Working on the highways and byways

For my men and masculinity class I'm writing a research paper on alexithymia. I was going to write it on something a bit more common, but I figure I torment my friends and family enough as it is. I'm pretty sure I'm not close with anyone who is alexithymic . At least not that I've noticed anyway...

He opened the lid and shook his fist

Is it strange that walking into a williams-sonoma makes me instantly relaxed?

I have realized that I am addicted to cook books. I should be kept away from them at all costs.

This was probably my favorite halloween to date...even if someone did steal my coat.

With all the windows smashed

After making my delicious beef stew, I discovered that my slow cooker's stoneware insert is not removable... I'm thinking of naming my slow cooker the "Titanic," as the likelihood of its resurfacing from the dark depths of my cupboard for anything but Goodwill after its maiden voyage is pretty much nonexistent.

My prejudice and stereotyping class began with a girl turning around before our prof arrived and asking, "Is anyone else really starting to hate this class??" Gripes, mumbles and scowls abounded until the bell rang to begin class...at which point half the class fell asleep...in a class of 25 people, that is just embarrassing. During the discussion at the end of the class, which was far more interesting than usual, a girl asked the professor, "Soooo, what are you getting at? I mean, what's your point?" Later, a guy followed up a rather ridiculous line of questioning with, "Please don't yell at me." Which made me laugh my entire walk home. (Especially when the point he was trying to make had the entire class pretty much harrassing him about knowing that Manhattan is an island and Japan is an island but Tokyo is not an island to which he responded, "well Ann Arbor isn't an island is it?!?!" I guess you had to be there but the entire class turned around as I guffawed at that exclamation. Hilarious.) Unfortunately, his worry was valid. I'm pretty much scared to openly discuss my opinions in the class for fear of my professor's way of confronting you and your views when you speak. When discussion is only about 30 minutes of the class, if you voice an opinion he will take half a second to ask you a question with lips pursed in a slight smile, raised eyebrows and head cocked to one side, staring at you, challenging you to support or change your opinion based on evidence he knows about and knows you don't know, challenging you to come to the right opinion without giving you any guidance to what that is...you could be on the right track, you could be on no track whatsoever, you're left staring back at him blankly thinking, "I have no idea what I think anymore, and he's staring at me like I should know the answer right away and different ways to support it, and I can see by his smirk that he knows how I should view the topic, but ..." "I...I...um...I don't know" is the usual response stammered back. However, I still left the class today, not only bursting into laughter at the thought of the guy's comments, but also feeling like I learned a little and had something to think about besides what is in our reading packet:

what is the difference, if any, between culture and stereotypes?

My posts seem to be getting as lame as me on an average Saturday night....oh well. When my days are pretty much made of: wake up, go to class, go to lab, go to work, go to AIESEC, go to sleep, you can't expect me to be too exciting.

and the temperature is risin' just right

This summer, some condo neighbors who were moving gave me their slow cooker. It is currently on its maiden voyage in my kitchen. My mom's recipe for beef stew with some tweeks from me...there should be leftovers for weeks.

Unfortunately, I don't have much freezer space since Katie and I went to Sam's today. The freezer is a little packed but I'll make do somehow. While at Sam's I picked up a slow-cooker cookbook. None of the recipes have more than 3 steps. Generally being: prep ingrediants by cutting vegies and browning meat, throw in pot, serve.

But I should get going since I need to check on my stew in 4 hours.

Leave me somethin' I can hold onto

I may have just given the worst presentation of my entire life. The presentation was simply to summarize an article the class had read, point out the strengths and weaknesses, relate it to real-life situations and other articles we have read. This is pretty much what my psychology of prejudice and stereotyping does every week for 2.5 hours, quite possibly the most blatant display of taking a fascinating topic and making it insanely mundane since my lectures on Human Sexuality. But then again, it's always boring when the professor simply summarizes the readings for the class. In this class it's the students doing the mundane summarizing. That may be besides the point...my presentation was literally a summary of the article. I explained a little, I related it to other things a little, but most of the time I felt like I was incoherently babbling and I believe I asked at least three times if what I had just said made sense. Our presentation ended at 3:30pm. An email telling me I got an AB was in my inbox by 4:00pm. Included in that email was my professor commending me on my very strong presentation and organization skills. I sat behind a table the entire time and read from scribbled pages torn from my notebook. Is it odd that it just makes me more angry at the absolute absurdity with which such an important topic is being handled by my professor? This is ridiculous. I am getting more and more angry just thinking about it.

p.s. my article was about how anger creates biases against out-groups. Apparently this class will be doing nothing for my biases. arg.

then why the hell are you so sad?

Right now I'm torn between cleaning up my apartment, reading my homework, finding some recipes to make in the next couple of weeks and uploading picture...so I'm pretty much doing nothing instead. Good choice I think.

Shake down the thunder from the sky

Although my weekend ended pretty terribly as you can tell by my previous post, the rest of the weekend was wonderful in a bittersweet kind of way. Friday, visiting Lauren and going to Keeneland, meeting her friends, seeing her house...it just made me miss her more. We drove down to the monastery that night, after the party.

