Come on

I had my first supervision meeting, and it was productive, although I left sort of thinking I didn't have things quite as figured out as I thought I did in my mind. My supervisor is going through a rather prolific time in her career it seems as she has all sorts of articles and books she seems to be involved in. I was also in a seminar today with Guy Cook, one of the preeminent discourse analysts at the University. I had heard was on staff here, and he is, apparently. I thought he was going to be on my supervision team, but I misunderstood and instead he is my examiner for my MRes. There are a lot of good feelings in life, but wanting to go to work in the morning is a pretty good one.

Come on skinny love just last the year, but I hear: Come on, Skinny love, just let us see you.

Naomi is learning to sleep without the boob, which means that I am taking a more active role in her life, namely crawling into bed with her so she feels secure enough to fall asleep. The first night she screamed and screamed and then finally gave up after about an hour. The second night was much better, but the third night Yoko put her down which made the fourth night hell again. Last night was the fifth night, and she did very well, although I have to do a ninja routine to get out of bed without her waking up. One false move and she sits up and I am back in bed.

She is understanding a couple of Japanese baby words: sleep, shoes, dog, cat, bird, and ashi, which she calls the picture of the baby as we have been trying to teach her about her new cousin, Asher. She can also hug and kiss on command.

My dissertation topic is coming together and I'm going to do the thing that I'm more interested in, rather than what I feel I 'have to' do as I wrote my proposal on it. The new idea is related to the first  paper I gave in Spain earlier this year on the 'Pope of YouTube' and the emergence of metaphor in vlog discussions about religion and secularism. I think this is important not just for my little project, but for discussions about faith on the Internet and the trouble of saying what you want without any consequences. It might also have something to do with the emergence of Secularism in the States, which is something I am interested in. Plus, I already have the data.

We went to the doctor for the first time on Monday, and my first interaction with NHS was really good. We have heard again and again that, in general, the medical system in England works well and people are well-taken care of. I did okay translating what the doctor said to Yoko, but I think it is difficult as Yoko would rather just hear and understand completely what the doctor is saying. Apparently in England, being pregnant is not an illness, so unless there is a problem, you will not see an OB/GYN. We go see a midwife at the end of the month and then will do an ultrasound around that time, and then before Christmas. Unless there is a problem, we will just see the midwife. I am comfortable with this, and although Yoko has mentioned in passing the possibility of going home to have the baby, we don't really have the resources (or me, the will) to do that. I think we are going to just have to do it here.

Endnote is the best computer program, ever. If you are, or ever want to be, an academic, it is a necessity.