Becca's Brain

Even though I'm the world's worst blogger (second to Monika - sorry, Mo!), I'm starting a new blog at posterous.com. It's the easiest blog to use because you just have to email your posts in to post@posterous.com, and they do all the rest - formatting photos, videos, etc. My friends Sachin & Garry made it, and they deserve all the praise they get for it. Anyway, check out my new blog here: chickenunderworld.posterous.com

I'll be going off to Mexico soon for Spanish classes, then heading to California to see my family & attend my 10 year high school reunion. So many interesting posts may be in store (if I can get myself organized).

I can't believe I just had my last day of classes for my first year! I'd feel much more amazed at the end of the year if I didn't have three of four finals left... But by next Friday, I will be all done with year 1. Just 3 more to go...(hopefully)! This year went so fast that I know I'll blink and be ending year 2 (and freaking out about the dissertation process). I'm looking forward to a bit of time off from school this summer. It's funny how quickly you can adjust to the constant dull anxiety of homework and school pressures. But I'm sure I'll as easily decompress once I get through these finals. Then it'll be back to adult life and "just" working!

In the mean time, here are some photos from early spring, including our many guests in January-March, Emily's birthday celebration, and our Toronto trip:

January - March

January-March 2008

Emily's birthday

Emily's Birthday (April 2008)

Toronto: Dirty Dancing & Niagara

Toronto April 2008

I really shouldn't be posting because I have papers and final projects coming out of my ears. But procrastination is an intoxicating distraction, so here we go...

I'm happy to report that I finally got to see the doctor for my migraines & insomnia last week. All I have to say is the Women's Headache Center in Somerville is a life-saver! All women who suffer from migraines should be so lucky to have such wonderful, thoughtful, compassionate care. I think just knowing that I had prescriptions and a back-up plan have made me much less prone to getting migraines over the past few days. Hooray!

I'm also happy to report that spring has finally come to Somerville! There finally are (a few) leaves and many blossoms on the trees! It's so beautiful and warm, and everyone I talk to is just so much happier than normal because of the weather. This is a phenomenon that most Californians never fully experience. Yes, we're happy when spring comes and "winter" is over in California, but never quite to this euphoric level! Hooray for spring!

Now if I can just finish these darn finals...

I am a lover of sleep. People who know me know this. Sure, in college, I did my fare share of all-nighters (as certain college friends will remember very well...), but that was back in the magical days when mid-day naps were possible & easy. Over the last month, I have been suffering from insomnia, where sometimes I can't fall asleep at all, and sometimes I fall asleep but wake up every few minutes (or hours) and then have difficulty falling back asleep. I hesitated to call it insomnia because that sounds so dramatic (Fight Club, anyone?), but according to everything I've read, it seems like a text book case.

If this were still the era of midday naps, I would not mind as much. (I tried taking a nap at school this afternoon, but it's hard to sleep at a carrel). I'd just stay up late and make the most of the many, many mornings when I wake up at 4 and can't go back to sleep. However, my daytime hours have become so awful now because I feel so tired and sick all the time.

I'm going to see the doctor in a couple weeks, but I'm hoping to find a solution in the mean time. I've tried melatonin, but it doesn't seem to work. Because I don't want to resort to sleeping pills, I've also tried getting up and reading, stretching meditation, prayer, counting, exercise, wine, hot (soy) milk, cutting down on caffeine, and sleeping in a different room, but nothing has worked. Tonight, I might try hot goat milk, at a suggestion from Nikhil's mom, even though regular milk and goat cheese make me sick. But I'm desperate. Any other magical suggestions out there?

My first post for each year is usually a list of books I read in the previous year. This year, I'm only 3 months late... But that's sort of the way things have been going for me. The reason I'm finding time to blog now (today & yesterday) is that I am so utterly overwhelmed with all my work for school that distraction seems like the best solution... So here is my belated list of reads from 2007:

* Highly recommended
- Not recommended

Non-fiction:

• Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics (bell hooks)
  
• Abortion Under Attack: Women on the Challenge Facing Choice (Krista Jacob) *
  
• Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Bart Ehrman)
  
• Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World(Yang Erche Namu & Christine Mathieu)
  
• Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate (George Lakoff) *
  
• Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness (Nicholas Humphrey)
  
• Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems (Cesar Milan & Melissa Jo Peltier) *
  
• Polio: An America Story (David Oshinsky)
  
• What Government Can Do: Dealing With Poverty & Inequality (Benjamin Page, James Simmons)
  
• Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy (Michael Sherraden)
  
• The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality (Thomas Shapiro) *
  
• The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream (Jacob Hacker)
  
• The Hidden Welfare State (Christopher Howard)
  
• Better for All the World: The Secret History of Forced Sterilization and America's Quest for Racial Purity (Harry Bruinius) -
  

Fiction:

• The Joys of Motherhood (Buchi Emecheta) *
  
• The Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood)
  
• The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison)[re-read]
  
• My Year of Meats (Ruth Ozeki) [audio book]
  
• The Pillowbook of Lady Wisteria (Laura Joh Rowland) -
  
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J. K. Rowling) [audio book, re-read]
  
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J. K. Rowling) *
  
• The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time (Mark Haddon)
  
• Skin Deep (Guy Garcia)
  
• Playing with Boys (Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez)
  

The best way to make up for this 17-week lapse in blogging is to post a LOT of photos. Clearly grad school does not so much leave me time for blogging. Or maybe I just don't feel inspired to write in the time it does leave. Either way, photos are a good way to make up for the gap...

