Fear of a Female Planet

Reading: Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference By Cordelia Fine (on notmarcie's suggestion - a nice palette cleanser after Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences



Wearing: Red MUFA shirt and comfy black pants. Most crucial element though - Badger nails - On Wisconsin!



Planning: Uh, there's sort of some important basketball games on this weekend! Nick gets back from his conference today and I've had a rather productive week, so I look forward to hanging out on the couch with him :)

Reading:

A friend recommended this book when we found out we would be moving to Utah. I'm sure some of you have read Desert Solitaire? Reading it as a historical document (it was published in 1968, when Utah's National Parks were new and didn't even have paved roads) helps to put his extreme libertarian elitism in perspective. His descriptions of the environment and people are fascinating and well written, his politics are deeply, deeply flawed.



Wearing: My batik Mountain Sun Brewery "Kind Ale" t-shirt (oh, Colorado... oh Boulder...), some jeans that haven't fit in a few years, warm socks, and a handmade bracelet from my best friend Kelly's daughter (kids these days and Justice, wtf?).



Planning: Nick is working late tonight (he found out his time slot for the upcoming big tropical cyclone conference and he got the prime evening spot on a panel about Hurricane Sandy with several big wigs - as one of his labmates said in response to finding out "wow, that could make your career if you give a good talk." So, you know, no pressure...) so I'm going to finish up the last season of Dr. Who so we have room on the DVR for the Olympics!

We really want to get out for a hike this weekend, but the inversion has been pretty bad this week (from "unhealthy to sensitive" to just plain "unhealthy") so we're afraid of both exerting ourselves too much in it (they advise against being outside more than hour a day) and if we could even see anything from a peak. A little bit of wind and some fresh snow in the mountains has made it slightly better though, so we're hopeful.

All this means a lot of running on an indoor track for half-marathon training.

Reading: One of these is not like the other... or is it?





Wearing: Standard dissertation apparel...



Planning: And speaking of dissertation...

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In other news I am cat-sitting Oink while his owners are down in Moab for the weekend...

This was him yesterday when he was very concerned about some doves on the power line...



And this was him this morning - I think he is thinking, "hey, you got to come in my house, so I get to come in yours!"



And we had our first snow!

Reading: I took a break from reading up on my new Mormon neighbors to reread The Dark Tower series (my third time reading it from 1 to 7, like Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire, I would reread the books as the newest one came out).

I'm not sure what brought it on? Moving? Believe it or not I have culled my books quite a bit. I only keep work related books that I have a) read; b) need for my dissertation; and/or c) will need for teaching. These books still make up the majority of my books - 10 shelves worth. My fiction collection is just 4 shelves worth (mostly The Dark Tower series, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, and David Mitchell). Ephemeral books (like book club books or guilty pleasures) are perfect for the Kindle and I have thus gotten rid of/avoid buying those (I get most from the library). But The Dark Tower books - I can't relegate them to the Kindle (even though I am actually reading them on the Kindle this go round - easier for reading in bed).

Maybe it's because we recently visited some of Nick's friends in Boulder and upon walking into their house I saw their shelf of the Dark Tower books and immediately remarked "OK, who's my kindred spirit here?"

Maybe it's the desert I now currently live on the edge of? Maybe it's just "comfort reading?" Whatever it is, it makes me happy to reread them and remember phrases, jokes, and experiences from the series and inspired by them in my life. Thankee sai.

Wearing: Working from home as usual (after a morning hike in the canyon) and this is a pretty standard uniform: black tank with fun back feature and black skirt. I fell on the basement stairs last weekend, so I've been avoiding things brushing against the bruising on my shin :(



That's my first webcam selfie! Behind me you can see a weird narrow door? That's for an ironing board. I love this house.

Planning: This holiday weekend we are getting our Mormon on and visiting Temple Square. Practically everything there is free and self-guided, with a nice combination of indoor and outdoor activities. If we have time we'd also like to tour the Capitol and the Cathedral of the Madeleine, which are close to Temple Square.

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Speaking of a hike in the canyon this morning - I had to deposit our rent check, so I walked down to the bank, via the City Creek Canyon and Memory Grove Park (about 3.5 miles round trip).

You can easily get down into the canyon from The Avenues. This is the view across the canyon toward the road that cyclists and runners can use around the canyon.



Across the canyon is the Capitol. Below is Memory Grove Park, a park at the base of the canyon with lots of war memorials.



It's right in the middle of the city!



Last time Nick and I went for a walk here we saw three different photography sessions going on: a quinceanera, an engagement photo session (oh look, he's giving her a piggy back ride - so novel!), and a wedding shoot.



The creek continues all the way into the city, through a pretty little median park. The pathway is marked with animals common to Utah and, when possible, their footprints. I couldn't help getting a photo of this one :)



I swung back through Temple Square, which smelled *amazing* from all the flowers!