And now for some poetic inspiration from the Writer's Almanac

I strongly recommend subscribing to the Writer's Almanac newsletter. You know, that 2 minutes they have on at like 6:47am with Garrison Keeler reading you a poem? Comes in email form, unfortunately without Garrison Keeler.

Anyway, today they have a poem from William Henry Davies, called "Leisure" about enjoying life. Read it and enjoy some life today.

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Inspired by women who find a way to balance their careers and their lives

The other day I went to the gym and saw a friend who had given birth to a beautiful little girl three weeks prior. She was just getting back into exercise, and maybe even taking a little time for herself. On those days when I feel "too tired" to go to the gym, I think of her and it inspires me.

I sometimes read the Mama, PhD blog and while sometimes I think they can sound a little complain-y, it does make real the challenges of combining family life with an academic career. The blog led me to this book, and a great essay by Barbara Jacobowitz which says, "My love for my work enhances what I bring to my children as a parent, and.. the love that I bear for my children brings something extra to my work." She never says it is easy, but is anything worth living for easy?

And no, I am not pregnant. What is it with people? I had a glass of seltzer at the party and everybody freaked out and said I must be. I sure hope not, because I also had a glass of wine. Something about turning 30 and people suddenly think you've turned into mom.

In the beginning, there was this: "My parents were Greek."

When I began to interview Dr. James Estafanos Alatis about his life and career, he told me, “One might want to start from the beginning. And how I got involved in languages at all.”

I said, “Yes.”

“My parents were Greek,” he said.

For Dr. Alatis, his life’s work in foreign language education, the teaching of English as a second language and advocacy for less commonly taught languages begins with Greek. From a Greek community of steel workers and small business owners in Weirton, West Virginia, Dr. Alatis pursued a vigorous academic career that encompasses work in education policy, educational leadership, and teaching. The stories of his origins and his sense of self as a Greek American highlight the transcultural nature of his experience. This exploration of Dr. Alatis’s life examines his fluid movement between cultural narratives of Greece and America, his interaction with the borderland language of Americanized Greek, and his dual experience of belonging to and alienation from the Greek community.

plugging away

I'm still plugging away at work, it's just been a whirlwind of activity in my life. You can tell from my desk, which is a mess.

Currently linking together the Greek-American immigrant experience, transcultural narratives of old and new traditions, and Dr. Alatis's life. I think it makes sense. I'm about to take a look at it in a few to see.

getting ready for comprehensive exams

I'm like, didn't I do this already? In undergrad? Yeah. That was a miserable time of life. This doesn't seem that bad.

I have to write 2 papers (we're calling them "scholarly articles"). Here are the comp questions:

1. Using Alistair Thompson's article "Four Paradigm Transformations in Oral History" (Oral History Review 2007 34(1):49-70) as a starting point, what are the methods of creating oral history for the fourth paradigm transformation, the digital era? What are the ethical implications of using these new technologies to create oral history?

2. Dr. James E. Alatis attributes his interest in languages and linguistics to his upbringing in a Greek immigrant community in West Virginia. How does the literature on the transcultural experience of heritage language speakers illuminate this experience?

Thoughts? You wanna write them for me?