August 2nd Cat Crazy Caturday - The Kitty Stroller

I've wanted this for my future kitty for over a year! I can't wait to get one. Heck with offshore drilling or health care, people seem to be quite divided as to whether cats should be taken out for walks, jogs or other events in strollers. I wonder if the presidential candidates have an opinion on the issue? Some friends I've mentioned this to think it's crazy while others think it's cute and fun for both parent and kitty. I've read advice on how to get the cat acclimated to the stroller. It's probably not a good idea to just buy one, throw them inside and go for a spin. It's best to leave it out in the open, maybe put some toys inside and let them get used to sitting inside it in the house. I also wouldn't want to use it for vet appointments to avoid any negative conditioning effects.

Hopefully I'll be out jogging with the kitties next summer! Maybe we can even do a 5k together! Show those parents running with babies in strollers how it's done!

August 1st From the Files Friday

March 13th, 2006

I had just gotten back from a conference in the spring of my second year of grad school.



Just a little Miami sunshine for the day. Not much to report for the day. I went into the office for awhile, and had a short conversation with JM. Lots of reading and other things to do - as usual. I'm looking forward to seeing more people tomorrow. With the conference craziness and spring break I feel that I haven't seen a lot of people in awhile. Desperate Housewives is on in an hour - a little treat for the day!

July 31st One down, many, many more to go!

I did my first job application yesterday. It's for a small liberal arts school. The deadline was now and didn't require teaching, research statements, evidence of effective teaching or letters of rec. I just had to write a cover letter, send my vita and contact info for references. Why can't they all be that easy? :-)

I've scored quite a few preliminary interviews for the conference next week. one of my letter writers said that while these interviews are good, they are just preliminary so that helps me not feel too nervous.

Research is going well. I'm starting to get more back into my paper/s and a few have just gone out the door.

I got my last bday present today! From my parents: a Harry and David baby veggie basket. The basket gives off this great fresh vegetable, garden smell.

July 30th Random

• I had another sleepy day yesterday. I took a three to four hour nap but then went to bed around midnight and slept five hours. I feel very energized today so that’s good.
• I’m going for my second yoga class tonight. It looks like I’ll be taking the next couple weeks off and maybe purchase a full session for mid-August through September. I didn’t go jogging today because it was so incredibly muggy and 78-degrees at 6:45. It was cloudy this morning and I was hoping it would storm - to at least take the edge off the humidity maybe. It looks like it will cool down about when I head to Big Conference next week.
• My advisor is putting a lot of effort into my research right now. She’s also simplified the analyses and that makes things more doable for me.

July 28th My Weekend

• I slept a lot - seriously - more than 12 hours yesterday. Then, last night I couldn't fall asleep until about 4am and slept until 11. I've had such a hard time sleeping regularly this summer. Maybe Purple Daisy's sleeping issues are contagious! :-)


• Today was a bbq for a grad student that's leaving. I made a nacho recipe that used up my ramen noodle stash - finally, and cut up veggies with hummus. yummy.


• I'm doing a power point presentation due on Friday to the discussant for my upcoming conference. I have yet to finish either of the two papers I need to read and generate commentary for my discussant sessions.


• I have several interviews scheduled for the upcoming conference. I plan to submit more cover letters/vita packages tomorrow.

July 26th Cat Crazy Caturday

Similar to "From the Files Fridays" I thought I would start another feature called "Cat Crazy Caturday." As many of you know I plan to be a Mommy next year of two lovely kitties that I will adopt from a shelter. Every Saturday (or what I prefer to call it, Caturday) I will post something related to my future feline children.

Today's topic: Cat Names.

I've started to give some significant thought to what I'd like to name my children. I plan on adopting from a shelter so I'm trying not to fall in love with any specific breeds. The name will likely be dependent on what type of breeds, or mix of breeds I adopt. Here's a short list of my ideas thus far. I have these saved in a word document already.

Political-Social Names.

Political and social issues are a huge interest of mine. Why not name a cat after one of my favorite political or social change figures? Here are some ideas:

James Carville - supporter of both Clinton campaigns and I could imagine the kitty saying, "When I go to the litter box, I do it Cajun Style!" (that will only make sense to people who saw the episode of 30 Rock where he was a guest star - so funny!)

Madeline Albright (first female Secretary of State, could call her Maddy for short)

Dee Dee Myers (first female Press Secretary and author of Why Women Should Rule the World)

Abigail Adams (Abby for short, and a trail-blazer as first lady. She went to congress and insisted they give money to create a home for unmarried pregnant women and new moms - many of whom were impregnated by congressmen!)

Eleanor Roosevelt (Elley)

Sandra Day O’Conner (Sandy)

Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Ruthie) I really like the idea of naming cats after the first two female Supreme Court Justices. O'Conner is a little too conservative for my tastes, so this would work if I had a little Ruthie to balance it out.

