Something New Every Day

I learned something new the other day at the middle school varsity volleyball game. We usually lose because we don't have a gym or a volleyball court, so practice is harder, but I went anyway to support the girls. More than half of the team is in my advisory (homeroom), and it was an early game; it was supposed to start at 4:00, and since no one is ever able to return the ball after the serve, the games end pretty quickly (they play to 21).

But the team was playing as well as I'd ever seen. Their serves have improved a lot since last year, and there was much less shrinking from the ball. They still need to work on calling it (all my memories of middle school volleyball center around yells of "I got" and, more commonly, "Help!"), but they're making progress. The team also seemed happy: excited, but loose, confident but not about winning, just about playing the game. I remarked to a girl sitting on the sidelines, "You guys are playing well tonight," and she said, "Yeah, you're our good luck charm."

This is the part where I learned something new. I thought that her comment was sweet, if silly, until she added, "Chinese people are good luck." ??? I made a face at her and she said, "You never heard that before?" I told her no, I hadn't, and she sort of repeated the point for emphasis. I said, "So me and my whole family are just good luck all the time?" This seemed to provoke a bit of thought. She modified her position: "Well, not all the time, just some."

Since it can be hard to read tone through the blog medium, I'd like to be clear that I am not offended at all by this exchange. But I am really puzzled. Where do they get these ideas? Who believes this? Is it a weird thing in her family? Is it an African American thing? Since they don't really distinguish between East Asians, do they also believe that Koreans and Japanese people are good luck? What kind of a question is that last one?

Anyway, I have never heard this one before. I'd love to know if you have.

We Were There!

As you have probably heard, we, the people of the United States of America, have just elected our first black President. I think it was Michael Beschloss who remarked that in time, people will probably not think immediately of his race when they think of Barack Obama, just as most people now do not automatically associate JFK with his Catholic background. But it was a 7th grade girl at my school who wrote (I will have to get an exact quote for you) that to see an African American get elected President is inspiring and hopeful and a whole slew of adjectives that I did not expect an 11-year-old to know.

Patrick and I were in Grant Park, here in Chicago, on Election Night. Mayor Daley's projection of one million attendees was a bit high; I think they're reporting 250,000 at the Obama rally. All the same, it was amazing. Unpatriotic coastal elitist that I am, I keep thinking of Claude Monet's painting of Paris (La Rue Montorgueil), decked out for the International Exhibition of 1878. Though there were no French flags at Tuesday's event, the air was palpably festive. It was really something to see the human flood swelling through Michigan Avenue and all its tributary streets, and to be surrounded by people laughing, crying, singing in celebration.

I wish that I could feel an untempered joy and hope in all this. I am happy, and hopeful, and my eyes well up often with the magic of this moment in history. But I'm not the only one who sees more tough times ahead, and the living legacy of all that is behind us. There were shouts of "loser" and worse when McCain's name came up at the Obama rally (my students also noticed how white the crowd at McCain's rally was, and how emphatically they booed Obama, despite McCain's message of support), and while I had hoped that people would be filled with Obama's focus on hope, unity, and change, I suppose our tribal needs and instincts are as strong as ever.

At school, too, this came through. Girls ran through the halls the morning after Election Day, screaming "Obama!!" in jubilation and innocent delight. Yet for many girls, the excitement of the election seemed quickly drowned out by sisters moving away, parents getting divorces, and the rest of everyday life that is so hard for them to grow up with. Worse, I heard about African American students saying to a white girl (who has been picked on for many reasons before this), "We're going to beat you up. You voted for McCain, didn't you?" (Never mind that they are all 13 and can't vote.)

On an intellectual level, I am intrigued by the idea of social change. How does it happen? That from one generation to the next, centuries-old abominations become acceptable? And even harder, that acts, institutions, whole groups of people go from acceptable to normal? What role do individuals play, as outsiders and as insiders? Does anyone have any control over the pace or direction of change?

On an emotional level, I am distraught by all of the problems and inequities that persist in spite of everything we have. Listening to Obama's story about 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper, I was inspired by how much has changed in her lifetime. But it seems like we shift more than we change. There is always a winner, always a loser, always a need for power and a concept of The Other.

