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January 31, 2006
Day one
I just made it through my first day back in class. So far, it looks like it's going to be tough. My Tuesday schedule isn't bad, though. It's just that the classes will probably be a lot of work. So far, I've had Introductory Hebrew and a class about sex, love, and prostitution in medieval literature. Fun!
Speaking of fun, check out Brandon Bird's latest project.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
There's a School for the Dead song in my head now.
So, I guess my short break is over a little sooner than I had planned, since I have to head over to UMass this morning for a couple of meetings, and I have some (fun) reading to do before my class tomorrow evening. While it's comforting to know that I will have some information on the class I'm teaching this spring, I wanted to get in one last day of craftiness and try to make another Betsy Ross skirt for when the warm weather comes. I don't think I'll have quite enough time this afternoon- but maybe I'll give it a shot.
We spent the weekend in New York. I hadn't been in a really long time. We had a nice time with our friends in Queens and then spent Saturday in Manhattan, visiting the MoMA and walking an insane amount. We also tried to visit one of our favorite NYC spots only to find that the proprietor was out.
Luckily, this weekend I managed to finish the novel I started last August, the week before starting at UMass. Now I will be responsible and not pick up another one until summer. Luckily, Dave is reading all sorts of things that I know I can't get into right now. For example, he's been reading War and Peace for the past couple of months.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2006
And you thought I had given up on being crafty!
Posted by kelseyfrost at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
Looking for a website...
So, I just remembered this great German DIY/design website I found a few years ago (I can't remember where or how...) and I don't recall what it was. All I know is that they had these crazy projects with instructions you could follow. The projects included things like barbie popsicles, a binder containing everything you need for a nap at your desk, and a beer-holding stool made just for watching football matches. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Speaking of beer-holding stools- I think I should have a beer.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)
Check soon for a knitting update, too! (as soon as my camera batteries charge and I can take photos)
Today I need to write evaluations for my Hampshire students. I did two this morning and have nine left. At UMass, I only ever wrote comments about my student athletes at progress report time, and those were mostly things like "Johnny would do much better if he didn't listen to his iPod in class..." It's nice to be able to write all the ways in which I saw these kids improve and how they worked towards those improvements. Of course, I'm still slacking because I'd rather knit and spend time on the internet...
Posted by kelseyfrost at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2006
And I knitted, too! So far, my week off is going well.
So, I chose to see the new Woody Allen movie, Match Point, at the 10:00 AM matinee today. I really enjoyed it; it was probably one of the better 10:00 movie choices I've made since I moved to Northampton. Of course, I romanticize the 10:00 AM matinee a lot before I actually attend, and then I get there and I begin to get nervous. Why? Pleasant Street Theater is already kind of chatty; the audience tends to forget that they're out in public and just are relatively loud throughout the whole film. At 10:00 AM, it's even worse. When the old lady three rows behind me went into great detail, in her loudest outdoor voice, about her plan to save money by going into lots and lots of debt, well- I began to despair. When the lady right behind me started talking to herself, I wondered if I could get my money back. I moved a few seats down in order to see past the woman in front of me and hoped for the best. It worked! Everyone was quiet for the whole movie. Two hours later, I walked out into the sunlight and felt weird for the rest of the afternoon (this is also an effect of the 10:00 AM matinee).
Posted by kelseyfrost at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2006
I sort of remember free time...
So that's it. I finished my last day of teaching at Hampshire today. My class was great- you should have seen their choreographed dance to "Fruta Fresca" by Carlos Vives at the final ceremony. It involved lots of counting in Spanish, to keep time. Very cute and funny. I now have one week off before what promises to be a difficult semester at UMass. My only plans this far include finishing the evaluations for my students, seeing the 10:00 AM matinee at Pleasant St. tomorrow (not sure which film), finishing the novel I've been reading for five months, and maybe a little knitting. Okay, now that sounds like a lot...
Posted by kelseyfrost at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
Very snowy.
This morning it seems like every single school in the Pioneer Valley is closed, except mine and Dave's.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2006
Headed to Boston
My good friend, Annie, and I have this thing we do. We'll talk vaguely about some plan for one of us to come to the city where the other lives- months in advance -and then not mention it again until the actual day of the event. That day, a phone call is made from the road to say, "hey, I'll be there soon- do you still want to hang out?" Last time, Annie visited me in Northampton, right before Christmas, and I mentioned this Winterpills show in Somerville. Have we talked about it since? Of course not. But Dave and I will probably get going early this evening and I will call her to check in. I hope it works! Of course, I have other friends in Boston/Somerville, too, who I should be calling. I am a bad friend sometimes.