Lucy Stone - suffragette who lobbied in the mid 1800's for women not to change their last names upon marriage. Now there's a nonprofit organization, The Lucy Stone League, named after her that lobbies for that and similar issues.

Hillary - no explanation necessary on that one.

Bill Maher - Hillary made me think of Bill and although I do like Bill Clinton, I love Bill Maher's social commentary. I could then make jokes about Bill Maher and catnip, because Maher (the person) is fairly open about his recreational use of marijuana.

TV Show names

SATC characters (Charlotte, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda) - four female cats - how awesome would that be!

Sopranos characters (Tony, Carmela) - for a blondish female cat and black male cat. Get this: I could get two kitty condos and put signs on each of them one: "State of Denial" for Carmela, and "The Bada Bing" for Tony. I guess I could name a male kitty Mr. Pussy, but what if I have older, tenured professor colleagues over for dinner and have to tell them his name?

Dexter - I'm envisioning this for an orange colored tabby cat. For a cat that has a vigilante streak.

Liz Lemon - that would be neat, and then I could have a Jack Donoghy kitty too! Or I could name a cat Alec Baldwin, because I really do love me some Alec.

Maybe some names after The Office? Michael Scott, Pam Beasley....or, Angela Martin (for a well-behaved, slightly judgmental feline)!

Social Science Researcher Names

Originally I wanted to name my kitties after pioneering females in my field, or the social sciences in general. Preferably I'd like to name my kitties after those who have passed on, because I feel weird naming my cat after someone in my field, or a related field, who is still alive. Can you imagine that getting back to the person who I named the cat after? Someone sees the eminent person at a conference and says "Yeah, so did you know Dr. Meaningfulgrrrl named her cat after you?" (ooh, I really like Dr. in front of my name - even my pseudonym!)

So far all I can think of is Margaret Mead. I know a lot of psych people read this blog, so if you have any ideas let me know!

Also, if you can think of any male names of social science researchers that you think would be cute/interesting for a cat, you can post those too! I'm still undecided as to gender. Who I choose will probably depend on the dispositions of the kitties when I go to the shelter.

I'm looking at getting two cats because it's twice the fun, right? Also, I read they behave better because they have someone else to play with when I'm gone (I don't know how much time I'll spend away at work). Also, there's a social learning theory that the cats teach one another how to behave. For example, if one cat doesn't understand that clawing at the curtains is not a great way to express one's need to claw, the other cat can say, "Dude, that's not how we roll, use this cat scratcher Mom bought us, it's the bomb!"

July 25th Introducing: From the Files Friday

Having seen this lovely feature on several other blogs (too many/don't feel like linking right now) I thought I'd do it too! It seems especially fitting in honor of my three year anniversary. Each post is selected randomly by the Random Post feature, so there's no rhyme or reason to each Friday's selection. This week's post was from my prelim days. Sometimes when I'm writing papers, dealing with tables and HSRB I kind of wish I could just sit, read and take notes again - well, almost wish.



Email Crazy Day

February 9th, 2007

I made specific plans for yesterday to be a reading day for prelims. However, it seems the universe conspired against me. I wasn’t in the building, only on email but things kept coming into my inbox that required my immediate attention. Here’s a short list of what happened: had to plan a client meeting, email several people articles/chapters that they requested, student emails AND confusion over what I’ll be doing/getting paid for next year. Oye.

Today has been much better. I woke up, had some yummy cinnamon toast while reading the news online and then got a couple of articles read and written up. I’m getting caught up on my notes now and have finally developed word documents that I’m happy with for notes. I’m integrating my notes with a alumnus that had the same specialty (and committee) as I have who took prelims two years ago. Initially I was taking notes in a separate document, but decided it would be best to integrate the two.

Tonight I’m having sushi - yay! I haven’t had any since the holidays and I plan to catch a little tv before going to bed.

July 25th My Three Year Blog Anniversary!

Three years ago today I started blogging. It was the summer after my first year of grad school. I initially started blogging as a way to communicate with my parents because none of us our big "phone" people. Both of my parents' jobs require talking on the phone so calling more then once a week is just not something we do a whole lot.

Back on topic, although I started blogging just for the parents I quickly discovered all the academic blogs out there and they became a great resource. I think I've learned a lot about academic life from spending time in the academiblogosphere.

I recently downloaded Blurb's software to see if I decided to make my blog into a book how long/expensive it would be. I think I was just over their maximum of 440 pages! Wow. I'm so glad I decided to start blogging because I will have such a great record of my graduate school experience. Next year I'd like to actually get the book made. If I take out the really silly surveys and such I'm sure I can get it under 440 - or I could do 2 volumes!


I looked up what the gift is supposed to be for the three year anniversary. The traditional gift is leather, which as a vegetarian and someone who has always tried to avoid leather - I find slightly disturbing. "Hey honey, here's a dead animal skin to commemorate our time together!" The modern gift is crystal. I wouldn't mind the above for my three year anniversary if my future-DH (dear hubby) ever reads this.

