why is it so difficult to actually get to work?

Crossing my fingers wasn't enough this morning. I was just out of luck. And then I was soaked.

The radio morning show kept saying that a big line of storms was coming -- a nasty band of thunderstorms with strong winds. I rushed to get ready, thinking I only have to make it one block, get on the bus, walk another half block, and wait for the train. This is totally do-able. I'm leaving early, and I'll just make it.

I was so very wrong.

I've never been outside in rain like this. The rain was coming from everywhere, and my umbrella was essentially useless. Before I made it to the end of our block, my capris were literally dripping wet. I rounded the corner and kept walking, but I finally hit a point of This is INSANE. I can't work all day in these wet clothes. So, I went home, hung up my wet clothes, laid on the bed, and checked my email.

That's when I snapped this picture -- too bad I didn't a) look right before I left and b) take a picture of the radar right before I left. Then, you could have seen my red pinpoint in the red band of storms.



My second attempt involved the same, pitiful umbrella, much less rain, and a bright yellow poncho. After seeing a coyote running down between the Metra tracks -- no joke! -- I made the train and made it to work. Safely. And, pretty much dry.

so it's been awhile...

I'm afraid to look at see when last I blogged.

The summer was both full and empty. I sought intellectual exercise in the form of an undergraduate course at the nearby university, studying geography of the Chicago area. This was a blessing in that I had the chance to spend more time dabbling in the social sciences and to read about and discuss the city that I love. For the first time in awhile, I felt really enthralled by academic reading and found myself, well, pissed that I didn't have people to talk to about what I was learning. (I didn't connect with classmates, and let's face it, A. isn't into this stuff.) I also faced a reminder of how difficult it can be to manage my depression when I don't have any structure. Motivation is always a baraometer of my mood and the stability of my mood. I watched the lack of motivation rise while my mood sank into depression.

And then, I traveled.
And the South sucks.

I could tell some STORIES, boy. Just know that misogyny is alive and well.

So, I'm back at work. Classes have been in full swing for a week. I'm so incredibly busy. I have two hearing-impaired students this year, one of whom signs. Scheduling all of the interpreters for everything she needs and keeping track of that information has proven to be way more work that I could have imagined. Add that on top of the usual beginning-of-the-semester craziness. Wow. Busy. And, as I could have predicted, some of our faculty have been awesome about it while others haven't. It's 2009, people. Deaf people are people, too. Get over yourselves. Sometimes the lack of common sense thing about really smart people is funny. Other times, it's just plain ignorance, and for me, their ignorance is far from bliss.

So, what to talk about from here? Here's some things that are going on.
I joined a gym and have been swimming pretty regularly -- a quarter-mile each time. It feels good. I've lost maybe two pounds, but that's not as important, most days, as just getting the exercise.
I have a few friends having babies. I need to get going on some crochet projects for them. I'll be dyeing my own yarn.
We'll be spending Thanksgiving with Heinous this year. She moved to NC and won't be back to the midwest for an extended stay until the holidays. It'll be the first time I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family, but then, Heinous IS family to me. Should be fun. I'm imagine lots and lots of cooking.
Oh, yeah, and they made me a Dean. Clearly, I have them all fooled. ;)

randoms from my trip to NC this week

I wanted to compile a list of things that cracked us up and/or made us happy during what was an extremely stressful trip this wee. I'm hoping that by making this list, I'll be inclined to come back and write about them.

Filter Plant Rd., also know as Fill-Her-Pants Rd.
Weiner Works
Guns Plus
Sha-Fay-Fay
Nam, or The Middle Finger followed by "the town formerly known as Nam"
the Macy's incident
blowing out a flip flop
Sean John clothes
rocking the Caddy
the leaky toilet
the Coug
Debbie Downer and the XM radio
Chick-fil-A
"Arriving at Scott"
throwing Rudy's bone out the window
leaving your house unlocked in the middle of a city
drugs, particularly klonopin, xanax, and pepto capsules
The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill
the flight attendant on the diet who smiled kindly while we ate Cinnabon
Pre-Board Authorization
landing back in Chicago

planning conference travel makes me a little crazy

In mid-July, I'm heading to Louisville for a conference. At the very least, I need to stay overnight for 2 nights. Ideally, I'll stay for four. Sound odd? Here's my logic:

• I could fly in on Tuesday and stay Tuesday night, in which case I'd make the 9:30 plenary session.
  
