Errands, errands, errands

Schools out for sum-mer.....(thank you Alice Cooper) and I'm beginning my neverending list of errands. I took a lovely bike ride this morning before it gets so hot. Yes, we're already in upper 80s and 90s. So today: I have to go....ready?...wash the engine of the car (are you kidding me?) so that my mechanic (who was just in Guys and Dolls here in Flo, by the way...I know weird) can find the oil leak before we go away; then to get new glasses for driving and night vision because I lost mine after a particularly fun party (I think there was something not quite right about them anyway); then to the grocery to get food for Jacob (THAT is never ending); I was going to go to Barnes & Noble to get a new Mexico City guidebook, but found the one from last year. I am really glad about that too. It is Eyewitness Travel's Top 10 Mexico City. It is a great book and much used. Good maps of the city and subway. Later, I hope to talk with my friend, Gene, who is hopefully going to Mexico with me later in the summer. We have to firm up some plans so that I know what to tell people.

Summer adventure news: I will be spending the 4th holiday in Austin with my couchsurfing friend, Jennifer! I am so excited. THAT should be another very fun party.

Hola Amigas y Amigos...

Leg 1

Once again, I am beginning a big summer adventure. At this point, I know that Jacob and I are going to Guatemala to study Spanish for 2 weeks because I booked it today. We are leaving June 6 and returning the 21st. We will fly into Guatemala City, take a 4 hour bus ride to Xela, Guatemala. Last summer on my Mexico/Belize adventure, I met a young woman on Tobacco Caye from the US, but living in Berlin. She told me about Xela (it's official name is Quetzaltenango) and that there were numerous Spanish schools for English speakers there. So, we are going to stay with a Guatemalan family and study Spanish for 5 hours a day...all for $175/week at a school called Pop Wuj. Crazy, huh? However, getting there has proved to be challenging.

I read several travel blogs that said that Chicago had the best rates to Guatemala City. However, a friend told me to check Spirit air out of, are you ready?...Myrtle Beach. And yes, it is as cheap to fly out of Myrtle Beach that it is to fly out of Chicago. But Spirit, or course, charges for EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. My cheap tickets after they added taxes, fees, baggage fees...and ready for this???!!!!....seat charges ($8 each if you want to sit together) ended up being just a little cheaper than the Chicago flight on American - about $700 for both. Sigh..oh well, it is still a little less challenging than trying to get to Missouri, then Chicago, then Guatemala.

Leg 2

I was asked/I asked the Witte Museum in San Antonio, TX to archive their carpa collection. It will help me with my research and give me experience in archiving, which I'm interested in. I got a research grant to do that from FMU. It is also a great excuse to see some of my couchsurfing buddies that I met last year.

Future legs... Stay tuned. There may be other fabulous legs to our adventure...maybe Mexico, maybe Tahlequah...who knows....

Just a little professora ranting...

So we cast The Vagina Monologues last week with 35, that's right, thirty-five, women. One woman, who has been in the show before twice, as well as had very large roles, emailed me because her role for this year "concerns her." The deal is, she got a smaller role this year because last year: 1. she did not take direction well; 2. she showed up at 7:20p for a 7:30p curtain (that was the big one); 3. she was late to the cast party where she had agreed to perform, thus missing her performance. The moral is: don't piss off the director. And then to have to gall to email me complaining about the role she got....????!!!! She says she's going to grad school. Uh huh...good luck with that, getting out of grad school without pissing off your professors - THAT is the trick....

I need a vacation...

Summer 2010 Adventure

Howdy kids - I'm planning my summer adventure. So far, I think Jacob and I are going to go to Xela, Guatemala for 2 weeks to study Spanish. Then, after Jacob leaves to go stay with his dad, I would like to spend a week in Mexico, at this point either in Puerto Angel or Zipolite Beach. Both are little hippie tourist towns south of Oaxaca. Then, I'm off to San Antonio to archive the carpa collection at the Witte Museum.

Would anyone I know be brave enough to visit Puerto Angel with me? huh huh huh? come on, I triple dog dare you....

Burn Baby Burn....

Burning Man tickets go on sale tomorrow 1pm our time!!!! Weeeeeee!!!!!

Literal doesn't mean literate....

OK, so in Intro to Theatre this semster, I have my students do a final project. They read a play that we have not covered in class and they choose from several options: playwright, actor, designer, publicity, etc. and do that job for the play they choose. Top two plays are: A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman...ugh...if I never see another project on either of those, I...but I digress... A student did a publicity campaign on A Raisin in the Sun. I ask them to do a short presentation where they tell me what their target audience is and their theme for the campaign (which is supposed to be in line with the director's concept). She got up and said, "my target audience is everyone because everyone should see this play...sigh...whatever. Then she held up her poster. It had a 5-year-old's drawing of a yellow sun, and below the sun was lettering on it for the title, date, time, etc. She said, "well, my theme is, well, there's a sun on it..." I thought good god...yawn, lame... THIS IS NOT THE BEST PART.

After class I was carrying the poster to my office and the graphics design prof and a music prof were standing outside my office. I said sarcastically, "look, this is from my star pupil." The graphics guys goes, "where is the raisin?" The music guy goes, "right there." Ready??!!! She had ACTUALLY DRAWN A RAISIN UNDER THE SUN on the poster. OMG!! If I had seen that in class I would have fallen out of my chair in hysterics. Maybe I'll post a picture one day. I'm so glad I'm on winter break....

Burning Man II, the sequel...

I got the grant for Burning Man 2010. If I can only find a student that wants to go. Can you freakin believe that??!!!! What I wouldn't have given for a chance like that... I'm going if I have to hold a gun to someone's head and force them to go....