Mo's big birthday party at the Thirsty Ear in November:

Mo's big party

Misc Boston & Brandeis photos from the fall & early winter:

Boston & Brandeis pics

Thanksgiving weekend & the first snow:

Thanksgiving weekend & the first snow

Christmas & New Years pics:

December 2007

My birthday:

Becca's birthday bash (Jan 2008)

And some misc January pics:

Assorted January 2008

While in South Dakota on our road trip this summer, I got an email from my friend who works at my high school, saying that a teacher from our school had passed away. Her name is Annie Johnston, and she was my favorite teacher at La Salle and is still the best and favorite teacher I've had. She was brilliant, sharp, and funny and amazing at sharing her knowledge. She also believed in her students so much. Her belief in me when I was on my way off to college (and terrified) made a huge difference to me. She died unexpectedly due to a swimming pool accident. She was very young and so full of life, so it came as quite a shock to me and to the many, many family, friends, and students who loved her. If you knew her and would like to visit her guest book, you can find it here.

Finding out about Ms. Johnston's death in a tiny motel in the middle of South Dakota was so surreal that I felt I couldn't properly grieve for her. I cried and thought of her and her family a lot, but I felt I couldn't grasp the situation fully while driving across the country. So I decided to build an ofrenda (altar) for her in time for Dia de los Muertos. I worked on it throughout October and put a lot of love into it to properly remember her and say goodbye. I also added memories of others who have passed on (Angelina, David, Larry, Sharyn, & my grandma). I made and decorated the sugar skulls on the altar to represent each of them. To share the altar with more people, I thought I'd include a couple photos here. If you click on them, you can see them larger in my Picasa album.

The ofrenda closeup


The full altar included items that belonged to (or reminded me of) my loved ones who passed on.

One of these days I'm going to get back into doing substantive posts about important issues... But in the mean time, I'm posting more photos. These are from spring & summer and include some pics of mom's puppy Kona; the trip Sarah, Emily, and I took to my aunt & uncle's animal rescue (Wolves 'N Wildlife); and a few of Sarah's visit to Berkely.

Spring & Summer 2007 pics

Here are some videos from our visit to Wolves 'N Wildlife:

Buddha Bear gets a shower


Sarah gives Buddha a bath


Raja smells Sarah and makes a face as he "processes her smell" (don't worry, it's nothing personal) ;)


my Aunt Kris feeds Raja a bottle


Sarah feeds the calf a bottle

At last...here are photos from our last Weekly Dinner & our road trip! The road trip pictures include stops at my uncles' house in Montana, Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Needles Highway, Notre Dame, and my friend Nicky's house. Enjoy!

August 2007

We've been in Boston for almost two weeks, and we've accomplished so much in such a short period that it feels we've been here much longer. Sachin came up from New York the night we arrived and stayed for the weekend, which was so great - it reinforced my idea of the east coast as all one highly accessible region. But in reality it just shows how awesome Sachin is. He got additional awesomeness points when he helped us move all weekend in the 95 degree heat with extreme humidity. (I know I'm not a reliable source when it comes to weather issues, but even the locals were saying that was an unusually hellish day to be moving). With Super Sachin's help, we furnished most of our house in one day with a ton of great, free furniture from CraigsList. This means we're all set up for friends & family to visit & stay with us. (Hint, hint)

I had orientation last week Monday-Wednesday and started school on Thursday. I've been extremely impressed so far with the people I've met and the school's amazing commitment to social justice. It's really nice to be around people who all share the same goals of social justice and social change. It's a sharp contrast to the economics class I took at DVC this summer, where the professor made air quotes around the term "social justice" and dripped with cynicism every time he mentioned things like living wages or welfare. What a nice change!

(If you have any time and you're bored, you can see about my program here. I'm in the Assets & Inequalities track).

Overall, it's been a surprisingly smooth transition, and Nikhil and I are both really excited about all the new opportunities here. Zoe also seems to like the new house - she's just bummed that our backyard isn't fenced, so she can't chase squirrels all day like she did in the W.C. But she's done a great job of adapting to "apartment-style" (yardless & doggy-door-less) living, which is a relief.

Well, off to read statistics...