waterkant

tulips and food and friendship

waterkant — Sun, 08 May 2011 18:26:10 +0000

It was a lovely vacation with my dear friend and her family. La Primera enjoyed it a lot, especially hanging out with my friend’s two sons. The older one loved her as well. The younger one struggled a bit that he was suddenly not the little one anymore but La Primera.

We went to Keukenhof which was beautiful.

Besides that we just talked and talked and talked. I miss having her living two blocks away like in the good ol’ times of my graduate studies. I am glad that she lives on this side of the big pond again, but unfortunately they will leave again next year.

I am wondering why I do not travel to see her more often, or at least call her on a regular basis. Our friendship, however, has never been based much on calling each other regularly, it is more about seeing each other, spending time together.

Unfortunately and as alwaysTime went by way too quickly, and if traveling by train with a toddler and luggage would not be so troublesome I would go there again next weekend.

longing for vacation…

waterkant — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:47:33 +0000

It is funny how quickly one turns into the cliché of a teacher: just waiting for the vacation to start. And I do not even have that many classes to teach.

I am looking forward to go to the Netherlands for a couple of days and visit friends of mine. Luckily I have no exams to grade. A couple of days before this trip I will attend a conference and present a paper.This feels a little bit weired. I wrote the paper some months ago, while i was still a SAH mom, and felt more like an ABD than a teacher. This has changed. I sort of feel home at school, feel most of the time comfortable teaching (and thus have only received positive feedback from my advisors) – and academia is so so so far away. I will read the paper again on the trip to the conference. It will be interesting to read it with so much distance.

# 354

waterkant — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:30:58 +0000

And suddenly it is the end of March. I had thought that starting the Referendariat would make me finally become a more regular writer again, but quite the contrary. Orientation week was hellish – suddenly I was away from home for 12, 13 hours. I was relieved that La Primera (lets name The New Cohabitant this way and see if that fits) adjusted so well – she and Mi Marido (ah well, how about a new name for The Husband as well) had a good time.

Teaching is fun and work. Some classes are more fun than others. I am constantly thinking about the next teaching unit. And I am like a cliché teacher – I long for the vacation. I long for sorting papers. The files on my desk grow and grow and grow each time In turn around.

And suddenly

waterkant — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:42:08 +0000

I am a working mom. Orientation week starts tomorrow and I am excited and wondering how everything will turn out. I enjoyed the last month home with our baby who in a couple of days will turn into a toddler, and infant and no longer be a baby anymore.

Wow. The last 12 months just flew by so quickly it is hard to find words that can describe my thoughts.

2010 in review

waterkant — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 10:09:25 +0000

Gained or lost weight?
Lost. A lot

Longer or shorter hair?
Shorter. Much shorter.

More nearsighted or farsighted?
Has not changed noticeably.

More or less money?
About the same.

Spent more or less?
More as we are three now.

Moved more or less?
More.

The most crack-brained plan?
Quoting last year:
“Finishing my thesis through staring at the screen?
Finishing my thesis while being online?”
adding
“Finishing my thesis with the New Cohabitant?”

The most dangerous action/adventure?
None.

The best sex?
Oh well…

The most expensive purchase?
The New Cohabitant.

The most delicious meal?
Easter and Christmas dinner with the parents and siblings in OurCity.
Lots of our cooking throughout the year was very delicious as well.

The most impressive book?
Did not read much.

The most moving/touching/best movie?
The best CD?
The most beautiful concert?

Spent the most time with …?
The New Cohabitant.

Spent the loveliest time with …?
The New Cohabitant.

Prevailing emotion in 2010?
Quoting last year:
“Is it already again February March April May June July August September October November December – what, already 2011? I though we are still in January, January 2010 that is.”

Did for the first time in 2010?
Given birth.

After a longer pause did … again in 2010?

Three things I would have done without?
Physical problems. Procrastination and laziness. An uninterested thesis advisor.

The most important thing I wanted someone to convince of?

The most beautiful present I made someone?
Love, friendship, support, trust, kindness.

The most beautiful present I received?
Love, friendship, support, trust, kindness.

The most beautiful sentence someone said to me?
I am so happy to be married to you.

The most beautiful sentence someone I said to someone?
I am so happy to be married to you.

2010 was – expressed in one word …?
Wonderful.

And another Meme:

What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
Given birth.

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I do not make New Year’s resolutions – I switched to New-Months resolutions some years ago: each month a goal like going swimming for x times or so. But this year was so full of events that I did not stick to that and stopped after some months. However, I will start again and already know my resolution for next month.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
S. gave birth to a daughter, after a miscarriage last year, and everything is fine.

Did anyone close to you die?
This year luckily not.

What countries did you visit?
None.

What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A finished thesis.

What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day the New Cohabitant arrived and moved in with us.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Enjoying the moment, not planning too much in advance.

