I am not big on forwards...

...but I am glad to pass this link on.
Consider this short video about global warming.
Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDsIFspVzfI

Okay, and a little on me...

So, me? Well, work involved a LOT of travel in October and November, and then December was just about the slowest month I've ever worked in any job. I was just about to throw myself over the edge out of pure boredom and worthlessness. But, here I am in '08 with a brand new schedule of travel and training and good solid worth-full-ness work. Yippee!!! I love to be productive!

I had a splendiforous Christmas in Georgia with Mom and Wood and Bryan and Kim. Kim and I made gingerbread houses. It was my first time (and maybe Kim's?) so we used kits that had done all the hard work for us. It was super fun...more fun than I thought it would be. Gingerbread houses just don't show their glory in a photo. You gotta be there up close to see all the wonderous sugar dripping and hanging and oozing from the house. :)

Then Mark and I spend the tween-week ('tween Christmas and New Year's) in Chicago at the MLA conference. I LOOOOOOVE Chicago. I could move there right now. Even though it was bitterly cold some days, I LOOOVED it. We stayed in our friends' (Lee and Chelsea's) apartment, and rode the train in and out of the city. We even enjoyed a bit of theater, which was really top-notch independent theater. It was called "The Sparrow" and I recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Chicago any time soon.

We spent New Year's back here in Baltimore, with Mark's parents and we ate like kings (and queens). The food was just about the best food I've had in many years, any where. (Nice cooking, Ed!). From a shrimp appetizer to mushroom and brie soup, to the most delicious lamb ever (I don't even usually like lamb, but THIS was mmmmmm!) All in all, good food. Mark kept me pretty happy on Cosmo's, too. :) We watched the fireworks over the harbor from the 8th floor of Bonnie's building, where there is an outdoor area with a garden and the pool and a viewing area over the water. It was quite nice.

Now I'm pretty much back to work. It was a great vacation, and I'm refreshed and ready to go. I even spent most of the day yesterday, scrubbing and cleaning and vacuuming the house with all the vigor of spring cleaning in a winter day. Turns out I kind of like living in a clean house. Who would have thought :)

More on Mark

We were in Chicago last week, for the MLA conference where Mark and all the other potential professors (thousands and thousands of hopefuls) meet up with all the hiring institutions. It was quite a site...huge convention-sized hotels packed to the brim with academic hopefuls and presenters and interviewers.

Mark had two interviews: one with Mississippi State and the other with Yale. The Yale interview came at the last minute and was a wonderful surprise. It sounds like Mark did very well in both interviews--he was pleased with the way he presented himself. He's pretty "green," I guess you could say, as far as applicants go, so we were not necessarily expecting a job from either of these interviews...just a great opportunity to be a part of the job market, see how things work, and exercise his interviewing skills. The interview with Yale was a great experience.

So far, we've heard back from Yale, and have not heard back from Mississippi yet.
Out of the hundreds of people who applied for the Yale job, Mark was picked to be interviewed with what was probably about 8 or 9 other applicants. Schools generally pick the top 3 finalists from the interviews and invite to visit the campus and give a talk to the department. Mark was informed that he was #4. I consider this a HUGE win. #4 out of the all those folks out there?

Anyway, it looks like no Yale for us next year, but Mark and I have been having a great time making plans for all the things he'll need to accomplish before next year's job market to be an undeniably kick-ass applicant. I'm so proud of him, and really excited about what he's going to accomplish this year.