I hope that over the course of my life, I come to terms with humanity. My greatest hope for the next administration is that it will bring out our best capacities to be thoughtful and rational, to work toward common goals, and to care for one another and our planet.

Mixed Reviews

I'm grading portfolios from my 8th grade math class. You have to read this:

"The best part of math is learning how to do a new lesson and playing games with the class. I also like when I raise my hand to say an answer and I'm wrong, because then I learn how to do something the right way and that's what I really like about my math class. And I also like that fact that Ms. Louie and other students take their own time to explain how to do something because that also helps me understand my work better."

I love this quote because Olivia is new to our school this year, she's not outspoken in class, and she generally comes across as kind of shy. But here she shows such boldness and such a spirit of learning. This is so exciting!

Of course, one of her peers wrote something about how there is too much "violence" in our class. I have no idea what she means, but I take her at her word that this is how she feels. Not so positive. Requires some investigation, there.

Early voted yesterday. Woohoo! The polling place was busy, too. Only 9 days left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pace of Change

Did you all catch the VP debate last week? I was a bit disappointed. Poor Gwen Ifill couldn't do much more than she did, I guess, given the rules set up by the campaigns (no follow-up questions??). I saw her on Washington Week the day after the debate and she seemed to have really hated the experience; at least, she was very relieved that it was over. As is the McCain campaign.

The 8th grade Humanities teacher at my school gave students an assignment to watch the debate and write down "Wow Statements" for each candidate on issues that the students themselves selected. Not surprisingly, in my reading group the next morning, many of the students had not done this homework (though they said they had watched the debate; not sure if that's true), so I took the opportunity to talk to them about some positions. One we discussed was gay marriage. Three years ago, when the issue of homosexuality came up in my then-reading group (7th graders), the mood was overwhelmingly anti-gay; the Bible says it's wrong, that's sick, I wouldn't be friends with someone who is gay, etc. The year after, I had many of the same girls (as 8th graders), and they showed a little more tolerance. One girl talked about how her uncle had come out and how that had changed her attitude about gayness.

This year, in talking about gay marriage, the girls explicitly connected homophobia to racism, without any prompting from me. We talked about visitation rights and they clearly said that they didn't think that was right. They were pleased that Biden believes in equal rights, and even went farther, saying you should be able to marry whoever you want. One girl said she was sorry for gay people, showing a level of sympathy that I never expected from her.

We still have a lot of issues around homosexuality at the school. Kids start rumors that other kids are gay, which hurts a lot. Then there was the absolute disgust that one 7th grader expressed to me about the flyers around the school for a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting. Maybe it's also true that the school itself, rather than any broader community, alters students' attitudes somewhat.

My data pool is ridiculously small, so obviously, any conclusions are far from robust. But I'm willing to take it as reason for optimism.

A New Post!

Hello again!

I haven't posted in a while, and I realize I am in danger of losing my readership, so here's a little update.

Short term: Patrick and I went back to Cali for cousin Keri's wedding. Our first wedding as a married couple! It was fun--but not as much fun as ours. They probably have the same feeling, but in reverse. I didn't know Keri was such a party girl. At Auntie Di's instigation, we tried to yell when they came to our table as loudly as the UCSD table had. We gave it a good effort, but I don't think we succeeded. Maybe if I could've gotten Josh to drink a little more. That champagne sure was sweet.

Also, on Friday we had an epic meal at Mayflower. 2 orders of yee mein (my mom says the name of it is short for yee fu mein, after Yee Fu who invented it) and FIFTY ONE plates of dim sum. For 9 people. Obviously, we didn't finish it.

We also watched the first presidential debate. I am so, like, "Whatever, John McCain." Apparently Obama scored major points by convincing many undecided Americans that he is competent and experienced enough to be Commander-in-Chief. Other than that, my only remark it that it is a real shame that John McCain feels it necessary to go around lying about his record as well as Obama's. When Obama cited McCain's record during the debate, voting the vast majority of the time against renewable energy, McCain claimed to have consistently supported solar power; afterward, the PBS pundits called that statement "a howler." That's nothing next to his lying ads about Obama supporting sex ed for kindergarteners (he actually supported legislation to educate kids about avoiding sexual predators). For someone whose cornerstone is supposed to be integrity, this is just crap. (It would be crap from someone whose cornerstone is supposed to be crap, too, just to be clear.)

