Ah, so many scheduling conflicts! Wednesday my improv troupe (The Leash) gets a chance to play together in a big ensemble show with our far-more-experienced partner group Ivan at Helios (411 Westheimer, 8 p.m., $5, come!), which should be TONS of fun. But ... the same night I'm supposed to attend this swanky dinner party in River Oaks with some wealthy Haverford people who want to talk about "the State of Humanities" (on which I could versify or B.S. pretty well for a few hours) and who could potentially be great contacts for jobs and other stuff ... it really is a good opportunity. But ... I just can't miss this improv show (!), especially since I'll be gone in Philadelphia for the next two shows on the 2nd and the 9th!
The underlying theme of this blog post is "intensity." Think of the "Run Lola Run" scene where the truck driver get's distracted by Lola's sprinting and runs into a giant sheet of glass.
I think I'm a little accelerated right now because my schedule is leaving less-than-enough time for my masters thesis (final version due in late April). I enjoy my topic quite a bit and the novels I'm working with are very cool (more on that in another post), but to work effectively I really have to let go of other things in my life and have some long uninterrupted study time in a hidden-away relaxing hovel (which doesn't happen a lot). The best place so far has actually been Onion Creek on White Oak, early in the morning. The living room area is awesome. Also, the Yale Street Coffee House, after morning rush, is usually completely empty (though open) for several hours until 12:30 or 1 and the owners are so nice. There I can have a whole living room to myself that's really better than being at home.
Right now I'm designing a Pablo Neruda theme unit for my afternoon 102 class and staring forlornly at a 6-inch pile of grading for my morning 101 class. Any guess what I'm likely to spend more time on?
I'm also trying to design some name tags for the Symposium our department is hosting on the 26th. "Re-inventing Hispanism in the Age of Globalization." Despite the dorky name, this should be REALLY interesting for an academic event, and the debates are likely to be high-octane. I really do think that there is a lot at stake -- professionally and personally -- in this particular field: Who has the right to name what's Hispanic or Latino and speak for those people? And what does that have to do with literature, social science, immigration, or even the teaching of the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and indigenous languages? The conference seems to include both conservative folks and radical folks who would shake up the way things are done~ so I'm looking forward to it ...
Last night I went to Gente de Teatro rehearsal and was able to talk to them more about the possibility of using my brother Wilson as a guitarist in the show. Things look good and we have a rehearsal/ audition set up for March 1, after which Wilson and I will hopefully go out to party with Jose's friend Angel who is visiting that week from Spain. The next day after teaching I have to go to the airport, so I won't have many other chances to see him (& I've heard so much about him from Jose over the last couple of years).
Speaking of things Wilson, he told me that (sister-in-law) Carrie's grandfather died yesterday. I hope to call her later today. i guess this means they might be away in San Antonio when I go to Austin for the improv show this weekend. We shall see.
And another (though less serious) milestone: I just realized that today is ex-girlfriend Ana María's birthday (26). Me pregunto lo que ella estará haciendo. A lo mejor le debo mandar un emilio ... a veces intercambiamos mensajes, pero ella no suele contarme mucho de su vida actual. Creo que lo está pasando bien ... últimamente estaba de viaje unas semanas, no sé dónde.
Allright, that's enough procrastinating grading for now ...
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