chicago '08

driving through northern indiana yesterday, I listened to an alleged 'all motown weekend' on an oldies radio station. they played some good stuff- a little stevie, some jackson 5. then, out of nowhere, they played the bee-gees. the bee-gees weren't on motown, were they? it doesn't seem right.

I am ranked by both tracks in new haven!! and in 28 days until we find out if I am ranked high enough to get matched. the match rules stipulate that the sites cannot tell me how I rank on their list, only whether or not I made it onto the list. what a crazy game to play! I am always afraid of saying something against the rules. I pushed the envelope when I wrote "an optimal match for my training and interests" on a thank you card.

our new niece was no disappointment. she's tiny (6.5 lbs.) and makes lots of funny facial expressions.

Hugsband made paneer murgh tonight. translated, that's cheese in butter sauce. I begged for some spinach or a single pea to break up the fats, but he was unrelenting. it was divine, but now none of my pants fit. while we ate, we watched TV. according to the channel guide, juggling was on some sports station. Hugsband got all wound up and kept flipping around trying to find it. he was easily distracted, giggling at sponge bob, yelling excitedly, "AVP out!! never before seen scenes!! that's because no one went to see it!!!", making fun of that princess who wants to be a country star, and cracking himself up. he never found juggling. I don't know why ESPN 2, or whatever it is, doesn't play more juggling and scrabble and those other shows that are infinitely more interesting than the usual sports crap. they would make my Hugsband a very happy man.

Hugsband and I walked on clear creek trail today. about 20 brillantly colored bluebirds were in the fields and flew across our path.  

I got a new niece last night. good work, Dana & Zack! we will see her next weekend. I should be old enough to understand these things better, but every time someone close to me has a baby, I am still in shock. even if I saw the mom grow bigger with pregnancy, I am still dumbfounded when the child is actually here. I can't get used to the idea that 2 people on their own can add a third individual to the world in 9 short months. or, in Jessie's case, 8. pictures forthcoming.

usually when Simon is whistling up a storm he's looking into his mirror. this morning he ran through his entire repertoire. when I went to talk to him, I found him looking into his water dish, singing to his reflection. when he looks at something lower than eye level, he turns his head sideways and then looks down with one eye. he always looks wary when he does that. good ole buddy, warily singing to himself.

I declared a personal snow day this morning and stayed home from yoga. now I'm bored and my muscles need stretching. what I really needed to do was take a shower, go to my office, and do some writing. what I really did was watch the end of a buffy rerun and part of 'ambush makeover' and make a curry for tonight's dinner. 'ambush makeover' makes me really mad. stupid fox. I miss teaching classes because my undergrads would talk about 'the O.C.' with me. now my mom and I are the only people I know who watch, and she only likes to talk about how stupid it is. she's right, I know.

I have some totally rad pictures to post, but flickr is dead.

instead, here's a substitute teaching story as told to me by Hugsband (note- these are 7th grade students):
this kid was teasing a girl, and it was pretty good natured. she insulted him, but it was just something like 'dork'. he said, 'why don't you get off your back and do something for a change!' all of the kids seated by them started giggling. when they started laughing, it was like a light went on in the kid's head and he said, 'oh, I heard that on TV.' he looked incredibly embarrassed. apparently, he hadn't realized what the phrase meant.

it's refreshing to hear stories about naive adolescents.

once I went up to simon and tried to kiss the top of his head. when I leaned in, he bit my lip hard. I yelped and left the room. a few seconds later, when he started to feel guilty, he said, "Yoo-hoo! I love you." people don't say "yoo-hoo" enough. I really like the sound of it.

I sent, like, 500 thank you cards this month. internship interview etiquette dictates that candidates send a thank you to each person with whom they interview. that averages to about 6-8 per site. isn't that ridiculous? I also sent notes to the families and teachers who participated in my dissertation research. by the end, I was copying the same trite lines into each card. "Yoo-hoo, [insert faculty's name here], your site is totally rad. please pick me. are you gonna? if so, check this box and give it back to me. love, rachel"

Hugsband and I had a book swap this week. we both read "watership down" and "three junes". if you love "watership down", maybe don't see the cartoon. it was mediocre and many of the best parts of the book were left out entirely.

