday, incidentally, is a wine & cheese tasting party, not a cocktail party...)

Probably not. But still, it's something to consider.

summer rainday

It's raining outside. A soft, quiet rain that makes you want to throw open all of the windows in your house/apartment/townhouse/room/whatever and just feel the light rain across your face. It's warm enough outside that it doesn't matter too much if you get wet.

I went swimming yesterday in the apartment complex pool for the first time. I've been living here for over a year, but that was my first trip to the pool, which is about a 40 second walk from my front door. And I probably wouldn't have gone yesterday, either, except two friends (one new & one old) have moved in just around the corner from greg & me.

Read some more yesterday, but not as much as I should have. Bought books for class. I'm looking forward to discussing Anzaldua's La frontera / Borderlands in a class setting. I've read it before, but on my own. It is a hybrid text in every sense, it seems to me; which is what makes it so interesting to me, probably.

Last night, I went with friends to the Thursday night free outdoor movie in the park. March of the Penguins. Mosquitoes were out. As was freshly made popcorn & puppy chow brought by friends.

I like waking up to dark, rainy mornings. Somehow, on rainy mornings, the darkness and the quiet seem comforting.

Welcome one, welcome all!

This is the first post on my new blog. I'm new to this game and not entirely computer savvy, but I hopefully I can manage this small page. I wish I had something more meaningful or deep to post for my first one, but I guess this will have to do for now.