what a wonderful birthday!

I had a wonderful birthday weekend.

Saturday, I went to the spa with truth, and then we got my interview suit, which is saucy, and i got it on the cheap....YIPEEE!!!!!

Then I had a lovely surprise party.....that truth and sir gb planned, and the lovely lynny made many, many monkey decorations, which are fabulous and in fact still up in our apartment.

Sunday sir gb and i went to my favorite burger joint, clarke's for an excellent burger and then spent the rest of the day watching silly movies, it was fabulous.

Then on the actual big day.....i went and had lunch with some of my lovely ladies.....got some sweet shoes for my suit, and then....came home, did a little work, had champers and opened pressies.....Let's just say I have an awesome group of people, including my family and friends that got me some really cool stuff.....these included really cool books (including this awesome book on knitting animales....they are so awesome!), but one of the coolest things....well...yes i know i am a gadget freak and it isn't romantic at all....but sir gb got me a roomba......now I am the proud owner of a robot!!!!!!!! It is awesome...

Now Tiger just really enjoyed the box the Roomba came in....she played in at all last night....

Tonight we are headed to the A's vs Red Sox match....hopefully the Sox will pull their shit together....I am sick of watching them suck!

Apology

Apparently some of my readers do not find nut kicking or rochambeaux funny. I can understand how that is a delicate area (As a sociologist I would be remiss not to mention there appears to be a gender effect). So for all of you who don't find rochambeaux or nut kicking, mea maxima culpa

My run ins with america's funniest home videos

So I haven't paid any attention to this show in about 20 years....but I have had 2 america's funniest home videos moments in the past two days....this is way more often than i would like to have happy.

But yesterday, truth and i were in the grocery, and we saw a dad and his like 10 year old kid play fighting....and in the reversal from traditional home video footage, the dad came close to kicking his sun in the nuts about 6 times.....finally to end the battle the dad gave him a titty twister...i mean who does this with their kids...it is totally fucked up.

then today i read this interesting piece on slate about how you tube has transformed our viewing of these sorts of videos, and we are now watching people get hit in the nuts alone on our computers, rather than as a happy family or group....Robert Putnum, why couldn't you have used this example instead of bowling....i mean rochambeaux is much more interesting than bowling...nut kicking.....always funny!

Cows with Accents

I mean who knew (apparently these people)....I thought only animated cows had accents....but apparently it is true.

I wonder if Tiger cat has a british meow from growing up with Sir GB? hmmmmm....must investigate!

My 200th post!!!!!

Nothing too exciting to report....I am stil in the dark about my birthday party, but I am excited about my trip to the spa for my theraputic mud wrap.

It will be a nice break, as I haave ben working my ass off since I got back from Montrel, and probably will be doing so until I go on vacation in december.

But hopefully there will a big payoff for all of the work....time will only tell.....until then i'll wonder when this birthday extravaganza will occur.....

it's coming soon....

yes, soon i will be 30...well next monday the 28th......all i know is there is a party....sometime, somewhere....the rest is a mystery....which is always intriguing...

so what am i doing to get ready....getting job applications ready....hence there is now an academic website, knitting and crafting up a storm...also preparing my self for job talk shopping....sir gb is buying me a suit for my birthday, which is a pretty sweet gift....but i am starting to need adult like clothes to go to work, I am co-teaching with karen this fall, so I have to keep up....

but in the mean time....we have got an early birthday greeting to my brother-in-law, greg, and a happy anniversary to my parents on the 28th (yes, the same day as my birthday, but 5 years earlier---they aren't shady.....although that would make for even more ridiculous family stories).

New pictures

So, I thought I would give you all some exciting photos....here are the last ones fom the beach

And here are some of montreal....i loved the biodome and the botanical gardens..so yes, many plants and animals!!!!

ASA is done

So I gave my presentation this morning. It went well, of course I ran out of time, as one does. But it went over fairly well. Things I have learned....reading from a script....not my style....I do much better with bullet points and going with the flow....but that is just me....but things are all well in the world...I made many useful contacts for getting a job, and now we get to play in montreal for almost two full days!

Yippeeee!!!!!

B/c when i get back it is time to put the nose to the grindstone and get to work!

Montreal Update

It is a slow day here in presentation land. I don't have to go to a session until 12:30 and even then it is optional. Although I definitely have to put in an appearance at the Cooley Mead address this afternoon. The winner this year is Lynn Smith Lovin. While my research is in no way connected to hers, she is just one of the nicest sociologists around, so of course I will attend. My ulterior motive.....networking. I am on the job market, and it is important to be seen. But that is going well...so not too much stress, but why mess it up know.

But talk 1 went well. talk 2 is tomorrow morning at 8:30....I have been practicing with sir gb...so it should be fine.

But montreal is a beautiful city, if you haven't been, get your butt up here, it is wonderful.

Greetings from Montreal!

I am hanging in Montreal for the American Sociological Association Meetings....So far it is a lovely city. Pretty low key, easily walkable...and good food. All things I like in a city. The hotel is lovely.

I have my first presentation today, and then my second on monday morning. The time change is kind of a pain in the ass, and this is precisely why i am making a pot of coffee.....

Just thought I would update you with my whereabouts......

Wish me luck

My First Nobel Laureate

Yesterday at UC Berkeley visiting Coye, talking about our NSF project, we went to see the Xlab....who do we run into...but George Akerlof....nobel laureate. If you aren't familiar with his work, he is most famous for the market for lemons. Of course...all sorts of horrible things went through my head....luckily i didn't say any of them.....they include such winners as:
so how did you fair in the lemon market
would you like some lemonade
how about those lemons

But was most interesting, was that when he met Karen he said, "I know who you are, I cite you all of the time." Karen was kind of excited, she says she never knows who might now

CAT TOWN

This shit is ridiculous....if Tiger would just let me put clothes on her, I would have my own cat town.....