We just rolled out of the Melting Pot after celebrating a belated birthday dinner for Mr. T and our dear friend, Debi. Somehow, I think this permits me to forego writing a smart introduction and just say: Happy Thursday 13, here are some more confessions. What can I say? Chocolate fondue is impeding my writing abilities. (Maybe that's a confession in and of itself?) In any case...
1. I find eggs icky. As I picked out the scramblers from my pad Thai leftovers this afternoon, I remembered just how much I dislike eggs. The flavor. The consistency. The salmonella potential. From eggs, we get slurpy, ick-factor dishes like custard, quiche and flan. I just can't deal. Most of my problems relate to the yolks though. I have been known to scoop out the innards of a deviled egg and with precision knife-work, extract the runny yolk from a duo of Eggs Benedict.
2. The exception: Egg salad. I love egg salad. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.
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Mine never gets this dirty. Sidenote: Check out this awesome gallery
of dirty car art by Scott Wade. |
3. My car gets washed, on average, every 9 months. Sad, but true. I'm always surprised to find out how different the color is once layers of grit and grime get sloughed away.
4. I despise election years. I know I mentioned this in my last Confessions post, but it bears repeating. Besides the bashing and gnashing and ridiculous Facebook commentary, I hate to think of the millions and billions of dollars going to waste in advertising campaigns. Let's do something constructive with that money!
5. I didn't vote for president in the last two elections. And I might abstain again. I know, I know. Close that gaping mouth. But I just didn't/don't feel comfortable supporting a candidate I don't agree with. To me, it feels a lot like how Southpark so colorfully described the 2004 debates, ahem.
6. Wax lips are the best. My sister sent Mr. T a fantastic "Mr. Tea" birthday mug (complete with mustachio, see here) and she included big red wax lips for me. Did you guys chew on these as a kid, too? Please tell me we weren't the only ones. (For the record, I think this photo traumatized Mr. T.)
7. I can smell Fall before it gets here. It's a gardening thing. I can't tell you what it is, but I can seriously smell the season changing when I'm puttering around out back this time of year. (Yeah, I recognize that the previous sentences make me sound like a looney toon. But you probably knew that already.)
8. Applying for academic jobs terrifies me. The academic job market starts up in earnest in the Fall. Around September, most schools with open positions start advertising them widely, inviting people "on the market," like me, to apply all at once. This typically involves compiling a bunch of documents including but not limited to: CV, application letter (your awesomeness in a nutshell), teaching portfolio, research agenda, and letters of recommendation. The process asks you to bear your soul somewhat--what you do, who you are, where you're heading and how you plan to get there. And the hard part, for me anyway... knowing the competition. And in a lot of instances, liking them quite a bit. For example, my friends at school? Several of us are all applying for the same gigs. Although we won't want it to, I expect it to get a bit awkward as time goes on. Eh, we'll see. I'm mostly worried about laying myself bear and having no one want me. (Remember what I said about fearing failure in my very first "Confession" post?)
9. I may single-handedly keep Hallmark in business. This year, I only got T three birthday cards. Only. I've been known to send them to his office, hide them in luggage when he's going on trips, leave them around when I'm going on trips. I send them to friends and family, even when they don't appreciate the humor (ahem, Brenda*, I'm talking to you.). I'm even known to send snail mail thank you cards. I love, love, love stationery and I hope that cards never go the way of the dodo.
10. I'm a published author! If you type "Malvini Redden" into Google Scholar, you will actually find something! I was delighted to find that my first solo academic publication came out online a couple weeks ago. I'll be writing a post about it (of course), but in the mean time, feel free to read the abstract of "How Lines Organize Compulsory Interaction, Emotion Management, and 'Emotional Taxes': The Implication of Passenger Emotion and Expression in Airport Security Lines." What sounds really dry is really a study of how we interact in airport security lines. If you want to read the full article, do let me know by emailing: bluestmuse(at) gmail(dot)com
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| Aboard the USS Nimitz in Hawaii. |
11. Long hairs, I miss them! Don't tell T, but I'm ready to have my long hair back now. I did the bob-chop last May and now I'm in that no-fun mid-length zone. (Ladies, you know what I'm talking about.)
12. Basic math boggles me sometimes. After spending so much time on doctoral work, I really feel like some of my practical knowledge is slipping away. Case in point: basic addition and multiplication. If you want to figure out the tip at a restaurant, I am not your girl. I study qualitative methods for a reason, people.
13. I'm getting an iphone 5. Like, tomorrow! T managed to be one of the lucky few who ordered early enough that our phones shipped last weekend and should, according to calculations, be here by the end of the week. Squee! (Now, I'm pretty sure my current phone has heard me talk about all the iphone hubbub because it started boycotting text messages last week. Coincidence? I think not.)
xoxo,
shawna
Related Links:
Confessions Volume I
Confessions Volume II
Confessions Volume III
Confessions Volume IV, Thanksgiving edition
Confessions Volume VI
* Is this not the most hilarious card, ever? I sent it to my sister and she didn't get it. I, however, laughed in the grocery store where I bought it, when she told me at dinner how weird she thought it was, and just now when I found it online.Labels: academia, Confessions, dirty car art, eggs, emotional, iphone5, Lists, personal, Randomness, taxes, Thursday 13
