Made in heaven, but not exactly quality

Rufus and Lou kick it up a notch this holiday season. If you haven't seen it, check out Youtube for the one of Martha and Jimmy Fallon.

improving

Things at the family home are a little bit better, for a few very concrete reasons:

First, I'm typing this on my ibook, which returned from Apple two days ago. It's very nice to avoid the IBM, especially considering some of the goofy differences between commands on the two versions of MS Word.

Second, I got to see my sister, Nick, and her dog. We went out to Lake Zurich for the "bare voices" choir concert on Thursday, which was a good time. The voices weren't really bare, though, since there was accompaniment; hence, I'm lobbying for a change of the group's name to "scantily clad voices." Once again the dog licked my face repeatedly and got hair all over my coat. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thirdly, I'm feeling like I've accomplished one or two things while here, getting some sample materials done.

On the topic of the third item, then, it's back to work. Merry Christmas, all.

The Homecoming

I've been back in Chicago since Sunday visiting family and trying to get work done for the academic job market. The big conference at which interviews take place, the MLA, starts on 12/27.

It has been nearly impossible to get work done. As an attempt at catharsis and in typical Festivus fashion, I'm listing off some grievances....

1. My laptop has been screwed up for the third time. Apple, I love you, but you've let me down.

2. Not only does my sister not have any internet access, but she's disappeared, along with her husband and dog. I haven't seen her at all on this trip. Did I do something wrong?

3. The TV is on all the time here. Right now an interview about Sammy Sosa's year off is audible everywhere in the house.

4. My parents' computer is in their basement. Cell phones do not work in the basement. It is also climate controlled to be something like the arctic tundra.

5. Fox News is the official station of this residence.

6. I don't have a car in IL.

7. Christmas comes once a year, just like the MLA. Anyone up for spacing these out more?

8. My father doesn't really talk about anything. He does pipe up to talk about how having a confederate flag in one's office has nothing to do with one's political career, about how I did a bad job in high school swimming, and about interviews from his accounting days. Oh, and he also fell asleep during _Best Little Whorehouse of Texas_.

9. Sentences starting, "Not to sound conceited, but..." never go anywhere good.

10. When you play an iPod to drown things out, it hurts your ears.

You may wonder why I haven't gotten a room or stayed in Cville longer. I've asked myself a similar question, but I came back earlier b/c I wouldn't see my parents after the holiday. Next year, I need to show up with one of the following
1. A husband
2. A pet
3. Earplugs and the Proust box set
4. A car.
5. A room at the Hilton

Call me self centered and whiny. You're probably right.

The Primal Scene