My great uncle Tom (Brother Alban) was a monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani. He went into it when he was 15 and spent the next 56 years there. I am not sure when the family reunions began. Every year my mom's side of the family, Br. Alban's family would get together in Kentucky. You would think a monastery would be a pretty lame family reunion but I'm not sure a family like mine could have lame family reunions. As kids we would go hiking and find fossils, hear the adults drinking, laughing, arguing and telling stories until the wee hours of the morning. The days filled with games, catching up with family, playing with the newest and oldest cousins, eating and drinking. Freshman year of college I found myself in the adult circle, making the obligatory stop at the Sherwood bar and screaming at the top of my lungs at a TV blaring the OSU vs Wisconsin game to four Badgers in a sea of my mom's Buckeye family.

With Brother Alban's passing a few weeks ago, we don't know if the tradition will continue. On Saturday we had a baptism for the newest member of the family (Ironically I stood in for the absent Godmother). When the key member of a tradition is no longer around, the tradition can seem awkward or lose focus. Standing in front of my family at the baptism, then later sitting that night around the fire, telling stories, I couldn't imagine not having everyone come together each year. I didn't go every year, but just knowing it was always happening...there was a comfort to it just like there was a comfort in the fact that even though Brother Alban battled with MS for over 30 years, he never lost the twinkle in his eye or his sense of humor. We should all be so lucky.

I would say Rest in Peace, but I don't think Brother Alban would be happy sitting around doing nothing...so,

May he Rest in Love

but whenever Monday comes, you can find me cryin' all of the time...

5:20am Lexington

"Your flight from Detroit to Madison has been cancelled. We can get you into Madison at 7pm"
"uh, no, that won't work. My dad has to catch a flight in Milwaukee at 1:15 and I have class at 1:30."

5:22am Lexington

"We'll put you on Delta through Atlanta, you'll get in at 11:50am"
"Well Dad, maybe you'll make your flight to Baltimore..."

5:30am Lexington

"Jenna, I got booted from our flight. You go ahead. I'll figure something out."

5:35am Lexington

"Jenna, you have been selected by your airline for further screening. Please step to the side to be patted down then follow your belongings for further inspection."

5:45am Lexington

"Is this mace or pepper spray? You're pretty lucky; a few months ago we would have called the cops in here."

6:20am Lexington

"We need two volunteers to take a later flight. We have too much weight on the aircraft."
"Anyone?"

6:22am Lexington

"Anyone?"

6:25am Lexington

"Got enough room over there? Sorry if I fall asleep on your shoulder...feel free to just push me off if you feel like it."

9:10am Atlanta

"Hey Jenna. So I lucked out. They put me in a later flight into Atlanta so I might see you there. Then they have me going to Madison and set up a flight from Madison to Baltimore so I don't have to go to Milwaukee at all."

9:20am Atlanta

"Hey Ali, so I'm in Atlanta where I was not supposed to go in the middle of a 3 hour layover that I was not supposed to have. Actually I was supposed to be getting into Madison pretty soon but...I was wondering if you were really busy today because my dad can't drive me home now because he has to catch a flight to Baltimore and I'm not expecting you to be able to but my flight gets in at 11:50 and I was wondering if you or someone could pick me up but otherwise I can take a cab, no big deal. Ok have a great day."

9:26am Atlanta

"Hi Ali, did I wake you up??"
"Jenna, it's 8:30, of course you woke me up!"
"I know, I've been awake for like 5 hours and I just realized when I hung up that it's earlier there!"
"I know...I can pick you up."

9:37am Atlanta

"You came to Atlanta from Lexington? This says that you were taken off this flight to Madison. it shows you as arriving from Lexington and you have the seat request so obviously you were on this flight at some point, but you no longer are. You'll have to pick up one of the black phones over there and figure out what happened."

9:59am Atlanta

"I really hope my situation isn't as difficult to solve as that woman's!"
"Yes, me too"

10:04am Atlanta

"Jenna? here you go, seat 11c"

10:11am Atlanta

Northwest Flight 9617 to Madison WI

Sched: 1037a Status: 10:51a

10:28am Atlanta

"Passengers on Northwest 9617 to Madison, departure time is now 11:05 due to late arriving aircraft. Please stay in C29 area."

10:54am Atlanta

"Passengers on Northwest 9617 to Madison, departure time is now 11:30 due to maintenance on the aircraft. please stay in the C29 area."

11:07am Atlanta

"Passengers on Northwest 9617 to Madison, we are going to be moving gates for a different aircraft as maintenance is still being done on this aircraft. Departure time is now 11:50."

11:17am Atlanta

"Hi Professor Livingston, I'm just calling because I was out of town due to a death in the family and flights were cancelled and now I am in Atlanta due to being rerouted and my plane has been delayed almost an hour and a half. I'm not sure if I'm going to make class or be very late but I just thought I would let you know."

11:20am Atlanta

"Ali? my flight is delayed forever...I won't be all done with baggage claim and everything until at least 1:00pm. Can you still pick me up?"

"No, I'm sorry, I have class at 1:20"

1:25pm Madison

"For those passengers who just arrived on Flight 9617 from Atlanta, the luggage is now on its last cycle. If your luggage has not arrived, please go to the ticket office and speak with a representative."

1:38pm Madison

"Your luggage should be getting into Madison around 9pm tonight. You can track it online if you want."

2:03pm Madison

"That will be $18 with the $1 airport cab fee. Have a nice day."