Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

Disorientation is the name of the game for now.  Good thing I have a full fridge and nowhere I have to be.  Perhaps today is not the day to start my chapter revisions . . .

Erin

Taxes are done.  And, having allotted (in my mind) nearly a week to do them, I feel as though I have stolen time on my hands.  I couldn’t ask for a better gift!

Erin

Car seats are a racket.  Pricey, ugly, heavy, and awkward.  Oh, and did I mention that you won’t be allowed to leave the hospital with your new babe unless you have one installed?  And, I believe, inspected by the local fire department?  Blackmail, I’m telling you.

And here’s the kicker: you will need something like three of these monsters over the course of your child’s development.  Three!  They’ll take up half our attic!  And why must you have all of these?  Because recent regulations require your child to be seated in the back seat of the car until the age of 12.  As in, the child remains in the back seat (hello, Taxi Mom!) until roughly the same time as he begins to learn to drive.  So much for bonding time in the car!

And how does the government (with the help of the seat manufacturers) get you to buy into this?  By both making it illegal to do otherwise and by scaring you with descriptions of how your child’s head may pop off, his insides may be smooshed, or his body projected through the front of your car in the event of an accident.  A number of these gruesome scenarios would, interestingly enough, be caused by the new safety features that are standard in cars today, like adult-oriented seat belts and airbags.  Thank you, safety specialists.

I’m not one to shirk on safety, but I am rather appalled that I won’t be able to have my kid anywhere near me in the car until he’s driving it!  Or until she’s ready to go to college!

Erin

Sydney and I got an answering machine.

Our old phone’s display no longer showed enough bars for us to guess at the caller’s number, and it cut off our wireless with each call, so it seemed like time for a replacement.  Plus, with impending baby and job market, we thought the addition of an answering machine might appease those of our friends and contacts who are frustrated by our lack of phone-love.

But we still prefer email.

Erin

Sydney recently told me that my afternoon on Sunday, March 8th was booked.  Having learned from past experience that Sydney’s surprises often resulted in fun afternoon concerts or walks, I didn’t ask too many questions.  When the day arrived, he drove me to a familiar part of town and dropped me at the door of a friend, where there was a surprise baby shower awaiting me.  What fun!  Some of these friends I hadn’t seen for several weeks, so it was great getting in a bit of a catch-up, and it was amusing seeing them make connections (philosophy or literature?  does your spouse, boyfriend, or fiance work in my department?  which year are you in the program?).  And I think Sydney was glad I got to talk babies with other women (rather than rely on him to gush over baby preparation–a futile endeavor if I ever saw one).

Such a wonderful afternoon.

Erin

New York Times article headline: “Humanities Ph.D.’s are Anticipating Hard Times”

Number One, where have you been for the last thirty years?  The market hasn’t been good in the humanities for a long, long time!  And Number Two, even if we grant that you’re thinking about the effects of the current recession, we’re not anticipating hard times; they’ve been hitting us quite effectively for the entirety of last year’s job cycle.  We’re just wondering how many more cycles it’s going to be this way!

Erin

It’s little wonder that the thrice-married Limbaugh, who uses “femi-Nazi,” “info-babe” …, among his monikers for women, can’t get a date with that demographic.

Rush Limbaugh makes my skin crawl, but I would be curious to know how he managed to marry three women without ever getting a date.

Sydney

The conference, by the way, went very well.  Sydney drove me to Boston on Thursday, where I jumped into conference session after conference session, presented a paper, and kept busy through Sunday afternoon.  I was surprised, honestly, at how well my body tolerated the short nights and long days of sitting.  And I was amused by the attention my stomach got on the T and around town.  The relative anonymity of a large city resulted in more questions and cheerful “Good luck!”s than I have gotten in Ithaca.  I also got evening time with Sarah and Lisa; Sydney kept his eyes on his computer as we three college roommates giggled and swapped updates before heading to bed.

Now Sydney and I are back home and taking a break from academic work to tackle some home projects.  I’ve scoured and reorganized the kitchen, with some help from Sydney (who has a good eye for assessing spaces).  Those of you who know me well know there’s not much that makes me happier than finding appropriate containers for various needs and spaces.  Sydney, meanwhile, is building another bookshelf (the last, I believe, that this house will hold) and helped me find a way to contain the spices that have accumulated in our cupboards as we’ve experimented with cooking in the last few years.  At the moment the house is chaotic, but it’s all in the name of progress.  Soon I’ll be doing more cleaning and getting everything baby-ready.  And, you know, doing our taxes before I dive back into dissertation work.

Countdown: 6 weeks until chaos really sets in.

Erin

We got back home from Boston last night. And tonight we got back to our internet. According to our ISP, users in Norwich, N.Y., and area would not be able to connect to the internet today. I have no idea where Norwich is, but I gather that we are in its ‘area’.

Sydney

Sydney and I have been homebodies since he returned from the Netherlands, partly because he’s still recovering from a cold, and partly because we’re preparing to do some traveling again.  I’m presenting a paper in Boston this weekend and Sydney has very nicely agreed to go with me.  I believe that means that I get out of driving, which is great, since my ability to sit up and be attentive will already be sorely tested by the conference attendance.  I may have to find out if the hotel has any rooms I could duck into for a quick nap or a chance to lie down!

We’ll be staying with my college roommate, Lisa, and my other roommate, Sarah, will be driving up for a quick visit.  Yes, that does mean that Sydney will share a small apartment with three giggly women.  Something tells me he’ll be packing lots of reading–and maybe some headphones.  Not having seen them since last spring, when I was miserable with missing Sydney (who was in Oxford), it will be fantastic to see them in my usual spirits.

After that, no more serious traveling.  We’ll be trying to get our house and our work in order before the baby comes, and something tells me we’ll need every possible minute!

Erin