Public Service Announcement

I know this is a lame use of our blog, especially since we haven't updated in such a long time. But I honestly feel like people should be aware of this. Please visit this link, it's a recording of some pretty frightening customer service. Verizon Math Fail And post this link on your blog.

I've been tagged.

Actually, I was double-tagged. Some time ago now.

I'm checking the last few items off the 2008 to-do list before the New Year's Festival takes over the last several days! (BTW. You should come if you're within a day's drive of Columbus. It will be so so worth it!) And I'm feeling all bright-eyed just now. So here goes...7 things you probably don't know about me. Enjoy as you would a fine wine.

1. Karl and I discovered when we got married and merged our book collections that we had the same obscure childhood title "A King with Six Friends," a favorite for both of us. So now we have two copies.
2. Most of you probably know I'm an irrepressible nerd, but here's a little-known fact from the archives that probably seals the deal--in high school I appeared on a game show sponsored by my local news station with my school's Quiz Team. There were trigger-buttons and microphones. We got spanked, but it was fun. I was a proud member of this team for four years. I also participated several times in a strange county-wide event that involved taking a science test in the morning and going fishing in the afternoon. ? I performed well in one category.
3. In my travels as a burgeoning crafty academic I have obtained quite a button collection. My favorite has an image of the Michigan mitten adorned with a heart; the button reads "People are DIYing in Detroit."
4. If I could put more sriracha sauce on everything, I would.
5. When I was seven I took a vacation with my extended family, Glover-side, to a beach house. My dad was on a windsurfer and was washed a mile and a half into the ocean before anyone realized--this was actual danger here. I was put in charge of the kids while the parents worried through his rescue on the shore. I remember being very worried, sitting to calm myself down. My mom assures me that there was a party-like atmosphere in the house when everyone returned, however; I had supplied each of the children with a can of pop, including my six-month old cousin and year-old little sister in a high chair. I don't remember that part.
6. For a few weeks I lived in Minneapolis pretty well alone; Karl was moving up to live with his brother and deliver most of my belongings from Michigan but he hadn't arrived yet. I spent much of that time reading Foucault and Boudrillard and watching Zoolander and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--for some reason I had no DVDs with me in Minneapolis yet so those were the ones I went out and bought--on my computer, over and over. You know how if you eat Ramen noodles it kind of tastes like college? Zoolander, a movie that makes me laugh every time, smacks of that odd little corner of my life.
7. I am developing a post-dissertation reading list to take with me when I go lay on the beach for like a month. (A side note: I welcome suggestions.) The book that is on my shelf that I am currently wishing so much that I could pick up and read: Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang.

I am not tagging anyone, as I have already stretched this particular meme past the point of legitimacy. Farewell for now! Enjoy spinning down 2008 and welcoming 2009--I hope you're spending it with me.

I have a new job too.

Slightly less new than Karl's but it's time to talk about it! As of September, I'm teaching at Ohio State University in the Theatre Department! I was given a one-year appointment. I'm just wrapping up the fall quarter; I taught a course on theatre history (ancient Greek to French neo-classical! A party-making syllabus if I ever saw one!) and a class I got to create from scratch: Solo Performers in the United States, 1980-present. Totally awesome. In the winter quarter I'll be teaching an intro to theatre class and a class called America Onstage, which deals with representations of American identity and the American Dream. Then in the spring I'll be teaching America Onstage again and also facilitating a production that will showcase new works written and directed by undergrads in the department. How cool is that?

My job is hard, but I love it. It's got to be saying something that I feel I'm getting away with something when I spend time prepping for classes and meeting with students because I love it so much.

Also, in recent times, I have been "tagged," as the kids say. I will respond to this internet meme soon, I assure you.

New Job

Greetings to those of you who still check this blog after all these months of non-posting.

I have an announcement.  I am leaving my jobs with Paul Robinett Candles and Renetto Canopy Chairs effective 12/31/2008.  I will begin a new full-time job working for Central Vineyard church in an administrative capacity in January.  I'm very excited to get started on this.  Drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.  

Welcome to the world, Will.

May I refer you to Nick and Beth's blog for some real baby-related joy.

Psalm 33

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.

The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

But the plans of the Lord Stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.

From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;

from his dwelling place he watches all
who live on earth--

he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love

to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.

It's a happy anniversary.