Ahh, how I love airports. There's something really lovely about being the practically invisible observer of so much tension, affection, and energy. I saw this father and son sitting by the window yesterday, just hanging out in some adirondack chairs. Serenity amongst chaos.
I'm visiting Dad and the fam this week in DC. Sarah and Andrew are such cuties. I'll be writing more soon, undoubtedly with photos of their adorable selves.
Yesterday was a spectacularly quintessential "university" day.
First I went to University Health Services (UHS) for a check up. One of the cool things about UHS is that they do pretty much everything in that one building - there's an emergency room, a clinic, and every type of doctor you might imagine. As I waited for a doctor, I was seated right next to the research lab, where I saw medical practicioners in white lab coats walking around importantly. I'd never seen this type of "backstage" to a medical office before, so I was pretty excited.
As I headed back up the hill to my building, I noticed a man seated casually on a bench, shouting... all by himself. Then I noticed that he was looking up into a nearby tree. My gaze shifted to the branches high above, and I saw that there was another man pretty far up that tree, climbing gear and all. This guy was serious.
I had a nice chat with the two men - Damien and Dave - and it turns out the one in the tree (Damien) wasn't the typical arbor culture student (those guys are always up in random trees around campus). He's a political science major and was just climbing for fun.
I continued on my way to prepare for that evening's SJE potluck. I whipped up a batch of Michael's "Heath Bar Delights" or some weird name like that. I'd tried them a few weeks earlier at a staff Cranium party, where I dubbed them "Heath Ledger Memorial Bars."
I took the conservative route and labeled them "Chocolate Toffee Crunch Bars!" for tact's sake.
Around 6:30 I arrived at Ximena's house, treats in hand, and enjoyed an evening of conversation, running around the kitchen preparing food, and snapping some sweet photos.
Tonight in our Historical Foundations class we talked about liberation - what it means to us, whether or not it's possible... We have this type of discussion a lot. As social justice educators, we can narrow ourselves to only talking about working against oppression, but then what are we working for?
My favorite liberatory statement for today is a spin on one of Paolo Freire's concepts: "Liberation means living in accordance with our full humanness." Ah, yes. The idea that we already are fully human.
I had some fun today at work documenting the full humanness of some of my colleagues.
Lissa and Justin are regulars in the Cluster Office (attached to my office). Lissa, star RA, is the social glue that holds the staff together. Plus she cracks me up more than most people do. Justin, the Cluster Office Manager, is brilliant, caring, and on top of every aspect of his job. Today Justin and I talked about how to host a dialogue about the violence and threats on campus lately. Chatting with him gave me one more reason to feel hopeful about the future - and, of course, liberation.
Naturally, my first "love and artichokes" post takes place on the eve of a very large homework assignment I have due the next morning. I find that when it comes time to get down to business, I usually wind up doing something to distract myself first. It could be facebook surfing, a short nap, or perhaps a heinous reality show. Tonight it's starting a blog. But the point is, it's never something I'd choose to do if I had free time. This makes me feel less guilty for not doing the work, but either way... I'm not getting it done.
Tonight's most urgent announcement: Trader Joe's "Soycotash" is officially delicious and worth buying. It's a frozen bag of edamame (baby soy beans), corn, and chopped red pepper.
Throw a quarter cup of water into a bowl with the 'tash, cover, and microwave for 6 minutes. No salt, pepper, or butter needed. Perfect.