simon is obsessed with cardboard boxes. he likes to sit in them and try to bring them down from the inside. lately, we've taken to putting him in his box while we have dinner. safely inside his box, he's much less messy. it's especially funny when he's sitting on my hand and clearly wants to be in his box. he stretches his neck in the direction of the box and flaps his wings as if he is flying himself there.

and here it is. coffee cake, strata (a savory bread pudding with gorgonzola, tomato, rosemary, and mushroom), and fruit.

on a food note, we had some friends over for brunch today. it may be my favorite meal to hostess. Hugsband made brown sugar & oatmeal coffeecake and a lovely strata.

as much as I loved chapel hill & new haven, this is the only picture I took in either place. it's a portrait from our hotel room. the caption, which was posted upside down, read "father and son". Hugsband thought it was husband & wife. I just think it's creepy.

this is ChimChim & Todd's dog, Skinner. he has a very funny personality. he liked to put his paws on our knees when we were seated on the couch. he'd move his paws up and down repeatedly, like patty-cake.

Hugsband is pretty camera shy, but I think he looks extra cute here. we stayed with my friend ChimChim and her husband while in Baltimore. that's one of his paintings in the background.

I honestly expected to spend the rest of the week in D.C.'s Dulles Airport. I won't recount all of the airport horrors I endured this week, but I will say that I ended up part of a ragtag group of stranded travelers: the socially awkward man with doctorates in both finance and engineering, the highly anxious Purdue student who just returned from India, and me. Somehow we navigated a system that seemed designed to anger and infuriate us. Go team!

I had an amazing time touring world-class facilities and meeting renowned psychologists, but I don't ever want to wear my suits or talk about my dissertation again. I learned something disturbing at UNC. Patients who need organ transplants are first given a cognitive assessment. Those who do especially poorly (mental retardation range) may not make it onto a waiting list to get an organ. Happily, if I go to UNC, I won't be doing those sorts of assessments anyway. I loved Chapel Hill, though. It was hilly and full of trees.

haven't seen John Waters, but there really are pink flamingos EVERYWHERE. well, not everywhere- but in more places than I would deem necessary.

we really liked New Haven. I drove straight through NYC and only saw the city from I-95. only two more interviews to go!! today I got the incredible news that I get to interview with Eric Schopler, autism guy extraordinaire.

for those of you who liked the artwork I got for Christmas, you can find Jen Corace's stuff here.

this is one of my favorite presents ever. my stepmom ordered it from Motel Gallery for me (per Hugsband's suggestion, no doubt).

Anyone who knows me is aware that Hugsband is much, much more into videogames than I. However, we have 2 new ones that are fun.

#1- Dance Dance Revolution Extreme: Excellent when un-extreme DDR is no longer satisfying. A poor choice late at night when our neighbors are trying to watch a movie in their living room. Songs by Pet Shop Boys and Duran Duran!! It's like the makers contacted me in middle school and asked me to choose songs. And I got a "Magnificent" the other day. That's even better than "Perfect".

#2- Katamari Damacy: Finally a non-dancing game that does not require me to use complicated combos 'cuz I can't. And it's crazy!

I returned from New England last night. That's how everyone I met referred to the area, and I did eat some Indian food that reminded me of a dish I once had in England. The towns had funny names like "Wadpole" and "Pawtuck". Regrettably, I never made it into Boston's city limits. I flew in and out of Providence, RI and drove the half an hour to Norwood, MA. It felt like traveling to Chicago but never making it past Blue Island (or, if you prefer, L.A. and Simi Valley).

Hugsband and I leave for Connecticut in the morning! I found what promises to be the best pizza in New Haven, thanks to Michael Stern's Road Food website. I would link to it, but blogger seems to hate Mac. Is it a bad sign that I haven't bothered to research the faculty who will interview me, but I know who has the best pizza?

me: What are you thinking about? You're smiling from ear to ear.

him: You know what I'm going to do when we buy a car next time? Act ****ing crazy to throw the guy off. I am going to have you tell the salesman that you're my interpreter. But he'll totally hear us speaking English to each other. We'll be whispering, but he can hear enough to tell that I speak English. Then, he'll be like 'you people are nuts' and too weirded out to rob us blind.

me: That's funny because I was thinking that you should do the dishes.

Usually when Hugsband is thinking of something it's how to respond if someone starts a fight with him. He's never been in a fight but has 29 years worth of awesome strategies to test out.