July 26, 2006

Missoula gets the Rolling Stones, too

This is the biggest thing to happen to Missoula, MT since...since...I think ever. Pearl Jam played a secret show there in 1993, and kicked off their tour there in 1998 (one of their members attended University of Montana), and Jesse Jackson came to town once to lead a labor march...nope - biggest thing ever.

July 24, 2006

Wrapping up things at the job this week so I can go on vacation with a clear head and looking towards the future. Upon my return, I just have to go in for one more day to do some human resources paperwork, and then I am cut loose. I don't know if I will write more about my many trying experiences there, because I am really ready to move on and forget that most of it happened. I did take away some useful lessons, though, which I may need to put into words to help me process and truly learn from it. But on to the vacation!!

In three days we're off to the northwest, with the kitty-monsters left in the capable hands of Reluctant Texan, and Frankie moving in with Watson over at "Camp Brushpile." A few things on our itinerary:

+The Moore Hotel, a low-budget vintage (as in old, not the hip new kind) hotel in Belltown, my old work neighborhood. It's the kind of place where you bring your own soap;

+The Capitol Hill Block Party, where some of this year's bands include the Murder City Devils, Band of Horses, Silversun Pickups, Smoosh, Visqueen, Schoolyard Heroes, Sera Cahoone, The Divorce, and The Emergency;

+Fremont, my old neighborhood, and the Ballard Seafood Fest, where we will see our friends Ms. Led perform;

+ Kenai Fjords National Park, where we hope to see sea otters and Puffins, Beautiful Downtown Talkeetna, where we will unfortunately miss the annual Moose Dropping Festival, and of course my stalwart hometown, Anchorage.

July 17, 2006

My week in Ann Arbor

I vacillated between "oh my god, i will never be able to do this (meaning my dissertation analysis)" and "i can totally do this." I kept hearing from the top sociological criminologist in the country that these data are very complex, and that it took him and his colleagues a year just to figure out one type of analytic approach. All of a sudden, I didn't feel so bad that I had stalled out a bit due to the intimidating nature of the data (said data being a 7-year survey of 6,000 Chicago youth ages 0 to 18 and their primary caregivers). The take home message: simplify. Got it.

My home for the week: Ann Arbor Bed & Breakfast, where every morning Pat had a feast of fresh fruit, assorted breads, yogurt, coffee, orange juice, and either an omelette or scramble of some sort complete with fresh herbs from the garden. Sigh. I have always been a breakfast person.

This bear was my constant companion, and watched Rockstar: Supernova with me. He agrees that Zayra is embarassing to watch.

On the left is University of Michigan's tower. I think it might even be less aesthetically pleasing than the UT Tower. Next to that is the very dramatic Michigan Union building, which seemed very old on the inside.

My daily walk to class (the red brick building below, which houses Interuniversity Consortium on Political and Social Research) took me down this street, University of Michigan's version of the Drag. Only this actually had shops and restaurants on it.

The Detroit airport sucks. I think this picture captures the utterly soul-killing space I had to occupy for over two and a half hours.

Almost home! Somewhere over north Texas.

July 10, 2006

So far Ann Arbor is neato (getting to Ann Arbor from the Detroit airport is an expensive hassle though). The vibe reminds me a little of Missoula, with a little Austin mixed in. A cute laid back college town with lots of trees and historic houses. I sat out on my little balcony this evening, in perfect 80 degree weather with no mosquitoes. Oh the luxury! Unfortunately I forgot my gadget to upload pictures to my laptop, so I can't post pictures. There are about 6 people from Sweden staying at the bed and breakfast, who mostly ignore me and talk to each other in Swedish, and the proprieter is a little crazy in a good way. I'm gone from 8:15am to about 7pm each day at the workshop, about a 15 minute walk away. The other people in the workshop are really nice and I've already made friends with some cool women. People are actually interested in my dissertation research. Oh and I sat at a table with Rob Sampson and Felton Earls this afternoon. I was too tired by that time to ask any coherent questions though. That's my report for now!

P.S. Happy 72nd Birthday to my Dad, who doesn't read this blog.

July 7, 2006

Egads I was actually avoiding my own blog because I didn't want to look at that dude's mug anymore. And the nerve of him degrading the memory of Johnny Cash by wearing that tee shirt.

I think I've found my summer reality show - I'm having fun following Austin's own Patrice Pike on the show "Rockstar: SuperNova." Though I cannot for the life of me understand why she would actually want to be in a band with Tommy Lee. She won't win (if they pick a woman to front their band, they'll go for someone more "dirty"), but it is probably a good career move in terms of getting on national TV.

Sunday I go to Ann Arbor for a 5-day workshop having to do with my dissertation research. I'll have the whole thing done when I get back, right? Nah, I'm just hoping for some direction and motivation. I think I'm realizing how easy I have it as a doctoral candidate - why would I want to go mess up my cushy life by finishing?

July 3, 2006

Rapist and Murderer

What a fitting event to mark our annual holiday celebrating freedom and patriotism. This is exactly why I loathe the military. I'm willing to accept that we need a military, given the state of global relations, but please don't tell me to respect the military or hold them up on some sort of moral pedastal. My father, now 72, was an officer in the military for 30 years (most of those years as a reservist), and as a product of the 1940s and 1950s believes that the military (well, at least the Navy) is a bastion of high moral standards. It makes me sad that he clings to this notion of what the military should be or aspires to be, but can never attain. I don't know how he would explain this utter debasement of human life and dignity without acknowledging that it is a direct effect of the misogynistic culture of the military. Premeditated rape and murder is not "collateral damage."