I signed up to make phone calls for Obama. I don't feel like it's even necessary at this point (and it's hard; the nicest of the people I've talked to so far couldn't really talk because he was in the middle of having an ear infection!). But it would be so great if lots and lots of people really supported an administration, any administration, instead of being so divided.

How about that Sarah Palin? She just doesn't know anything, does she! And she still manages to be offensive and divisive. This reflects rather poorly on McCain's judgment, I have to say. Did he talk to her at all before he made that decision? I imagine an interview that had three questions: 1) Do you have executive experience? 2) Are you really a woman? 3) Have you ever seen Russia and/or killed a moose? (That last one was the clincher, since she's done both!!)

On the plus side, this whole campaign has reawakened my interest in TV news, which I had previously given up on as chock full of really bad news, weak analysis, and sappy, meaningless good news. I have newfound respect for Katie Couric. I think she is at least as qualified to be VP as Governor Palin.

How about our financial crisis? I just hope this means I can afford to own a home in California one day.

Speaking of California, I'm applying to grad school this year. It's kind of stressful. Mostly, my eyes get tired from staring at the computer screen for so many hours of GRE prep, researching programs online, and filling out my name AGAIN. Couldn't they create some kind of Common Application, for at least the basics? It's been interesting to note, also, the way the different schools break down their solicitation of demographic information. Vanderbilt wants to know if I'm Asian. All the California schools give me the choice of Chinese American. One of them, I think it was Stanford, let me pick two (or would have, if I'd had two to pick).

Well I guess you're probably really reading this so you can see some more wedding photos. Go to collage.net. The username is Iber and the password is the day of my birthday (without the month) times 214 plus 17. That should deter those creepy strangers! If you still can't figure it out, email me and I'll forward the link to you.

Favorite Pre-Wedding Photos

Still waiting on our pro to share some pictures from the wedding. In the meantime, here are the highlights from our photo shoot in San Francisco with Uncle Garth and my dad.


Above: Fog obscures the Golden Gate Bridge.
Below: Smashing imaginary cake amidst the nasturtiums (by the Bridge).


Below: In front of the Chihuly at the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Wedding Frenzy!

I'm not sure how to start, so I guess I'll just throw up a picture from my wedding shower in May. It was a very special day, thanks to all the work that my dad's sisters put into it. The invitations alone were mind-blowing. The cake was probably one of the best I've ever had; the cake layers themselves, not just their cream or filling, were mango and green tea flavored! So here's me looking silly while my mom, my maid of honor, and my aunt put a hat on me. The hat is a paper plate with a hole through the middle, stuffed with ribbons from shower gifts. It actually turned out to be kind of cute! You can sort of see my "dress" as well--my mom made that one out of toilet paper and something like two pieces of tape. Everyone was surprised by how ingenious her tape-conservation ideas were, and it even looked okay (for the five minutes that it stayed on!).

And here's a picture from Steve and Sanne's wedding, two weeks before mine and Patrick's (and in Berkeley also). It's not a great exposure, but I kind of like the way Sanne glows as she walks through the redwoods. She was an absolutely radiant bride, and the ceremony was beautiful ... a great source of inspiration as we pushed through our own final preparations.

I don't have any pictures yet from July 6, but I'm hopeful that there'll be some really good ones. Our photographer got sick but sent a substitute who was nice but also very assertive, which you have to be when you're taking pictures of families like ours, that started out with 10 or 12 siblings. On top of the pro, my uncles were snapping photos all over the place. A few days before the wedding, we put on some nice clothes and Garth went on a cross-city tour with us for an extended photo shoot. The weather was great, with rolling clouds and fog mixed with patches of clear blue sky.