What was your biggest failure?
Taking so much energy to let go that I did not finish the thesis and probably never will.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Sort of.

What was the best thing you bought?
A dryer.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My aunt’s.

Whose behavior merited celebration? Why?
My parents. They are so supportive.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The New Cohabitant.

What songs/artists will always remind you of 2010?
“Wir lagen vor Madagaskar” – the New Cohabitant LOVES this song and falls asleep immeditaley.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? About the same.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Napping.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying. Regretting.

How did you spend Christmas?
24th: cooking with The Husband and The New Cohabitant.
25th: cooking pumpkin soup, goose with potatoes and red cabbage, and dessert for our parents and siblings
26th: getting sick.

Did you fall in love in 2010?
Yes. Every day over and over again.

What was your favorite TV program?
Political news magazines and political cabaret

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I do not hate. Luckily.

What was the best book you read?
Did not read that much…

What was your greatest musical discovery?

What did you want and get?
A New Cohabitant

What was your favorite film of this year?

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Enjoyed the company of The Husand

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finished thesis.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Comfortable.

What kept you sane?
My parents, two or three mothers from the birth preparation class.

Whom did you miss?
K, A, all my friends abroad.

Who was the best new person you met?
R.

December 31st

waterkant — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:13:19 +0000

The year ends not as planned, with me sick first and then the New Cohabitant our traveling plans have to be changed.
Thanks to the help of my parents we finished the book project, sent in the document, and can enjoy the evening with a glass of champagne.

Read: “Dreams From My Father. A Story of Race and Inheritance”

waterkant — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:41:06 +0000

“Dreams From My Father. A Story of Race and Inheritance” by Barack Obama.
Published in 2007 by Canongate Books, 442 pages

This year can be labeled as the year that I read the least since being able to read (I do not count literature about babies and supplementary food).

I finally finally finished Obama’s biography – I had started it in February and it was in my purse the day I suddenly was told to go to the hospital immediately to have The New Cohabitant. When I picked it up again it felt so foreign to me, like a keepsake from the past – and coincidentally I had stopped around chapter 19 – where Granny starts telling Barack the life story of is father.

It is an interesting read indeed, and I enjoyed the book.

Not from the preface and not from the introduction but chapter one, the first three sentences:

“A few months after my twenty-first birthday, a stranger called to give me the news. I was living in New York at the time, on Ninety-fourth between Second and First, part of that unnamed, shifting border between East Harlem and the rest of Manhattan. It was an uninviting block, treeless and barren, lined with soot-colored walk-ups that cast heavy shadows for most of the day.”

what a strange strange world

waterkant — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:20:03 +0000

Last week The Husband and I attended a conference – together with the New Cohabitant.

It was so – strange. Familiar and foreign at the same time. I met so many people that I know for – what – how long am I stuck in academia by now – six, seven years?! We meet one or two times a year at various conferences, and the last time I saw them was about a year ago. So much has happened in this year – giving birth and all the processes that were released by becoming a mother. Not being employed at the university anymore. Being a SAH mom – there are hardly any female researchers in my field, and the few who actually hold professorships have no kids.

My advisor was there as well and she hugged me and I was so happy to see her. It is very unlikely that I will finish this PhD anytime soon or at all and I guess I need to talk with her about it, but that was not the right time.

The New Cohabitant who needs a better name soon is a wonderful show-around-baby. Smiling, happy, never crying at occasions like this.

The Husband and I split attending the workshops but as I am still nursing it was me who stayed at the room with the baby in the evenings. And honestly – that is the fun part of each conference.

It was stressful. But worth it. And still- I am wondering if I want to become part of this world again or not. Much to think about.

Warten auf Godot

waterkant — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:35:21 +0000

at least that’s how I feel. Not knowing what I want to do career wise, waiting for the Referendariat to begin, drowning in papers and preparation and unfinished projects and sorting through the backups of backups of backups – I never took the time to organize all my backups when the hard disk crashed a year ago. So now I do and I am facing just too many files and folders from various computers I had.

And I fucked up writing a thesis royally.

Two steps forward, one step back

waterkant — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:43:21 +0000

at least that’s how it feels. On Thursday I was working on relearning the basics. I am amazed how much time I had before the New Cohabitant moved in, and how thriftlessly I made use of all that time. Now I need to make sure I am not wasting the precious time I have for myself. With blogging, for example.

Friday, however, I had to run s lot of little errants like proofreading an article. Which unfortunately made me realize that there is a mistake in an article that is currently in the print. Nothing that will change the course of the world. Not that my academic field would be capable of that anyway. The mistake is something along the line “Hoboken Daily Paper’s headline on March 8th 1984 stated that grass is green (author date page).” Now I found the archive paper and no, the headline does not exists, and grass is not green but has various shades of green and yellow and brown. I _could_ have checked that, but I believed author. And that bothers me. A lot.

But then I spent time with the New Cohabitant and a smile makes everything irrelevant.