July 20th Another Meme - Tagged by Julie

A. Attached or Single? Single

B. Best Friend? several

C. Cake or Pie? ice cream cake or chocolate cake with fruit filling

D. Day of Choice? Saturday

E. Essential Item? laptop

F. Favorite Color? All the cool colors (blues, greens, purples) plus pink. I really love teal-ish, seafoam green in the summer.

G. Gummy Bears or Worms? neither - don’t like chewy candy - but would love some chocolate

H. Home town? all over the east and midwest - I moved about five times or so growing up so nothing really feels like a hometown

I. Favorite Indulgence? ice cream

J. January or July? I like them both actually. January is the start of the new semester, right after the holidays (re: goodies) and if it doesn’t snow and get icy too much the cold doesn’t bother me. July, although my birthday month, can be a little off because there is so little structure and so few people around because of the summer semester. Plus it’s the hottest month of the year.

K. Kids? Maybe adopt - not sure. I definitely want kitties!

L. Life isn’t complete without? Friends. Work I feel passionate about.

M. Marriage date? Marriage might not be for me.

N. Number of Brothers and Sisters? Only child

O. Oranges or Apples? Depends. I love fresh orange juice more than apple. It would depend on the quality of the orange and apple.

P. Phobias? Too many to count. My startling noise thing is probably the biggest one. Thinking about it now many of my former phobias are now just mild fears. My spider fear has diminished although that’s largely because of having a middle apartment that’s super well insulated and only having about 2 spiders in the past 4 years. I’m a slightly nervous flier now as opposed to “fearful” probably because I fly several times a year now for conferences and vacations.

Q. Quotes? Most anything Eleanor Roosevelt said. Or Hillary.

R. Reasons to Smile? Less than a year left of g-school, friends, nice career prospects (I hope!)

S. Season of Choice? Really anything but summer. I do really love fall because after summer I really appreciate the cooler weather. I like the flexibility of fall fashion. I can wear summer clothes and just add a cardigan or wear long sleeve tops and sweaters. I love that fall semester has so many breaks (labor day, Fall Break, T-day). I like being able to drink hot beverages more again, the food, and *maybe* going to one football or sports related event.

T. Tag 5 People - Student Operative/L, New Caprica, Life&TImes, Reassigned Time (although I don’t know if she’ll see this), Profgrrrl (although I think she’s way too busy to do this)

U. Unknown Fact About Me? I ran away from summer camp the summer before 6th grade (1993). I had a deranged “buddy” (i.e., buddy system the girls scouts used)

V. Vegetable? Love most of them

W. Worst Habit? I’ll go with Julie on this: worrying.

X. X-Ray or Ultrasound? Had both. Ultrasounds aren’t fun if you have to get a catheter

Z. Zodiac Sign? Cancer

Z. Which Zoo Animal is your Favorite? My Mom’s crazy for Polar Bears and I may have picked that one up.
I like the giraffes (did the first big paper of my life in first grade on them) too and I’ve always had a soft spot for rhinos. I did my 8th grade term paper on them and another project in elementary school.

July 16th Birthday Party

Today I'm having friends over for my birthday dinner. My birthday is this week, not today, but a friend is leaving for vacation soon so it had to be today.

I'm excited to make portabella mushroom pizzas with soyrizo, pasta salad with fresh veggies and pesto, and fresh mozzarella-Italian parsley-basil bites as an appetizer!

I'm making it a bit more classy and green by using actual plates and glasses instead of plastic/paper. I have about seven people coming - yay! The guest list includes Purple Daisy, Neighbor Friends, Officemate, Student Operative (can't remember if I updated her pseudonym) and one of the only remaining members of my program cohort.

*Party-planning: calling Bert and Ernie for a brunch swaray 24 years ago. I started early.*

July 14th Dissertation Art - click to enbiggen

Wordle counts the frequency of words in whatever is copied into it. I used my dissertation proposal.

July 11th They like me! They like me! They really, really like me!!

I was about to head home from the office today when a little email from Academic Job Posting Site sent me an alert that a school has expressed interest in me and would like access to my contact info! I know this is just the beginning, but this is my first real job search so I anticipate getting excited over everything. :-) Woot! Hopefully this is the beginning of a fruitful job search!

July 11th Iced Coffee and Pesto Tortellini

That's my lunch for today. yum. I love Amy's Kitchen frozen entrees and especially the pesto tortellini!

It's worth the five dollars. I'd spend that much if I had a salad at the Union, or some other take out option. Why not? Especially when I have so. much. work.

That's been the theme for this week. I don't think I've gotten more than seven hours of sleep a night - usually around six, but I'm so focussed on what I need to be doing I'm not that tired. The job search has officially started. I've received a *surge* of job ads this week and plan to set up arrangements with letter of recommendation writers this week.

I met with Dr. Advisor (aka Jon Stewart) we both agreed I need to get super annoying and huge paper out as soon as I can. Add to that interviews at Big Conference next month - plus three sessions. Yikes.