I'm surprised at how happy I am to be married. I didn't think it would make much difference, but I get kind of giddy every time I see the ring on Patrick's finger. The party was fantastic, too. I wish we could have started earlier (and danced more!), but other than that, it was perfect in every way. Patrick is still laughing at me, though, for waking him up the next morning at 6:00; I had eaten so little during the banquet that I couldn't sleep any more! Luckily, the hotel breakfast was almost ready, and he snuck out some potatoes and toast. Mmm.

I'll post a link to a photo-hosting website when that becomes available. Hopefully soon. I can't wait to see the DVDs, too ... Yay!!

Ten thousand thanks to all of the family members and friends who spent who knows how many hours doing all kinds of crazy things ... baking cookies for favors, folding paper flowers when the Flower Mart was low, driving to the salon during a last-minute nailMergency, and just hanging out with us which was really the most important thing.

The Rewards of Teaching

I just had a very nice day. The 8th grade luncheon was yesterday, and it was as usual a moving event, especially when we got to the end and had each girl stand with her souvenir candle and say who she metaphorically lights her candle for. A lot of mothers. A few fathers. Many friends and teachers. Today we had the 8th Grade Moving Up ceremony, and it was lovely, too. Not to let this overshadow the girls' achievements, but we had a surprise guest--Barack Obama!!

I really tried not to be too star-struck about it ... when we first found out that he was going to be having a meeting in the conference room across from the auditorium we rented, we knew we would let his people know about our fabulous urban school (Michelle actually gave the commencement speech for our seniors three years ago), and how much it would mean to our girls if he could possibly make an appearance, even for a second. But we also figured that there would be a good chance that it wouldn't happen, and there was so much else to focus on: rehearsing the procession, figuring out the sound system, telling the girls how beautiful they looked and welcoming all their family members. We had gotten all the way to our closing remarks when one of my colleagues got a text message asking if it would be all right if news crews came in. She rushed to the podium and (politely) interrupted the director of the school to introduce Obama. The crowd erupted. I started crying. I think I may have gotten some tears on him when he shook my hand.

For me, Obama represents hope as much as any human being can. The fact that he found our ceremony important enough to be worth his time makes me feel like it's not just my school and me working here on the ground. Someone with a little more power and a lot more charisma and a much bigger platform from which to speak cares, and if that's the case, maybe there is a chance that we can live in a better world than this one. He also represents my fears, I think, that we really can't do better. That the only change we will ever be big enough to achieve will be incremental, taking decades to become just marginally more equal, or more just, or more socially and environmentally conscious. Because if this man who is so smart and so skilled and so committed and so real cannot lead us there--if we can't even chose him when he's right in front of us--no one can. After having watched many of his speeches, heard him debate, and read through some of his positions, I believe that he is smart in all kinds of ways, and that his background as a community organizer equips him to lead.

One thing that I admire about Obama above all the other things is his willingness, as I see it, to tell people what they don't want to hear. To tell people that there are no easy answers (a gas tax break won't solve our problems, for example) and that we will all have to work on the challenges our society faces. I want to do that work, but I need help. I need a leader. I think he could be that person.

At the ceremony today, he spoke for about four minutes (according to the news; I was too distracted to keep track). He told the girls that he is proud of them for finishing eighth grade, but that it's just eighth grade; he challenged them to work hard, saying that they can achieve anything but only with effort. He waited for them to quiet down when they got too excited; he was very concrete in his instructions to them, saying not only to "dream big dreams" but also to get a stack of books this summer and challenge themselves daily to be the best that they can be. I think he would be a good teacher, if he weren't a politician.

As he walked off the stage, I thought he would miss my hand in the flurry, and since we'd already shaken hands once (when he walked on), I didn't really mind. But as he passed through the line of teachers, he looked each one of us in the eye and reached out.

This is such an exciting and hopeful time for the United States--and for me personally. Let's hope that in sixty years, I'm able to tell my grandchildren not only that I shook hands with Barack Obama, but also that I shook hands with the nation's first black President, a man who led our country to become a better place.

I Love Math

Today is the last day of classes at my school. (We still have two more weeks with the students for presentations, ceremonies, etc.) I'm having my math students write paragraphs about whether they feel ready for the next level of math (IMP 2; my class is IMP 1). Here's what one of them had to say. She doesn't really use punctuation, but that's not the point.

