Kentucky, Bourbon, and Cinema

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Kate

I am back from my second conference trip of the school year, which went very well. Because the vast majority of the time I am focused on teaching, it’s always nice to work on the research and writing sides of life. Of course, conferences are a great chance to present one’s academic work and receive feedback from one’s peers, but let’s face it: it’s also really fun! Once again I was able to use the conference as a way to travel with and/or meet up with some far-away friends and we had a wonderful time of it.

One of my favorite places to visit in Louisville is the Seelbach Hotel, which is very glamorous indeed. It has this lovely old bar, which is — according to legend — the very bar where one F. Scott Fitzgerald met the man who inspired him to create Jay Gatsby. The bar has great character and a list of bourbons a mile long. It’s always on my list of places to go when in town for the conference and so far I’ve had at least one drink there every year.

I know it sounds like this was a drinking conference and not a literary conference, but for one thing I don’t like to blog about work, and for another thing, listen! Kentucky is where bourbon comes from! And bourbon is my favorite! So you will not be shocked when I tell you that B. and D. and I also managed to squeeze in a distillery tour. On Friday, E. had to teach classes, none of us had an conference sessions to attend, so the timing seemed perfect to escape to Lawrenceburg, where Four Roses Distillery is located. Our tour guide, Terry, showed us all of the operations and led us through a tasting afterward.

I was excited to learn that their Small Batch Bourbon is made specifically with the K and the O strains of yeast — my initials! — and it was also my favorite of the samples we tried, so of course I had to buy a bottle. I haven’t opened it yet — saving for a special occasion.

I am thankful that I’ve had a couple of days to wind down from the trip and the absolutely insane two work-weeks that preceded it. If I hadn’t worked my butt off all last week, I’d have found myself with stacks of essays to grade upon coming home. As it was, I was able to attend a friend’s fabulous Oscar party last night, where we all dressed up in costumes inspired by the ten best picture nominees. I went Black Swan style (as did a few others), and The Fighter, 127 Hours, The King’s Speech, and Toy Story 3 were also represented.

If you are thinking that my costume was merely an excuse to buy myself a pair of legwarmers, you are only half right: I also got to attend a party in what were basically pajamas. Totally fun. Sadly the broadcast itself was a bit underwhelming, but I did enjoy the following elements: Helen Mirren looking like a total fox and speaking French, Trent Reznor looking also foxy but charmingly normal and articulate, and James Franco’s bit about all the film titles that sounded dirty. Heh. Winter’s Bone. Heh.

So how have you been? I’ve been rushing around so much and so behind on the internet that I need an update on YOU! What’s up?

Stolen Moments

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Kate

The past two weeks have been the busiest of the semester by far. As midterm approaches, I am always so busy I’m on fire, but this semester it’s worse than usual. I’ve planned things rather poorly and (it’s way too boring to get into) I seem to have found myself in an endless string of ten- or twelve-hour days, writing, grading, and doing regular classwork. Even typing that short version of life lately was exhausting, you know.

Let me take a deep breath.

Moving on!

I’m stealing a moment or two right now to write this blog post, and I’ve managed a few other stolen moments here and there, too: a night out to celebrate a friend’s birthday, an hour here or there to catch up on my hulu TV (Parks and Recreation, I am telling you, is the best comedy on right now), and a morning spent running a 10K race with a few friends.

There’s been a little of this:

A LOT of this:

A few tiny glimpses of this:

And more still of this:

That last photograph is me, reflected in the darkened window of my office, long after almost everyone else has gone home for the night. Usually, I don’t like to stay too late at work and I never like to take work home with me. I am usually pretty successful at keeping most of my work to within my normal hours (7:00-4:00 or so), but lately it’s been either stay late, or take work home, or both. Usually both.

Being in the office so late can feel a bit creepy: the halls echo; the elevator groans; footsteps sound sinister. It’s also a bit nostalgic, though. It reminds me of those long hours working late at night in graduate school, when I stayed in my campus office with the door locked until as late as two or three in the morning, studying for exams or writing my dissertation; the only sounds in the building were my typing fingers and the occasional ka-pshhh of my cracking open a can of Red Bull. Oh, youth.

On Wednesday, I leave town with three good friends to drive up to Kentucky for our annual conference trip. I’ll be gone all weekend, and my goal is not to have to take any work with me. I plan to spend my time looking at the beautiful countryside, visiting with my friends, and sippin’ on Bourbon. And oh yeah, I suppose I have to present my paper and whatnot. Right. Public speaking. Well then.

I’ve stolen my moment for the day. If I am going to make this (semi-) leisurely trip a reality, I still have to write the conclusion to my paper and grade a massive pile of student essays. Back to the books, then!

I hope life finds you in fine fettle today, friends.

(Too Many Parentheticals)

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Kate

This past weekend, My friend S. and I had a joint not-our-birthday party. As you may recall, we share a birthday. As you may also recall, it was in December! But we didn’t get to celebrate together then, so why not do it now? I am beginning to think I could have a birthday party every couple of months and people might not notice or remember. Shall we see if this holds? Just kidding. But I do appreciate any excuse for a party.

