Exhausting

Two months left in my PhD and I am stalled again on a Monday morning.

Did so much with the kids this weekend: had so much fun with them. They're pretty great. Yoko was sick though, so I ended up cooking and looking after the kids more than I normally would. As fate would have it, I woke up this morning with the same cold that Yoko had and needing to come to work.

And here I am at work. It's 10AM. I need to make good progress today, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 

Not Tuesday though. Tuesday I have a job interview.

I want to blog about other things: about Frank Ocean and Mitt Romney and high-fat diets. But I'm just not in the frame of mind. One day, I promise, I'll try again.

The kids enjoying the summer

Summer passing

I wish there were more to say.

Gordon Parks

Wow.

I made news!

Hey! I was in the MK newspaper!

Mei may

Family

I went to a jazz club

That one time in Japan I got invited to a jazz concert by a Mashima sensei, an English school owner I was working for. I had been hanging around with another woman from my church who was way out of my league, but seemed to like being around me. On 27 August, I put on a white tie and took her to the concert. Was it a date? Everyone laughed at me, 'Why are you wearing a white tie: are you going to a wedding?' I thought it looked good, I said, it was 100 yen.

Pre-interview stress dream

I have a job interview for a teaching fellowship at a very good Russell Group university with a very good English department on Monday, and I must give a presentation including a model class. Although I can put on my best confidence man trousers when I need to (and I will, I'm sure, for the actual interview), I'm a bit anxious, and now I've been dreaming about it, but the dreams have had a very odd sequence of events. Last night's:

1. I am teaching the model class, but it's actually a real class at Middlesex, with real students and none of the interview committee is there.
2. What, why am I in my underwear? Oh god, I forgot to get dressed. Luckily, no one seems to notice.
3. Now, I just have to get my presentation to work, but the computer isn't working.
4. Wait, why is my boss from Middlesex here? And those cameras? They're taping this?
5. The computer still isn't working, I've been trying to get it to work for almost 20 minutes now. Screw it, I'll just teach the lesson.
6. Oh wait, the committee IS here, and they're playing the roles of unruly kids in a class, just like that one time in Japan when I was training to teach kids for the first time and I didn't know what to do.
7. Everyone's talking, I can't get them to stop--maybe I'll shout.
8. God, now everyone thinks I've lost my cool: they're glaring at me, I blew it.
9. Wait, now, I'm trying to run in the rain and I can't move forward? Where did everyone go? Why am I still in my underwear? Why do I keep slipping on the pavement? Why can't I get any traction? 
10. Mia's crying: why is she out here in the rain...

Monday, please come quickly:

Oh hey

College Friends are the Best