From 2000 Miles East of Cali to over 2000 Miles West...

...landing smack dab in the Pacific!

Yup, I've finally arrived and gotten almost completely settled into my new digs in Honolulu. The move has been pretty tiring and caused me to reflect on cumulative exhaustion from having gone through eight major moves in the past 12 years (La Jolla, Davis, Bay, Evanston, Bay, Eugene, Ann Arbor, Honolulu) and my growing craving to just be in one place indefinitely. That said, I can't complain about this latest locale. I've definitely noticed a strangely small town kind of friendliness here despite the fact that Honolulu is the 12th largest city in the country. And by small town caricature, I mean more a vibe of people seeming to have the time and willingness to talk to you and help when you tell them your new in town. It's seems way more laid back and a friendlier vibe just around town than most places I've been (with the exception of New Zealand, which also ranks right up there).

I will say though about moves, I've definitely learned (or relearned, cuz it seems I'd forgotten since the last move) that moves are always about three times as costly and take about three times as long as you expect. I think this move was particularly challenging because I showed up in Honolulu on my own and had to furnish my place on the third floor of this complex and my arms/wrists have been acting up again (for those of you who are familiar with my intermittent physical therapy fun, it's been coming back). Another major challenge is that Honolulu lacks many of the moving stores that I took for granted as a poor grad student on the continent (IKEA, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens and Things). I cringe admitting this, but I actually had to go to Walmart for some things that I just couldn't afford elsewhere. Ick. I feel like a complete traitor to the labor movement. Another hurdle was both Honolulu's traffic and lack of any sort of street grid system. The latter of which led to many hours of getting lost, circling around and ending up on one way streets in rush hour (which seems to be many hours of the day here). So it's been a busy busy couple of weeks.

I arrived 9 days ago, and finally got all furniture built today, all (but one) boxes unpacked, all emptied boxes to the garbage, all food and patio plants purchased, and almost all electronics set up (still got to hook up printers/monitors, etc). I've even begun a Hawaiian language class (attended two so far) and got signed up for Students for Obama today while walking through campus. I'm hoping to do a few different volunteer activities in between research to see if I can meet some people. It dawned on me a few days ago that I don't know anyone here and have no friends nearby and that...well...stinks. It's the nature of the beast I know; moving. And not having close friends nearby is certainly not something new (those of you who've heard me bitch and moan about that for the past three years). But I think with this move, it's particularly challenging because in every other move, I have arrived to some sort of structure that would offer an immediate cohort (with school) or set of colleagues (with work), and this is very different. Any folks I'll meet out here, I'm gonna have to seek out on my own. I have some ideas in mind of where to go and how to do it, and I think with another week or two to get settled (more cleaning and get into a groove with work) hopefully I can get out there and practice my social skills again. They've certainly been rusty for awhile.

Another move, another adventure. I'll get my camera up and going soon and put photos up once I get out and around. I gotta say, I totally lucked out on my apartment. My landlord rocks, she's charging me about 400-500 dollars under value because she doesn't believe in price gouging students. Crazy lucky I am. I think I'll bake her some cookies. :)

Summer Post...delinquent blogger returns!

I've once again been a delinquent blogger for about four months. No excuses. Just a lot of running around and transition these past few months, with more to come in the next few weeks.

Since last posting, I've moved away from Ann Arbor (defended my dissertation proposal before doing so), been hanging back in the Bay with the folks, took a short trip to Mexico with my Mom, a short trip to Hawaii to do research and look for fall housing, a short trip to Pasadena to present that research (with the fabulous company of Miss V) and am now back in the Bay gearing up for another big move in September.

I plan to be a better blogger once I get settled in Honolulu, and hopefully with a new camera (yet to be purchased) can illustrate my postings with some photos of the new digs.

Another thing I've been doing this month is watching lots of olympics and consequently have become (along with everyone else) a Phelps-fan!

The Final Four...

...weeks that is before I blow this joint! Woohoo! As exciting as that feels-- the idea of getting outta the midwest indefinitely and returning to Cali to chill with my homies-- a few major hurdles are left to jump:

1. Write/Revise/Defend Dissertation Prospectus...Ick, ick, and ick!

2. Finish teaching seminar, learn how to be a prepared future faculty member...retain as much info as I can since I won't be tapping into it again for another 2-3 years

3. Pack/Ship Boxes/Sell Stuff online

4. Sell my car...boo, sniffle, sadness

5. Jump on an airplane, fly home, regain semblance of sanity that existed before coming to crazy grad school program.

6. Plan fun reunion with Oregoniehomies!!!! This last step you all must participate in!!!!

It's the final countdown...do do do do...do do do do do...do do do do...do do do do do do doooooooo!

Tulip Time!