"I think I AM ready for IMP 2 because I was ready for anything else so why not give it a shot but I know Im going 2 to do good because Math is my favorite color."

I had a fabulous wedding shower last weekend, btw. More about that later.

Water vs. Trees

Being on Lake Michigan may be my favorite thing about Chicago. I didn't realize it before we moved out here, but Michigan is the 5th largest lake in the world. My students call it "the ocean" sometimes by mistake, and they're wrong about that, but the real ocean is scary and not as fun to be in. (We also have the Chicago River, seen at left, and though there are lots of neat old bridges to go under, it is sadly polluted.) Patrick's dad gave us a kayak as a wedding gift, and we haven't hesitated to use it in advance of getting married. I'm really pleased with how it's working out; for an inflatable boat, it maneuvers well, keeps us reasonably dry, and packs up like a dream.

We've been out twice now, once up the North Branch of the Chicago River, through Evanston up to the Bahai Temple. And once in a delightfully bumpy Lake, around Promontory Point, right near our place. The weather has been pretty cooperative. The day we went to the temple, it was warm and sunny, feeling very spring-like, as you can see in the photo. It was much cooler the day we put into the lake--probably in the 50s--but actually very comfortable as long as we kept moving. (a bit chilly when we got out with our wet pants, though!)

We also went on a lake cruise last night. My school chartered a vessel for the 8th grade to celebrate their Moving Up; instead of going on an overnight trip this year, we opted to have a boat dance. The boat was really nice--leather sofas, clean carpet even on the decks, lots of food (and a juice bar). It was a gorgeous evening with clear views of the city, and the girls looked and acted fabulous. They also enjoyed meeting Patrick. One of them told me that he looked smart, and like the right man for me. I told her he'd probably love to hear that, so she walked right up to him, shook his hand, and repeated everything she'd just said.

We hit the Botanic Garden today, at the perfect time to catch the crabapples in bloom. Flowering trees are really beautiful. Many trees are even awesome. I don't think our street would feel nearly as livable if it weren't for the trees. I'm not really sure how I'd choose if I had to live without trees or without a significant natural body of water ... but something tells me I'm a water person. But it's a false choice anyway. Water and trees go together. All we need here are mountains.

We're staying in Chicago next year after all, by the way. Patrick will do a bunch of teaching at the university, and shorter research trips than we'd originally planned. I'm thinking about applying to grad school myself in the fall.

Non sequitur of the post: what's up with 3:10 to Yuma? I basically liked it until the ending. I guess the message is that people aren't consistent or even predictable. It was a bit much, though.

Over and out.

New News, Old News, No News

The newish news is that we've sent out wedding invitations. Glad to have that taken care of. There are few a still strays needing addresses, and as we get no's, we'll send a few more (maybe), but it's basically done. The RSVP cards make checking the mail a lot more fun. Since people seem to be asking, the registry info is in the invitation: go to mygiftlist.com, and search for Nicole and Patrick. If you don't have internet access, how are you reading this blog?

The no news is regarding Patrick's grants. Still haven't heard. Should find out this month. I started looking into programs abroad, in Argentina especially, that connect travelers with volunteer positions teaching English. I like the idea of tutoring adults. It's still not clear to me what kind of work needs English proficiency, though. Tourism industry? A website I was looking at advertises volunteer positions tutoring single moms. It would be nice to be helpful to a family in need, but I haven't really grasped why single moms in Argentina need to speak English. But maybe I could also help out around the house and learn to speak Argentine Spanish. I really don't want to be a classroom English teacher and be responsible for lesson plans and all that (and not even get paid!). Patrick suggests that in Mexico, I hook up with some of his profs' university connections and learn about Mexican teacher education. Sounds good to me.