(If Winterpills ever have a show in Chicago that I can make it to, Kirsten will probably get a little more advance warning.)
Posted by kelseyfrost at 06:56 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2006
I'm visiting the internet now!
Have you read this yet? It's funny until halfway through, then it's just sort of upsetting.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2006
I'm it. (And Kristen said I wouldn't have time!)
Sigh Club tagged me. I'm new at this- is this common?
Four jobs I've had in my life:
Working in the kitchen of Stonewall Kitchen (all through high school)
Language lab consultant at Smith College (all through college)
Programs Coordinator at CC-CS (after college)
Spanish teacher (now)
Four movies I could watch over and over:
Goodfellas
La Femme Nikita
Reservoir Dogs
Amelie
Four places I have lived:
(I only have three.)
Newmarket, NH
Cordoba, Spain
Northampton, MA
Four TV shows I love to watch:
The O.C.
Project Runway
Arrested Development
What Not to Wear (is that still on? I no longer have cable.)
Four places I have been on vacation:
(Did you know I like Spain?)
Madrid, Spain
Cordoba, Spain
Cazorla, Spain
Paris, France
Four websites I visit daily:
(My list of "daily" sites has dwindled considerably.)
Popgadget
Boing Boing
NY Times
Weather.gov
Four of my favorite foods:
moshi moshi sushi
tortilla espanyola
potato chips
(shhh. I like snails.)
Four places I would rather be right now:
Well, I'm at home, on my couch, with my cats, watching the Simpsons. So this is pretty good. If only Dave would get home... He's home!
Four bloggers I am tagging:
Do I know four? One tagged me!
debl, because- who else?
nico, porque te echo de menos.
my sister, even though her blog is different.
calamity jen, just to see what country she's in right now.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 05:05 PM | Comments (1)
January 17, 2006
Still cold, but not as cold.
Well, our heat seems to be back on and working, although we've been at around 65 degrees since last night. It's cold out, though, so I guess I can't expect it to be easy to get those extra three degrees in there.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 07:08 AM | Comments (3)
January 16, 2006
However...
As excited as I may be about this Hampshire College Jan Term, I seem to be physically incapable of planning a lesson for tomorrow or correcting their midterm essays. What will I do? Maybe the internet will tell me...
Posted by kelseyfrost at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
When our heat went out at 1:00 AM, I had a sudden fear that this was happening to our neighbors, too- we have Henning and Lesa's space heater! (I hope they're not cold.)
Hey, know what's really exciting when you're sick? Well, it's really exciting when your heat stops working on a fricken cold day. My landlord likes to come over and spend three minutes in the apartment, ten in the basement swearing and yelling, and then tell me he knows what's wrong and storm out to the hardware store. He's been here twice now and, while he may think he knows what's broken, he certainly doesn't seem to know how to fix it. Dave tells me we have heat now, and that the handymen had connected our thermostat to the wrong apartment... I'll believe it when it's not 55 degrees in here.
I have six more days teaching at Hampshire. It's been a really great experience thus far and I think has given me some new stuff to think about when I get into next semester at UMass. I'd love to get to do this program again some time.
Other than that, I really want to get it together and get back into the blogging routine, now that things are settling down a bit, and before the semester starts up. I'm going to have a possibly deadly courseload at UMass in the Spring. Everyone I talk to about the courses I've selected seems to think I'm crazy. We'll see if I need to drop one when it comes down to it. See, here's what I've noticed- all the students I've talked to say I'm doing too much and taking too many classes, but they're doing as much as I am or more. Are we all nuts? Well, quite possibly.
Winterpills have some exciting shows coming up, including PA's lounge in Somerville on Friday, Portsmouth, NH in March, and SXSW, among other things. We'll see how many shows I can make it to. I at least hope to get to Somerville and see some folks this weekend.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
Hi- how's it going?
So, I really thought that my January might be sort of relaxing, in comparison to the fall semester. And I guess it is, in a lot of ways, but the Hampshire Intensive Jan Term program is hard work. I teach the same group of students Spanish for two hour and forty-five minute sessions. The students are great- they're really smart and work really hard. They speak Spanish almost all the time, even though they've just started learning it. But it's a long day and a busy day. So, I haven't had much time off.
I also seem to be coming down with something. I'm trying to beat it with vitamins.
Posted by kelseyfrost at 05:57 PM | Comments (1)