31 March 2007

Before Holy Week...
...one last bit of fun.

Check out the CIA's recruiting site. Especially check out their personality quiz. It's hilarious. The choice of vehicles included submarine, hot air balloon, and horse and buggy. I chose the horse and buggy, of course, although the hot air balloon was tempting.

29 March 2007

EEEEE








That's about as close to squealing as I get--the non-typed version is usually accompanied by a bit of excited hopping. The reason? I called the church, and fiance and I are now penciled into the book for November 17th 2007 10:30am: we're really getting married!

For the first two weeks after we announced our engagement I was excitedly looking at wedding dresses online and flipping through bridal magazines and all of that, but since then "The Wedding" gets shuffled to the back of my mind most days, the front of my mind being occupied with more immediate problems like that paper that's due in a couple of weeks. But once in a while something happens that gives me that little electric thrill of "wow, I am getting married--we are getting married--this time next year I will be a wife."

I'll be sure to keep you updated on all the gory details of Marriage Prep/Engaged Encounter in Los Angeles. I'm trying to be optimistic, and think that surely they won't say anything out of line with the Church's teaching, and there may be some practical advice, and even if some of it seems a bit soppy we will probably get something out of the experience.

19 March 2007

Happy St. Joseph's Day!




Like many unmarried women, I will be praying for my future husband today. The difference is that this year, I know for sure who he is!

I pray also today that St. Joseph will aid my friends who are searching for jobs--there are several of them, and that he will help my parents sell their house.

Last but not least, happy name day to all my friends named Joseph, Jose, Josepha, and Josephine!

08 March 2007

Pink Martini for Spring Break

The Cranky Professor mentioned Pink Martini a few days ago, and I said that Pink Martini rules (they do!), to which the Professor agreed. Check out the clip he posted of the band singing Una notte a Napoli and then check out the clip of Sympathique below (picture quality isn't great, but it's a fun music video).



For me, spring break starts today--huzzah!

03 March 2007

Cross-dressing Wagner and West African Pop

Have I got your attention? The first is an article from the Guardian. As if we didn't already think Richard Wagner was more than a little crazy, there's a possibility he may have had a thing for ladies' clothes.

Our department has an opening for a professor, so over the last two weeks they've interviewed three candidates and us poor, put-upon graduate students have sat through their lectures. Actually I didn't go to the first one, and the other two were interesting. On Tuesday I heard a lecture on the history of music in California, and today I got to hear a lecture on western influences on Bollywood music and a mock class on West African pop (music of Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali). This isn't a genre that's ever been on my radar screen before, but I was fascinated by the oldest genre discussed, which is called highlife and originated in Ghana. Get thee to iTunes and look up E. T. Mensah. It sounds a lot like Cuban jazz to me. Very cool stuff.