The oldish news is that my school put on a Job Fair for the 7th and 8th graders last week. It was great. In a few weeks, we're taking the students to Exchange City, a model city with its own little bank, post office, snack shop, etc. that they'll run for a day. So at the Job Fair, they got dressed up, brought out their resumes and interviewed for jobs. I was representing the Bank (a few of the teachers have such a math phobia that they couldn't do even this), with four positions: Bank President, VP, Account Manager (teller), and Senior Account Manager. I interviewed kids for two hours straight, and it was tiring but also really enjoyable. One girl took the "firm handshake" way too seriously, and pulled her interviewers out of their chairs. It was charming how honest they were, too, and though part of me wanted to say, "You probably shouldn't tell someone that if you want them to give you a job," I was also pleased that they realized that I know them well enough--even those I don't teach--to make it stupid to lie to me. My favorite was the girl interviewing for president: I said, "As Bank President, there will be a lot of times when you have a lot going on around you, so you'll need to be able to prioritize and focus on getting your job done. Do you think that's something you'll be able to do?" She looked right at me and said, "Well, I get a little distracted." I think it was the same girl who, asked why she wanted the job, said, "I've never been the president of anything before, so I thought this could be my chance." Wow. There was a great interview for president, though, from a girl who I've taught all year and who I just love for the way she balances being engaged with the class without being a suck-up. Apparently, she's on the board of a group called Females United for Action or something, and part of her job is to work on their budget and make sure they can afford to do the programs they want to do, and if they can't, fiddling around to make things work. She's 13. I had NO IDEA that she was involved with anything like this. She also had great eye contact. It makes me so happy to find out about this aspect of her life, and to give her this job for a day.

There were a lot of good interview things going on, actually. One that really struck me is that our brainwashing is succeeding. A lot of times, in the classroom, it seems like all the stuff about working well with others and being respectful is just washing over them like a wave of hot air. But in these interviews, I was surprised by how many girls described positive conflict management on the job, saying they would handle conflicts by working together to find good compromises, by calming explaining their feelings to their co-workers, and by accepting the decisions of their superiors even if they didn't agree, "because she's my boss." (I'm imagining the ways I can use this in math class. "Hey, remember how you said you'd listen to the boss? Well that's me. I'm your boss. Where is your pencil.")

There was a lot of interest in Account Manager. When asked why they were passionate about this job (it was the #1 choice for many of them), a lot of the girls said that their mothers or mothers' friends work at banks. One girl was so articulate, it was heartbreaking: she said, "Well, I could work at the Snack Shop [another very popular job was Popcorn Machine Operator--must be safety conscious!], but to me that's like working at McDonald's, and that's not what I want in my life. Working as an account manager, that's like something I want to do when I grow up."

Now I'll grant that there are many possible explanations behind this sentiment. But here's my pessimistic reading: I imagine boys and girls across America dreaming about becoming President, or of launching into space one day, and realizing around this age, middle school, that they can realistically aspire to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, the like. For my students, at this school established to serve girls who have traditionally been underserved and disserved by their, our education system, the realization is that they can become bank tellers. Becoming a doctor is like becoming an astronaut to them. It makes me question my own grounding in reality, and that of my colleagues; we constantly talk to the girls about being scholars, being professional, about all the options that are open to them, but we aren't succeeding in teaching them to test well, to write well, to be competitive in four-year colleges, so who are we fooling? When we talk about change, about equity, who are we fooling?

When I figure out how to fix American education, you'll be among the first to know. Don't worry.

I should add that in other contexts, many of the girls have expressed their desire to become doctors and nurses. Also fashion designers, real estate agents, actresses, models, singers, and beauticians. In sum, maybe they are more "normal" than anything else. I still don't feel like our society is doing them justice, however. Maybe it doesn't do justice to most people and their talents, interests, and passions, but it seems disproportionate for these girls.

And now, the best news of this post: Spring is here!

Pomatomus

I'm on a sock-knitting kick. Here's a photo, taken with my mom's new camera, of the socks I sent her for her birthday. They're my first pair of adult socks in a fingering-weight yarn and a fancy pattern. The yarn is Soxx Appeal from Knit One, Crochet Too, color Marine Blue, 96% merino wool, with a little bit of acrylic for strength and elastic for stretch. And it's machine washable! I'm curious to know how they hold up over time. Knitty is serving me well, with their brilliant array of free sock patterns. The pattern for Mom's socks is called Pomatomus, after the species of fish that inspired the pattern's creator. There's a beautiful pattern to make some fingerless Pomatomus gloves, too ... maybe I can work on that when I finish all the socks on my needles ...