• I could take the first flight from Chicago to Louisville on Wednesday morning (oh, Southwest, how I love you) and be there in time for the first block of concurrent sessions at 11:30.
  
• I could leave at thee end of the sessions on Friday, only missing one block of concurrent sessions on Saturday and the closing plenary, which is by a guy who gave an address at last year's conference (meaning that if I miss it, my life will still go on).
  
• I could leave on Saturday when the conference is officially done.

One of the problems is the hotels.

The first year I went (2007), I didn't do my homework. I stayed at the conference hotel (call me naive), when I could have stayed equally close to the convention center at a less glam chain. The upside to that would have been free breakfast and free internet, neither of which were provided by the conference hotel.

Last year, I again stayed at the conference hotel, but this time it was because there was nothing else nearby. They'd done some renovations, and I hear some of the guest rooms were nice. Mine was mediocre, as was my stay there. Again, no free internet or breakfast.

This year, I'm so over this no-complimentary-internet-or-breakfast bullshit. I've done my homework. There's a Hampton Inn 4 or 5 blocks away, which seems pretty damn reasonable to me. But the kicker? It costs $20 more per night than the conference hotel (with the conference discount), which I've read is only good if you get into the renovated section. The Hampton Inn, of course, has free breakfast and internet, which the conference hotel does not. Is it worth the extra money? I'm thinking it is because the stay will be so much nicer (if the conference track record stands), and I won't have to shell out big bucks every morning for... a bagel. (Actually, the first year, I got supplies at the local drugstore and ate breakfast in my room everyday.)

Let's not forget about my shout-out to Southwest above. I can fly roundtrip for about $130 (or so I'm guessing with the taxes, etc.). AWESOME. I was all set to book yesterday--flight at least but probably also the hotel--when I remembered: my dad lives in Kentucky. To be specific, he lives about 90 miles south of Louisville. Perhaps A and I could work out some time either before or after my conference to go down and stay a couple of days with him and his wife. I know A would like it out there in the country, and it might be relaxing in the summer.

So, I haven't booked anything. This frustrates me.

This morning, I did go through the conference booklet and assess the actual conference costs: $445 for conference attendance, including 1 banquet lunch and a couple of snacks here and there. Yesterday, my boss advised me to make an effort to stay at or below $1,000 in my conference expenses. If you're playing at home, that means that after conference registration and airfare, I have around $425 for hotel expenses. (And yes, they should be feeding me, but they don't.) That, my friends, means 3 nights at the hotel (and perhaps food) to make it to the $1,000 total. The past two years, the costs have been anywhere from $250-500 more.

I want to lock in my cheeeeeeeap rates for the flights and hotel, but I gotta talk to the wifey, who's out at a client today. (Our schedules yesterday didn't give us much time for talking about this.) This makes me anxious because I'm SURE that by tomorrow, when we've had a chance to talk about it together and with my dad, the prices will have jumped by hundreds of dollars.

Oh, work travel.

on my way

I've been in Reno for 6 days, and I'm finally on my way home. The mountains were beautiful, though I only saw them from afar, and they were hazily hidden too often by the smoke from the California wildfires. What an amazing sight, seeing mountains and then seeing them disappear.

The hotel was meh. I found the cheapest eats, and I'm leaving with a full belly but an empty pocketbook, unsure how much work will actually pay for. I did save my receipts.

I did 5 full days of conference and a 90 minute workshop this morning. The first 2 days of workshop were a pre-conference institute on electronic text for students with disabilities. The possibilities are awe-inspiring. My ideas were plentiful, but my mind was spinning by the end of Day 2. On the third day, everyone else arrived for the start of the actual conference--Association on Higher Ed and Disability. No workshop comes to mind as a dud, some come to mind as awesome. That's about the most you can ask for of a conference.