Any excuse to bake cupcakes (my first attempt at chocolate):

Any excuse to receive flowers (first time in over a decade receiving flowers; first time in over sixteen years receiving flowers from a male person):

(I don’t know, y’all; I think I tend to date hippies and cads who think the act of giving flowers is beneath them. This must change.)

Any excuse to have my house fill up with my funny and charming friends. There were so many of us we had to open the windows because of how hot it got!

The best thing about hosting parties, however, is that one always has a ton of food left over no matter how much one encourages the guests to take some home. The next day, among a dozen or so random beers in my fridge, I found a lone bottle of this Bell’s Cherry Stout and had it with dinner:

(Can I get a what’s up for that action pour shot, please?) It was actually insanely delicious and I want more. I’ve never seen it before so I must track down the person who brought it and find out where it can be obtained.

In other news, this week I have been enjoying going to bed early and reading. Having just a little half glass of wine while I do makes me feel so decadent and luxurious and privileged and leisurely, even if I am essentially behaving like a mildly alcoholic grandma, drinking wine in bed at, like, 9:00 PM.

Honestly, it’s just a half glass; I swear!

Today I took my reading downtown to the coffee shop where I got a lot of work done. I promised myself I could go across the street to the Gap and shop for trousers if I worked successfully, which I did. My shopping was just as successful: got a perfect pair of black trousers on sale, and found a pair of jeans I’d been wanting also on super-low-clearance sale — but not in my size! Luckily, the sales girl called another store and had them send me the jeans. They should be delivered right to my house. While down there I snapped some pictures outside the bike shop:

These beachy cruisers out front must mean that spring is really just around the corner, right? I hope so. Bike commuting, here I come. My lovely and productive afternoon was slightly dampened by finding a parking ticket on my car, but at only $5 I think I can live with it.

Unrelatedly: I think sometimes that I exist in a dating pool peopled exclusively by different versions of Mr. Wickham (who takes shape often as Daniel Cleaver, Barney Stinson, The Mayhem Guy, or similar) and Mr. Collins (who, in real life, is never so off-putting as he may seem on the page or screen but who, regardless, does not inspire in one That Special Feeling). (Yes, I was just watching the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, why do you ask?) But seriously, though: why so many Wickhams and Collinses and so few Darcies? Regardless of all this, I am occasionally taken with fits of romantic optimism. Don’t ask me why; I know not.

Video Blog: Listen to Me Talk! (aka This is What My Students Must Endure All Semester)

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Kate

Have you seen the accent video blogs going around the internet lately? Bloggers from all over are recording themselves saying a few specific words and answering some questions so that others can hear what their accents sound like.

I mean, allegedly.

Probably it’s some kind of scam to get us all to record a certain set of phonemes so someone in a sound lab somewhere deep underground in an ice castle can cobble together a reasonable facsimile of our voices in order to hatch some devious plot. What do you mean I watch too many spy movies?!

Regardless, due to my love of accents and regional colloquialisms of all kinds, I have been eagerly enjoying all of these videos. Sooner or later, I had to make my own. The problem is that I am very awkward on video and I recorded it with PhotoBooth on my Mac, and I had no idea where to look — at the camera? At the image of me? At the list of words I was reading? So I look sort of shifty-eyed the entire time. Forgive my awkwardness, or at least try not to look directly at it.

Here is the text to read if anyone wants to play along and record your own (please do; oh, please, please do!!).

The Word List: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught.

The Questions:

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

So tell me: do I have a southern accent? Yay or nay? Do you know other terms/expressions that answer the questions above? Let me know.

Love Lately

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Kate

Anything involving cherries. From the cherry at the bottom of my Manhattan to the cherry preserves I have been eating on everything to the bag of frozen cherries that I have in the freezer and from which I have been grazing regularly, I am all about cherries right now. When will it be time for fresh cherries?

Trail running at the forest ecology preserve. It was a gorgeous day out on Saturday and I hit the trails with glee and abandon. I see this becoming a regular weekend run again if the weather holds.

Green smoothies. Mix a handful of greens with a frozen banana and some soy milk. Tastes mostly like banana and is a lovely shade of nutritious green.

Thoughts of summer. Have I lost my mind? For one thing, it’s only January. For another thing, summer in the deep south can be smothering. I don’t know, though; I’m thinking of sundresses and sweat rather fondly right now.

Nasoya “Lite” firm tofu – tastes just like the regular stuff but less than half the calories. I cannot argue with this.

Power yoga and body pump classes at my gym. I’ve been attending tons of these and loving it. Read more about it in my latest post at Bodies.

Running in general. Sure, I always love to run, but lately I am feeling better and faster than ever. Post-marathon recovery, lower mileage, speed workouts. More on this sometime.

Scholarly reading and writing. It’s been a while since I have worked on a new scholarly project and I am appreciating the chance to flex my intellect.

Standoff. Hulu recommended this show to me and I do love a good crime drama. I also love Ron Livingston and badass Gina Torres. It seems there was only one season and I’m already halfway through it.

The comments on my last post — you guys are great! Thanks for saying hello.

My tumblr. In the comments section of the last post, a few of us were talking about tumblr so I decided to check it out. I plan to use it as a place to link/share content from the internet that I am enjoying. Minimal writing, just neat stuff. See more things I’m crushing on over there.