One thing I will definitely miss about the Midwest is how noticeable seasonal changes are here. After surviving many months of cold and snow (for the third year in a row) I find myself far more appreciative of the color that comes out in the spring, all these beautiful tulips dotting yards, walkways, and in the photos above...the fields in Holland, Michigan! Tulips are a big deal there and I finally got out to see them this past weekend, while my cousin was in town.

We also finally got out to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Art) and sampled some of Detroit's tasty BBQ dining. I was very impressed by the DIA, primarily this corridor area where Diego Rivera painted the walls with murals of industrial workers during the Great Depression.* This alone is worth a trip to the museum, as I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. You could easily spend hours staring at these murals trying to decipher the multitude of messages embedded within them (as my Marxist South African buddies recommended that I do).

It's amazing that having been here for almost three years, this is the first weekend I've gotten out and about to explore Detroit (or parts at least) and tulip-ville!

*This is one side of the four-sided set of murals

The Story of Passover...Recap

So last weekend, me and my superjewness threw a superseder! Y'all know how religious I am (hee hee) and yet despite my orthodox followings, I'd forgotten passover was coming up. Oops. While shopping at Trader Joes, I was reminded of this by my gentile friends, when they asked "hey Jew, what are you doing for Passover?" (Ok, so maybe they didn't say "hey Jew"...although it would be a little McCartney-esque right? "Hey Jew...don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better..." I digress).

So anyhow, upon realizing I had too much grading and dissertation prospectus work to the take the time to do a proper seder, I decided to get a little creative this year with my interpretation of religious traditions. And so, for our seder I created a seder plate of bagels and lox (see photo), realizing after the fact that bagels are about the most leavened bread you could possibly eat! Double Oops. The cup for Elijah this year was provided by E's fabulous gift of smurfy goodness glass! (see photo of sacred cup being held up by religious followers).

We recited the story of passover (as best as I could remember..."why on all other nights do we eat ramen and spaghetti, and on this night we eat bagels and lox?") And we dabbed our plates with wine (see photo), reciting as many of God's plagues as I could remember and adding some new ones to the list: God smote the peeps with vermon, locusts, frogs, slaying of first born, prelims, Republicans, Cheney and Bush, etc..."

For dessert we indulged in Japanese mochi, because let's be honest, what kind of traditional Jewish meal doesn't involve Asian cuisine? And of course to provide the most Jewish of atmospheres we listened to Simon and Garfunkle throughout the evening, and capped our festivities off with Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1. All in all, a very fun evening. I'm thinking my fellow "chosen people" would be proud. Or horrified. One or the other.

Sad Mac...

I got the teaching blues today. It was my last sections for the semester and I was so sad to say goodbye to my students. They were both such great classes. They were so cute at the end too, they each gave me a round of applause. It made my heart smile. One of my favorite students came up to me after class and said it was the best section he's ever been in and that "when students are laughing it means they are learning" so that I should keep up the humor.

While I've definitely felt oooober exhausted this semester from teaching and dissertation anxiety, it's also been a really good semester in reminding me why I came here in the first place. I absolutely love love love teaching. I just am going to have to work on the separation anxiety I seem to get when classes end...such a sad mac.

Inspired by Art and Activism

I went to a gallery showing today put on by University of Michigan's Prison Creative Art Project. One of my former undergraduate superstars is involved in organizing poetry workshops at a woman's prison nearby and I went to hear her and her group give readings last month and was blown away. The exhibit today was another component of the program focused on visual arts and theater. They also released a documentary film on the program that followed the history of the program, started about 12 years ago by a Professor here (I think in English?) who went around to Michigan's many (way too many) prisons teaching guerilla theater.

The film and gallery showing also included a panel of former inmates speaking (and fielding questions) about their artwork and time in prison and also allowed them the chance to walk through the gallery and present to the audience on other artist's work. It was revealing to walk around this gallery and look at the patterns among people's choice of images they painted; lots of statue or liberties (one had a noose around her neck and was titled "Jena Six"), so many images that illustrate how disproportionately prisons are filled with Native American and African American inmates.

The program is amazing, and makes me wonder if others like it exist in other states. It's based on the philosophy that every human being (regardless of past mistakes or crimes) has a right to create art. The organizers noted that among the hundreds and hundreds of prisoners they work with, they never ask why the prisoner is there. They are focused on destigmatizing prisoners and they've also created a program to link outcoming prisoner artists with artist mentors in the community.

This evening I came home and started reading two of Angela Davis' recent books on prisons. I think my dissertation is going to head in the direction of looking at colonial and imperial knowledge producing spaces from schools to prisons to military bases in Hawaii. We'll see...I still have no clue how anyone figures out dissertation ideas.

But art, art, art...far more inspiring than dissertation thoughts...here's another, entitled "Making the Choice" (the one up top was titled "Yet Free")