I didn't make any real, meaningful connections till Wednesday, when I had both lunch and dinner with other folks who work at "independent colleges and universities"--a special interest groups for us folks working at small colleges. Good people. I met some of them last year, and I had a nice time with them.

I kept my eyes peeled on the message board for notice of the Big Gay Outing. I didn't go last year because I was picking up my copy of Deathly Hallows instead. The notice finally went up on Thursday, the same day as a focus group on the organization's diversity initiative, where I spoke my mind about the lack of gay in our talk of diversity. After that, I met K, who was one of the two organizers of the upcoming gathering. We spent the rest of the night chatting. Friday, he introduced me to J, the other organizer, and after a well-attended, supported, and positive meeting of queer professionals at the conference, K, J, and I had delicious Thai food. We headed out to a gay bar in the hills, which turned out to be a country-western dyke bar. We danced our hearts out (J joining in the line-dancing) to "Let's Get Loud," which was fun. We abandoned the alternate-universe that was Reflections (the name of the bar) and headed back to the hotel/casino, where we stayed up laughing later into the night than I'd expected. We parted with hugs, a sure sign we made friends at this year's conference (both of them first-timers and me there for my second). I'm already looking forward to seeing them at next year's conference.

As for now, I'm most looking forward to just going home. I miss my bed, my cats, my girl, my city (not necessarily in that order). In ten minutes, I board the plane to San Fransisco, where I'll connect to O'Hare. Chicago's on my horizon, and all-in-all, I've had a good time in Reno.

back home

I'm back in Chicago[land]! Rolled up in front of my house at midnight last night after driving up with Merdie from Memphis to Bloomington and catching the train from there to Chicago. It's good to be home.

I'm proud to say that, after 5 days together, I still like Merdie as much as I did when we headed out. We had a hell of a lot of fun, even with 26 hours worth of driving (all of which she had to do). That's friendship, man. And, our presentation went pretty well.

More to come, including my thoughts on the skeezy place that is New Orleans and pictures of our shenanigans.

Friday blunder

Kind readers, I arrived at work around noon on Friday, after having a doctor's appointment downtown. It was a lovely day to walk into work, and with only one appointment (at 2pm), I intended to have plenty of time to get things done. It seemed like a nice, easy afternoon. I met with my 2:00 appointment, and we ended our meeting with an agreement to meet this morning to talk about a few poems he was having difficulty with--he's an international student whose first language isn't English. We walked down the hall to the photocopier so that I could bring home copies of the poem to prepare for our meeting, and I sent him on his way. As I rounded the corner to come back to my office, my phone was ringing, but I wasn't quick enough to catch it. I began to futz on the computer until the voicemail light began to glow, and then I checked the voicemail, which was from Admissions. The Admissions counselor noted that email was a good way to keep in touch on the particular topic, so I sent her a quick email update and got back to work. I was certain the time-stamp on the voicemail said 2:46. After what felt like an hour or so, I looked up to see the minute-hand on my clock at :50. To me, it seemed logical that it was approaching 4, given the time of the voicemail, so I began to gather my things to head home--I have to leave my office on the hour to walk to the train. I rode home with a colleague in the Politics department but was bummed when H didn't turn up on the train platform to ride with us. We'd exchanged emails when I arrived at noon to note that we would ride the 4:25 train together on the way home. C and I said goodbye and headed our separate ways in the city. I decided to call Anne to check on her ETA. It was at this point that I noticed my blunder... It was, then, 4:25, not 5:25. I was in denial about my phone having the correct time, but my watch agreed. I called H, who immediately asked where I was. Yeeeaaah. I actually misread my clock. I left an hour early. All because I thought the call from Admissions came in at 2:45. I fully intended to stay till 4, and had I known my mistake before arrive in Chicago, I would have gone back to my office (okay, not if I'd walked all the way to the train, but if I'd figured it out relatively quickly). Quite embarrassing, I tell you! I'm looking at the wall clock in my office right now, and I actually have to squint to tell where the hour hand is...is it 11? Or, is it noon? Perhaps the clock should be closer to my desk. :P Hey, at least I have my blindness as an excuse for my stupidity. I did get home early enough to cook dinner, though.

