Shortly after I started as division chair in 2017, Exemplary Girlfriend checked in with me: How are you? How is life as division chair? Are you mired in bureaucracy? Or pleasantly surprised? My response: I am good. A little manic, actually. Mired doesn’t quite capture it. More like frenetic. Every day there is some new […]
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What I Should Have Said
In my previous post, I told the story of an exchange I had with a churlish telemarketer. I wonder if I was an unknowing character in a scene of retribution: “Next time, I [churlish telemarketer] am going to tell the person s/he is an asshole!” That thought makes me reflect on answers not given. Monday […]
720 513 8184
I’m working at home. You are, too, right? Get any telemarketer calls? The other day, 720 513 8184 called me. It showed as a Denver number. I didn’t recognize it. But, because DH was out and about, I answered it. There was that pause with the hum of background activity on the line. The telltale […]
Silver Anniversary of Motherhood
Today is my silver anniversary of motherhood: the occasion of my older child’s twenty-fifth birthday. Here is a picture that makes me smile. There he is, as a two year old, swinging his arms. Strutting around the Stanford Quad like he owns the place. Not all that different from now, really. (Except that the Physics […]
Next Semester
Starting in January, I will be teaching a required course for our sophomore undergraduates. I have 85 students registered for my section. If any Spring ’20 students are reading this, let me know you are out there! I don’t recall having much of an interest in my professors outside of the classroom in my undergraduate […]
Terrible Tom Hanks
I have more to say about Tom Hanks, beyond his resemblance to my husband. Hanks is prolific and has a broad range. I admire those qualities, aspire to them. “Broad range” feels natural for me, but abundant production does not. I collect ideas and quotes that inspire me to work on my research and writing […]
The Sisyphus Sisters
For the last few months, I’ve lived 3 miles, instead of 2000 miles, from my sister. The other day I was at her house, just hanging out. She needed to clear leaves off her porch and driveway, so I asked if she wanted help. Loyal readers know that I come from a long line of […]
Salad Days
The Wall Street Journal ran a story about college friends who have stayed in touch since graduating in 1956. The article made me think about, and feel grateful for, the enduring friendships of my college-girl posse, including the scarecrow, the carrot, and the blueberry from this Halloween post. One of the posse recently used the […]
The Mother, The Anoles, and The Mealy Worms
With apologies to Nancy and Eric Gurney. This is a guest post from my dad. The title of the post is a reference to one of my favorite childhood books, The King, The Mice, and The Cheese (TK, TM, and TC), by Nancy and Eric Gurney. The post is adapted from an email he sent […]