I tried to post this on Friday, but technical difficulties were interfering.
This is my last day staying with my parents. They have been incredibly gracious to have me perch here for nearly two months while I have been in transition. I have been learning to be patient with country life. You cannot walk to the grocery store or for coffee, but you can let your eyes rest on a broad expanse of fields, forests, and fanciful shadows on the newly fallen snow.
It was something of a leap to make this many changes in one season, so perhaps it is appropriate to say goodbye to my old life and hello to the new on this most unusual day.
Here are a few home vignettes to say farewell to the country house:
Sunshine. Honest to goodness, blazing brilliance dancing across the sparkling snow. Something rare in upstate NY winters.
I am enjoying this scene from my desk where I sit trying to catch up on everything that I suppressed in the weeks counting down to the defense. Today I need to stay in. The entire day. Me with a cup of coffee, enjoying this break in the clouds and making my way through the piles.
Hey, it is still February and many of us are still trying to hang on and make it through. That extra day is a bonus, but it might be better if it came in October—my favorite month. Why not make the most of the long gray days with a guilty pleasure or two? I have already covered the Jane Austen series, now for something even less cerebral—the urban dance movie. Rough kids from the streets make good by learning discipline and respect through dance. YouTube has practically every great dance movie highlight, urban or otherwise. And, now that I’ve wasted many, many minutes picking one, here is one of my all time favorites.
Pure candy, like a lollipop. These aren’t truffles or fair trade chocolate. This is a simplistic, pedestrian peek into a magical land where I might have rhythm, moves, and a whole lot of game. When I was working with youth in North Philly’s toughest neighborhoods, I would often reward collective good behavior with music at the end of homework time. Summer was even better, nothing like being on the blacktop with a basketball bouncing, jump ropes twirling, and Miss Bethany pounding out the newest dance in the corner of the schoolyard…WHAT? Ha! My kids hated to see me try to get my groove on. Seriously. It was painful for them, hilarious for me. I wasn’t even faking it; I was sincerely trying catch on. Same thing with rap lyrics. Nothing but moaning and choking arose from the room when I would bob my head, bite my lip, and shuffle from side to side while belting out along with Nas, Jay Z, Timbaland, and Ludacris. Ah, Philly.
At least I am not alone in my appreciation for the dance flicks. Dearest S (who I used to take dance with in the early days—as in 8 year olds) and I have spent many a fine hour in the theatre or in our dorm in college (ok, even last week) enjoying them. Urban or not, here’s some from our list:
Dirty Dancing Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Billy Elliot Strictly Ballroom Saturday Night Fever Singin’ in the Rain Take the Lead Step Up Step Up 2 Center Stage You Got Served Mad Hot Ballroom Honey Rent Save the Last Dance
I am excited about this collaborative project from blogland greats Lena Cowin & Maria Vettese. Their small books each feature a shape or line as a starting point, which are then interpreted by several artists.
The cost is reasonable, a little over $20 a book and there are six books coming. And, charter members--the first forty to sign up--receive a tote bag with the project logo on it. I am especially intrigued to see that Jennifer Causey has a piece in the first book. I have some postcard prints from one of her collections. These are frame worthy! Also Maria Vettese herself is in the Circle book. I regularly keep up with Port2Port Press and the 3191 Project, both of which are outlets for her amazingly fresh and prolific talent.
I'll probably miss the tote bag phase, but perhaps with my first paycheck from the "real job" I can join the Lines & Shapes fun.
This will be my last week in Rochester and then it is on to the Capital City. I have two weeks to get settled into the new place before starting the job. The extra padding is a lesson learned from other moves. It is worth your sanity to have the time to find your way to a grocery store before you need it. To have curtains up before the sun comes up. To know your way to the office before that first day dawns.
I kind of overload. I try to fit in too much. But this move--my ninth in twelve years--I am determined to give myself plenty of time to enjoy the nesting process. Perhaps this is also because it is the first move in which I will be setting myself up in my own space. My choice of everything, a blank canvas as it were.
The internets are rich with posters, prints, and original art to liven up my new space. (Which is still needing a name--all of my apartments/homes have had their own personalities.) I also have a lot of my own work and pieces I've collected from a handful of other sources already. The question is, what to choose. There are also curtains to make and some furnishings to purchase.
One source I am loving right now is the American Poster Institute, and specifically, the Hero and Sound Design Studio in Buffalo, NY. They have some fantastic silkscreen concert posters...here's a few I wouldn't mind owning.
I'm a little overwhelmed about tomorrow's dissertation defense. But I keep telling myself that I am really bringing a lot of people with me into that room. People whose lives have influenced me and people who feature prominently in the research.
Some students undertake incredibly challenging statistical analysis for their graduate research, others model sophisticated economic theories...I'm telling a story about neighborhoods where the Catholic Church has made a historic investment in the fabric of the urban landscape. There are priests, sisters, laypersons, children, youth. There are buildings, elevated trains, and community gardens. This cast and backdrop represents different facets of one organization that is seeking to transform marginalized communities through affordable housing, dignified employment, streetscape improvements, and economic development.
My study is one chapter in a larger story. Tomorrow I share that one piece. Perhaps more important than the success of the defense itself, however, is the fact that when I walk out of that room, I am turning the last page of what I wrote, literally and figuratively. I am putting it to rest and moving on to something else. A job. A new home. A new city. A new life almost. Hard to believe that five years comes to an end on a Friday afternoon in Delaware. Thankfully, I'm not losing an ounce of the spirit and dedication of those who were with me during those five years. I have the 300 pages to remind me, tremendous memories, and a folder full of pictures!
Thank you all for being with me along the way and no whining about these photos, they make me smile!