Incidentally, going back to check, I sent my reply to the Admissions Counselor at 2:26. I don't know what I could have heard on that voicemail, but it clearly wasn't 2:46 when I listened to it.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

(Don't take that subject line as a cue to start singing holiday songs. I'll have NONE OF THAT until after my birthday, thankyouverymuch.)

I love this time of year. The leaves are so many different shades of beautiful, and with the college town's tree-lined streets, walking around campus is, for the most part, a joyful experience. I love these cool temperatures and the smell of leaves. Plus, Halloween is just plain fun. Candy and costumes? Can you really go wrong there?

BUT! I don't want to neglect the most wonderful thing about this wonderful time of year...

It's new phone book day!

...

*crickets*

...

Yes, folks, the campus phone book arrived in my mailbox today, and I'm rejoicing! Because I'm that kind of geek.

You see, I'm all about spaces and maps. I love them. And, looking through the information about my colleagues fascinates me. I look to see where they live. For the people who live in Chicago, I place their addresses on the map in my mind, pondering their train stops, walking distances to the trains, and neighborhoods. I'm a very visual-spatial person, and this is right up my alley. So, I sit and read the phone book. I've done it for years. The white pages are fine, but it's more interesting when I know the people, like a campus phone book (did this as a student, too). I'm disappointed when I find a colleague's home address isn't listed.

The other thing I find interesting about a phone book like this one is the relationships. "Learn to pretend there's more than love that matters" isn't my favorite quote for nothing. I like to see when people list their partners, and for couples who work here, who does and who doesn't list their partners.

I'm not interested in memorizing addresses or spouses names or trick-or-treating and the homes of the college faculty. I just like to think about places and people.

I've already spent 45 minutes with my nose in the new phone book. I'm far from done. :)

I'm leaching internet from a hotel I'm not staying at. Charlotte, Day 1

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
5pm EST

It's Tuesday afternoon. Here I am in Charlotte. Le sigh. The two hours I've been here have been dragging on, and I can only imagine how long it's going to take to get to Saturday. OMG. I arrived in North Carolina on Saturday afternoon, and I spent through Tuesday lunch with my friend Lisa, her husband, and their two kids (ages 1 1/2 and 3 weeks). It was fantastic. It was slow-paced and full of baby time. We ate ice cream, drank coffee, and cuddled their kids. Plus, I even found a Cubs game on tv.

Now, I'm in Charlotte, were I'll be for a national work conference. Ho hum. I'm staying at a posh hotel for a good rate, which work is paying (trust me...when a guy inquired about a room while I was checking in, I heard the average room rate is something like $300+. Yikes!). And, for all the money they pull into this hotel, nothing's free. I don't have a fridge in my room, and there's no microwave available in the hotel for guest use. I asked. An ethernet cable has been provided for my laptop, but it costs $10 per day (24 hour period) for internet access in the hotel). I'll be spending a lot of time at the chain coffee shop down the block, where I'll drink too much coffee while I check my email. And breakfast? At that coffee shop, too, or the Pop Tarts I bought at the tiny drug store up the road. There's no continental breakfast at Posh Hotel. Again with the endless cups of coffee, where I can get a bagel for less than $5. Oh, sorry, I was mistaken; bagels are $3.25 from Room Service.

After doing a little unpacking and hanging up my business casual wear for the conference, I headed the two blocks down to the convention center hosting the conference, where they're also having a trade show. I walked through the damn lobby three times before I figured out that the "registration foyer" where my registration took place was on the SECOND floor. (Counter-intuitive much?) No signs. And did I mention I requested conference material in large print...my conference packet is in regular-size font.

Plus, it's like a million humid degrees here. Where Lisa and her babies aren't. Where my lovely girlfriend is not.

And I've been told by my lovely girlfriend there's no point getting on the damn internet; all the Harry Potter spoilers are out there. Goddamn. Getting on the internet was one of the few things I had to look forward to tonight.

There is a little reception happening at the convention center this evening, but I think I'm going to pass. I don't know anyone here (yet), and I hate mingling with strangers. I'm not sure the free food is even much of a trade off.

After all, I have my Pop Tarts.