i got me a one year old nephew

We were in Sacramento celebrating my nephew's first birthday. Circus theme! It was very cute. But i gotta say: too many babies in one weekend! Normally i can take all the baby time people want to throw at me, and won't be at all affected. I mean i coo and say, "who's the cutest baby?" and pretend to eat their toes. Okay, I admit . . . sometimes I leave and think about how awesome my baby will be and how it will win all the awards given to the best baby. (quick digression: i had a dream last night that i won an oscar for best supporting actress and it was awesome, but no one believed me because i left my award with zach braff. jerk.) But seriously, we saw A LOT of babies, day and night, and it's not like they bothered me or anything. It was just a lot. I guess that's all I really have to say about that. Many babies were seen.

Flinch

So, all summer I have been working on various school things. I did some TA-ing, some research and catalogue work for a prof, the whole Dickens thing, and most importantly writing drafts of my dissertation prospectus. I met with the chair of my committee this week and she said that it was looking good, one more draft and I can get the approval of the rest of the committee and it'll be a go. Awesome! Unfortunately I don't have a full committee yet and this morning I get an email from the one professor I really, really wanted and she said she didn't want to do it. Why? because her help is "unnecessary" and that I am "perfectly capable" of writing this thing without her guidance. Which, of course, is not the real reason. She is about to retire and just doesn't feel like it. A fact I can accept, but one that kind of leaves me up a creek. Erg. So I decided that I was going to take all references of her works out of my dissertation! She'll get no acknowledgment from me! Just kidding. I still love her.

One Year

A year ago today, we were somewhere between St. Louis and Little Rock. Because it was the day after our wedding and we were on the road, pretending it was a honeymoon.

Yesterday we celebrated our first anniversary. We had thought about driving up the coast. And then we thought we'd spend the day in S.F. But we don't have money enough for any of that. So we spent an actually really pleasant day in Santa Cruz. We watched the drippingly romantic "Bourne Ultimatum" and then had dinner at Gabriella's.

We shared a "halibut confit" as an appetizer. Mmmm, it was so good! With huge butter beans and red onions. Dave got a mushroom risotto with truffle oil. I got skirt steak with a nutty pesto side, and roasted summer squash. And then we had a pistachio pudding for dessert.

I only realized this morning -- cause we had a bit too much wine with dinner -- that we didn't leave a very good tip. I hate this realization -- I kind of want to go down to the restaurant and leave her some more money.

Anyway, despite our economizing, we had a good time.

I've been occupied . . .

Thank goodness. I was trying to hold my tongue last month when my summer threatened to drone on into a uneventful blob of self-pity. But then things started looking up, in a subtle way, only perceptible to one in desperate need of subtle changes.
Dave's friend in Sacramento gave me a *miracle cream* for those of us with sensitive, annoyingly inscrutable skin. Seriously, I don't know what it is -- it's from some chinese herbalist in SF -- but it fucking works. I was a monster of a bridesmaid in New York this past June. And now I'm like, you know, perfect again. wink.
I've been to the beach, and should go again soon if I know what's good for me. As soon as the weather gets nice again.
We've been swimming at the university pool, which I've never done as long as I've been here. It's not exactly fun -- cause, you know, we're "working out" -- but I like it.
And I just finished a week-long, intensive Dickens conference at school. Now, i don't know shit about "Boz," and I am a sorry excuse of a Victorianist. In fact, I'm decidedly not a Victorianist (in fact, I'm not sure I want to be an anything-ist). But it was a pretty genial environment, geared for grad students -- getting us schmoozing with the profs in a more or less democratic manner. Sadly, one night I had a smidge too much to drink which led to an unpleasant next morning in seminar. See what happens when I'm deprived of social encounters -- excess, my friends! Beware.

Square One: Fat Boys - One Billion Is Big

How I got so smart . . .

As summer drags on . . .

. . . at its slow pace, D and I are still thinking about what we should do and where we should go. We both admitted that the greatest obstacle in our planning is the (self-conceived) weight of our decision. It's like we have to choose whether or not we want to become grown ups by the end of the year. I know, come on! I making it seem so melodramatic and, whatever, deep or something. But seriously. It's like our choice is between buying a house, which borders on "settling down," especially since it would have to be in an affordable city -- and none of our friends live in affordable cities. So it would be Dave and I owning a home and thinking about family things. Between that and moving where my friends are, spending half my paycheck on rent and the other half on going out and all that that entails. The thing is i really want a house. Why the hell do I want a house so bad? Maybe because Santa Cruz has made renting seem like the dumbest thing in the world. Why would anyone throw their money away just to live in a town that sucks? (Sorry. I know, i have to get off my S.C. sucks kick. It's just summer, and cold, and boring right now and I can't help it. If it were February and 70 out I might sing a different tune.)
But what also pisses me off is that this is a decision that has to be made. Shouldn't it just happen? Shouldn't it be like, wups i just had a baby, now i have to find a job and house that matches? I hate all this pre-meditated nonsense.

Santa Clara Dining

After a deathly boring past two weeks, all of a sudden I'm super busy. How did this happen and can i get it all done?
Yesterday, D + I went up to Santa Clara to have Korean Food. This is our third tripto the city and our third Korean restaurant. We've been to Blue Stone, something else, and last night we went to Corner Place. Let me briefly describe the korean dining experience, if i may. Most on the Northern West Coast (which means I've only been to Silicon Valley + Geary St, SF), are not "fancy" places. The proprietors don't seem to mark decor as a priority, thus they mostly maintain a ghostly resemblance to the IHOP, or whatever, that used to exist there. (This is not true for the restaurants I've been to in Flushing, NY -- which mostly seem constructed by the owners and elaborately reminiscent of a mythical Korean landscape).
But the food is usually super good -- and "down home." Korean food is not delicate dining; its stewey, sloppy and steamy. Last night I got Yuk Ge Jang -- a spicy beef broth with veggies and noodles. Dave got Duk Man Doo Gook -- my favorite dish of broth, rice cakes, and dumplings. You also receive on your table an array of "pan chan," little dishes of goodies. If ever you want some K. food, call me up. I'm in.