Faculty Retirement Party

 

Today we had a retirement party at work for two faculty members. They were hired at the same time, so they decided to retire together too. The party was at six, two blocks from my office, and I get done at five, so I took a walk and then went back to my office to get my stuff. I heard a train, so I rushed back out, but it was gone by the time I got outside. If I'd gone to the building where the party was and just sat outside, as I had thought about doing, it would have gone right past me. Sigh. 

There were a random assortment of people at this party, of course people from our department, but also people from other departments, and my old boss Handy Woman, and faculty who retired before I started there five years ago so I had never met them. My coworker, who has been in the department for maybe two decades, knew a lot more people there. I also talked a lot to the young Yiddish professor, and her son who will be six later this month - he gave me an acorn. He wanted to make cards for the two retiring professors, and he asked what their favorite animals were so he could draw them. One was easy, because we knew she loved bunnies, but we had no idea for the other one, so I said, "Bears?" He drew a bear, and then a crocodile for good measure, because who doesn't love crocodiles, am I right?

Travalon came to the party when he got done with work, and he and my coworker talked sports a bit. He would have loved my boss - the other day I had a one-on-one meeting with him, and we wasted half the time talking about the Bucks' pathetic postseason run, and how the Sacramento Kings could have been a team to watch but then Steph Curry came alive in Game Seven and demolished them. Unfortunately, my boss had to do something this evening with his school-aged sons. The food at this party was not as substantial as I'd envisioned, especially since I pay the bills so I know what we spent for it (it was some fruit and some cubes of cheese and some brownies), so Travalon and I left to go to Banzo for a real dinner. We didn't have any points, so we had to pay full price, but then we got enough points that when Travalon decided he wanted iced tea instead of just water to drink, he was able to get it for free. I guess we used all our points before that so I could get Banzo socks with smiling chickpeas on them. Speaking of socks, I got a gift card from our wellness program at work, and the World Wildlife Fund will give you animal socks for a hefty donation, so I am thinking a perfect use for this gift card would be some narwhal socks. They even look like real narwhals, and not sparkly unicorn dolphins like so many depictions of them on things you can buy. I swear seven years ago nobody I talked to had even heard of a narwhal, and now they're everywhere. Just like how Travalon is now on a Florida panther kick, and suddenly they're everywhere too. At least if endangered animals become trendy, maybe people will be moved to save them...

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Chickpea Socks

 

I forgot to mention that yesterday we stopped by Banzo to get some falafel, and they now have socks. I asked how much the socks were, and it turns out we had enough points in our rewards account to cover most of the cost, so I got these socks for $2. They have chickpeas on them since falafel is kind of Banzo's thing.

Today a few people popped into work, not my coworkers but some grad students and academic staff. I did take a long walk at lunch with Hardingfele, who was looking for a cat near the geology building. During our walk, a big chunk of ice fell off of a building and almost landed on Hardingfele's head - that was shocking! We didn't find any sign of the cat. When we got back to her office, she gave me some Russian chocolates for my birthday. 

After work, Travalon and I went to another brewery on the Bar Passport, One Barrel. On Wednesday they have chicken wings, and oh were they good! We also split a big, soft pretzel. I had a raspberry sour. Our neighbor asked if we could pick up some dog food for her on the way home, and I thought she wanted me to buy it for her, but she said it would be up at the counter, and the guy said it was already paid for. Then we went to meet her new puppy Lucy. She's so cute!!

Happy birthday to OK Cap today, and happy late birthday to Hardingfele, whose birthday is on the Solstice. Last night when we were downtown for my adoration hour, Travalon and I ran into an old coworker of mine from the Press, and he and his wife were getting a gyro because it was her birthday, and that's what she always does on her birthday. I'm surprised so many people have birthdays in late December, since it's the rarest time of year to be born. The day you are statistically least likely to be born is Christmas Day. The day you are statistically most likely to be born? Tiffy's birthday.

Apparently I was on fire tonight while doing French on Duolingo:

I have finally gone back to doing Irish half the time, but man oh man, French is just so much easier! It said I was doing Irish with 80% accuracy, so that gives you some idea how much harder it is for me. Mostly it's the spelling. I don't get it, I'm a good speller in English, a language that makes no sense, and Irish does have some internal consistency in its spelling rules, but I guess I'm too old to learn them. French may not be the easiest language either, with all its silent letters, but I learned it long ago when my brain was fresh and could absorb these spelling rules.

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Huckleberry Cosmos

Friday night Travalon and I hung out with Jilly Moose and OK Cap and a couple of my coworkers at Nick’s restaurant. We had huckleberry cosmos (do not try to pronounce that after having enjoyed one) and fish fry. Surprisingly, considering that there was only one man in the crowd, we spent quite a bit of time discussing football. One of my coworkers said she wasn’t sure who was playing in the Super Bowl, but she thought maybe Oklahoma was. Now that is someone who is truly not following professional football. After dinner Travalon and I went to the Free House for drinks and conversation, and I told him how I had seen a photo on our university’s website of a guy from Liberia who looked just like the guy from my vision of the leopard and the poachers. In the picture below, it is the man on the left. (This is just an image, not a video.)

Saturday Tiffy was planning to come up, but she stayed home due to snow – always a danger this time of year. I ran exciting errands like getting yet a new bulb for Plant World, this one for the floodlight that shines on my bigger plants. This thing is a never-ending source of expenses. Rich says if I don’t need the ballasts anytime soon, I can always leave them to any children I might have so they can repair Plant World for all the plants they inherit from me. Oddly, Grammar Check does not have a problem with that sentence, even though it takes issue with so much of what I write. Usually I disregard it anyway.

Did everyone enjoy that lopsided Super Bowl? Travalon and I watched part of it at the Middleton Sport Bowl, then we went to Rich’s house for the second half, where we joined Kathbert, Luxuli, and her husband. I was happy that Russell Wilson got a ring but would have preferred a closer game. There were some really cute ads this year, and I hear the half time show was great, but we missed it driving to Rich’s house. I do like Bruno Mars. Luxuli, if you are reading this, I am wearing the wool socks today that you gave me for Christmas. Also, it’s good to have you back.  

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Sock Monkey Socks

Today I went kayaking for the first time, and all I can say is how did I live all these years without doing it before? Now I love canoeing, but kayaking is even more fun. You're closer to the water, and you get more water on yourself while paddling, and best of all, you don't have to cooperate with anyone. (I must not be a cooperator by nature.) I went with a friend who owns two kayaks, and we paddled around a lake which some of my nuttier religious acquaintances insist on calling Angel Lake, with bluffs looming on either side. It was a perfect Memorial Day, and then we had lunch sitting on a patio overlooking the river, which was even perfecter. I'm sure the crowd biking out to Mount Horrible didn't mind that I blew them off for a better offer (sorry, but water sports are always a better offer), since I was then not along to slow them down.

Anna Banana II had a date this weekend, and he bought her monkey socks, which sounds kind of charming. It also got me to thinking: there are monkey socks, and of course there are sock monkeys, but where are the SOCK MONKEY SOCKS? That's what I'm talking about. This must now be added to the list of things I wished existed, like the Hawaiian shirt sweater and the "piso mojado" tent and the word "cardinary." Perhaps there are sock monkey socks out there somewhere. If so, feel free to leave me a comment about them or, better yet, send me a pair. I promise to put them on, take a picture of my feet, and post it on this very blog.

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