I went to New York last weekend, to hang out with Patrick and celebrate Pulaski Day. We went to MOMA and the Met, and walked around 5th Avenue and Central Park, but my favorite part was still hanging out with friends. We stayed with Mike, a good friend from Patrick's salad days in Iowa, and Mike's lady, Laura; Patrick has been over there on and off for a little more than a week (doing research in various libraries and archives). Here's a picture of their cat, Oliver. I love the pads of his feet.

more a4A

I finished my knitting for newborn Afghans. I enjoyed how quickly it went. It was also really neat to take it to school and show my advisory (homeroom) students what I was up to. Their attention was captured by the cuteness of small knitted things, and we talked about Afghanistan (they remembered watching Osama, a movie I personally didn't like very much, in their Humanities class, but had forgotten that it took place in a real country that exists today). I showed them the pink-and-yellow hat, and they suggested I put a pompom on the next one, so I did. :) It reminds me of ice cream, somehow. The girls expressed interest in learning how to knit for themselves, so on Fridays (designated as Free Day in my advisory), I will start bringing my knitting, and if they bring needles and yarn, I will teach them what I can. I went to Loopy Yarns this weekend, and the proprietor offered some assistance with supplies. I love that store.


It's been cold in Chicago, and snowier than it's been since we moved here. I kind of like it. All the snow on the ground makes it feel like January. Spring will be here before I've realized it! Patrick and I attempted to make an igloo. I got cold, though, so we came in and made soup. :)

We streamed a documentary last night from Netflix, No End in Sight, about the war in Iraq. There are things for which I can be proud of America; some of these are represented in Barack Obama's candidacy for President, in his message of determination and hope. In contrast, I am ashamed of and confused by the way things have gone in Iraq. How did we get so many things wrong? Why didn't our leaders listen to people with regional expertise, or to their own people on the ground? How did we elect leaders whose decision-making calculus relies on sticking with your gut instead of careful study and thought? When Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush made statements about how the war was going, did they really believe what they were saying? Is it better if they were so irresponsible in their research that they did believe it, or if they knew better but lied to the public? Is the same thing happening now on other issues? It was heartbreaking to watch No End in Sight and think about all the lives that have been lost and irreversibly changed by our carelessness. And to be knitting booties for newborns in Afghanistan. I don't know what to tell my students. Do we really learn from the past? Can one person really make enough of a difference to be worth the emotional turmoil of trying? What messages does history have for us?

afghans for Afghans

It is a delight to be able to combine my recreation with doing something useful for the rest of the world, and here is a perfect opportunity! Patrick and I had some nice fresh pasta with friends on Friday, and one of them was excited to tell us about her first donation to afghans for Afghans. Their current push is for hats and socks for newborns at a hospital in Kabul. I hadn't really thought about how cold Afghanistan is. I hope that these donations are really useful ...

Here is my first finished object in that vein. A hat, 100% wool (Cascade 220). I didn't even have to buy any yarn, just used odds and ends left over from other projects. And it took less than a day. I love knitting baby stuff!

If you are interested in non-monetary donations but don't knit (or crochet), try my new game! FreeRice is a multiple-choice vocabulary test. For every word you get right, sponsors donate 20 grains of rice through the UN to "help end world hunger." You also get points to increase your "vocab level," so the words keep getting harder (i.e., more useless). I've learned some new words, or at least brushed up on my test-taking skills. One of my jobs for next year is to take the GRE. FreeRice can't hurt.

Winter is here (still). It's been very cold in Chicago, dipping this weekend to 20 below; but it seems to be warming up slowly. It was warm enough to snow last night, apparently, and there's a light dusting of white on the ground. But what you really want to know about is Kenneth Libbrecht, the physicist and snowflake-hobbyist who takes pictures of snowflakes with a specially designed microscope-camera. American Public Media's Weekend America talked to him about his photographs and put up a slideshow of them on their website. I was really surprised by some of the shapes he captured.

Guess Where!

