Killarney’s Irish Pub Blog

So I had another long and vivid dream last night, in which I met these people who were really musical and creative, and we were all in this big room (with great hard wood floors) and we were drinking wine and brainstorming about a musical we were trying to write (the plot is still very clear in my head, about a socially awkward guy who joins a street gang, kind of The Office meets The Outsiders…which makes sense since yesterday I taught The Outsiders and then later watched The Office).   ANYWAY, the dreamland musical was pretty silly, but I woke up (A) wondering why I have been having such strange dreams lately (the frozen hamburger dream being just a couple of nights ago), (B) really wanting to write a musical, (C) missing you folks who I could actually write a musical with, and (D) ready to continue writing MLA the Musical which, yes, has a very niche audience, but is also really, really funny.  So I guess I am writing to ask if anyone will write a musical with me, MLA the Musical or something else.   Anyone? 

A holiday update from the Oster-nuge’s (cause we don’t do cards), even though it’s hard to shift pictures of that beautiful little boy below the fold.

We’re getting ready for the holidays here, but still not entirely sure what we’re doing for Christmas: that’s the way the Nugents roll, but I’m sure we’ll find out eventually. In the meantime, the fake tree is up, the fake garland is hung, and Jim’s tacked up some lights–in a very casual sort of way–across the front porch. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We’re even thinking of getting a real tree. I can’t remember the last time I had a Christmas that didn’t start off with some kind of incredibly agonizing car or plane trip, so I’m really looking forward to our first Christmas…together…in the new house.

We’re in the middle of 2 searches at the moment, one for a first-year comp expert and one for new media, & somehow I ended up chairing both of them. But our new dept chair is co-chairing & has been a big help. We’re doing phone & video interviews this week rather than going to MLA…which was sort of necessary since this would’ve been my fourth MLA in a row & I’d have had to kill someone if I had to leave family right after Christmas for another year.

Our department has finally moved into new digs, a new building with all new furniture, carpet, paint. Lovely. We’re all on the same floor now rather than spread out onto four different floors. & the department is starting to come together like a department…or like a friendly department where people like and respect each other, anyway.

I’m sort of stealing or co-stealing his thunder, but Ludwig & I each got a research grant to do an archival project in Chicago this summer. With luck our book will be out before we start in on this next collaboration. If we could plan some kind of reunion around our research trip, it’d be cool. I’ll have a car in Chicago, so I could drive us all (Jeff, April, Jim, me?) down to B/N for a couple of days of reunionizing early in the summer. What’s everyone else’s schedules look like?

Jim’s great, teaching business writing, enjoying his new office. I think he’ll defend in March. I’ve put the kibosh on him defending before that since we’ll be up to our eyeballs in campus visits at the beginning of the year & I want to be there for his defense.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

So we’re only a month late posting this, but JACKSON IS ONE!!

It is hard to believe this year has gone by so fast.  Too fast for my tastes, but what can you do?  

 We did up the livingroom in banners and streamers and balloons.  We may have gone a little overboard, and the place looked like we were going to host a high school prom.

Big Papi Will came up for the big birthday celebration.  He also got to see Jackson in his Halloween costume as the cutest penguin every.  See our blog for those pictures.

Susie and Will made a great (dairy free) birthday cake with both vanilla and chocolate cake.  It was a big job because this was Jackson’s very first taste of cake.

He loved it!  It took him a moment to figure out that it was food and that we were actually encouraging him to eat it, but once he did, all bets were off.  He ate it, he smeared it, he rubbed it all over his face, and shoved it in his mouth with both hands.

And then just to make sure he had plenty for later, he put some in his party hat.  That’s my boy.

It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home and we were just hoping we didn’t break him.  Now, a year later we are thrilled to have a happy, healthy one-year-old baby boy that is the light of our life.

Well, Nikki….How did it go? Can we call you Dr. yet?

Well, I believe I will be defending on Monday, November 17th at 1pm.

http://www.chatzy.com/302404364279

See if that works for y’all.

Rach 

Hey folks,

Anyone up for a chat tomorrow night?  It seemed to go pretty well last time, and now there is even more at stake.  We can celebrate or share our sorrows.  Either way it’s better than being alone in our emotions, right?

Rach 

I just got the all clear to go to format check with my diss.

Still some minor comments and terminology to clear up, but nothing major - whew!

Dear Blog Buddies,<br>I am in a position to have to have to teach a traditional, old fashioned literary analysis (exploring a theme of a book to be exact) AND must create a Blackboard activity/quiz/something to build toward the planning stages of said essay.   If you found yourself in a situation like this, what might your Blackboard activity be? 

it is the 1st step to the eventual Pietruszynski reader. With all of the good news being posted, I thought I would add my own. I have been working with a publisher since May who contacted me about publishing my Dissertation. Well, the deal appears to be done as I was just asked to provide a picture for the dust cover. Although it won’t be mass produced, the title will be avalible on all major booksellers (amazon.com) in a few months.

There is now talk of translating the text into German (it is a german publisher) so I am lobbying my chair to allow me to put it on my CV twice since the titles will be different.