I enjoyed growing up in the parts of SF that I did, but that didn't really include Glen Park, the neighborhood around the house where I lived for my whole life. I'm getting to know it better now as an adult. It has a great mix of residential and recreational--not many boutiques, but I don't shop that much anyway. On this last visit, we took several walks through the above-pictured Glen Canyon (including one with Mali and Denali, wearing their hats! and one with my mom, and one with Jimmy K), ate more than a few crepes at Higher Ground (Chenery and Diamond) and had tapioca tea at Eggettes. I also finally bought some eggettes. They look like bubble wrap, smell like waffles, and taste like waffles, too, but with an enchanting range of textures. Crispy outside and chewy inside. Love it. I'm a little worried that Eggettes won't make it, though. Its footprint is on the large side. And you know those machines they have at the front of supermarkets, where you put in a few coins and a mystery toy in a plastic bubble comes rolling out? Eggettes has 48. I counted. Along with a "UFO Catcher." I would've gone there all the time in high school if it would've been closer (and open). In its current location, I'm not sure they can generate enough business to stay open. But there were plenty of customers the second time we went. They should pay me for advertising them on my blog.

Jimmy described the canyon as a "Disneyland attraction that never got finished." It does pop up unexpectedly in the middle of the city, but it doesn't seem out of place to me. The homes remind me of hobbit holes, not in their specific appearance but in the idea expressed in the way they nest along the canyon rim, living right inside a beautiful place. The weather was perfect for walking (though recent rain made the paths a little muddy), and the light was great. I kept poking Patrick and saying, "Look at how un-flat it is!"

-I wrote most of this a few days ago. We got back to Chicago yesterday. Today is Sunday, and tomorrow I'm back to school. The time for blogging is over for now!

Happy New Year!

My blog has gotten a face lift. I don't really want to spend that much time on it, but there are lots of bits that could use improvement. If you think of any good links, comment.

I expected to be blogging from a boat floating in the Gulf of Mexico, but it seems we've brought colder weather with us. It's been windy here, and it rained yesterday. We're having a good time anyway. Patrick's dad, George, and his stepmom, Susy, are taking good care of us. We went to Susy's graduation from massage school today. She already has a promising interview lined up. Exciting! And she's still enough in learning-mode that she doesn't mind giving free massages to family. :)

Back in the Bay Area, we saw a lot of friends and family, not spending quite as much time as I would've liked with everyone I like but also kind of overwhelming ourselves with engagements. It was nice to see more of Patrick's family, though; his aunt Theresa and her partner, Cal, just moved to Oakland this year--well, last year, as of today!--and we had a delicious and delightful dinner with them. I enjoyed seeing George, Maria, Sophie, and Annie, too. Annie was sick, but her increasing proficiency in the English language was still discernible. My cousin Caitlyn is still quiet, but she is way less shy and consequently a lot more fun. Ian discovered that I am strong enough to toss him but not to sustain it for an hour straight, so he's made friends with Patrick. I missed Matthew, since he's down in LA fulfilling childhood dreams of conducting the Disneyland Train (it's been a multi-year climb up the theme park ladder); soon, he'll be in Edinburgh, another long-time aspiration. I'm proud that he's stuck with this stuff.

The nuculer family had a good time watching Ratatouille on DVD; Jarrett and I made a very tasty apple cake from the Firehouse Cookbook; and I tried to deftly maneuver my way into winning a game of hearts, only to have Jarrett stick me with the queen of spades in the last hand, leaving me trailing behind my dad by a number of points too trivial to calculate yet too tragic to ignore.

Food highlights included sticky rice, a very creative curry+fried tofu+mushroom+miso soup, more sticky rice, a surprising cole slaw, AMAZING cookies (Auntie Lorna only baked how many, somewhere around 1,500 this year?), pear ravioli, pear and squash soup (vegetarian! yay!), the best chocolate chip cookies, battered crab, veggie chicken, quesadillas full of black beans and sweet potatoes, homemade rice porridge, oh I could go on but I won't.

I have a few pictures to post, but they'll have to wait until we get back to Chicago. In the meantime, I have lesson planning to do!