#AGU2015

I’ve been going to the AGU conference forever (in dog years).  I went to a spring one in DC when I was in grad school, and I’ve been every year since 2004 in SF.  As a scientist, teacher attendee, teacher presenter, and now, as a mentor of budding young scientists!  I have to say that, other than the stress of overseeing the creation of scientific posters by high school students, this was by far the best incarnation of the meeting for me.  When I worked in science it was always fun and exciting, but I felt obligated to go to a certain strand of talk, and constrained in participation.  As a teacher it’s more isolated and inflexible.  Last year, as a teacher presenter, it was incredibly stressful (and I was 8 months pregnant with Charlie and could.not.stop.sweating.  It was truly awful.  It's a good thing that the education people filmed an interview with me right after the presentation (peak sweat) and both posted it online and sent it out in a mass e-mail.  Yay for embarrassing timing!).  This year, as a mentor, I just went and did what I wanted.  I helped the girls get their posters set up, took some obligatory pictures, and then followed my heart.  I went to a few talks on how cities are preparing for more extreme climate events in the future (bravo, Boulder, for installing bike paths that double as water tunnels during times of flood!), I ate a Nutella crepe, I people watched, I met R2D2, I had lunch with an old college friend, I went to the exhibit hall and had several engaging conversations with various sales reps.  I generally felt super relaxed and engaged.  I also drove a 12 passenger van up, which was thrilling.  Those things do NOT fit in all SF parking garages--biggest lesson of the day.

 I thought it would be a good picture for an APES GIS lesson.

 Young scientists ready to talk about accretion disks and dust sublimation!

slave shrimp and drunk toddlers

Winter break has started with a triumphant bang!  We went to hear Handel’s Messiah at the Grace Cathedral, an experience that I will not be repeating.  That thing is about two hours too long for me--the Cathedral was nice, but I didn’t need a $30 nap.  I’ve also graded half of my winter break grading pile (teaching, the job that will slowly, but surely, kill you).  Sunday was a particularly eventful day, as I innocently ordered a delicious-sounding Cajun shrimp platter from Whole Foods, only to be told that I absolutely had to cancel that order, or certain family members would not even deign to be in the house with the shrimp.  This was quickly followed by Theo’s consumption of a glass of brandy egg nogg, which led to a Kaiser phone call and some diligent watching of his behavior for about two hours.  Poison control classified him as legally drunk, so I guess that milestone is going in the baby book.  Though, honestly, at some point it was hard to tell what was legally drunk and what was just toddler.

 This guys was born happy.

 Theo loves giving him hugs and talking to him.

Candy canes have been incorporated into parking garage play.

things I did today

--Took Theo to Target
--Got rid of our infant car seat and installed the marathon.  (This was actually the saddest part of the day--when I said goodbye to the infant seat--because it's the end of an era.  It was so sturdy and my trusty companion on two maternity leaves.  We walked all over the bay area, me and that car seat in a snap-n-go.  That car seat went on an awesome mural tour, and spent a lot of time in Target.  But even if I did have another kid, we'd have to get a new seat, as it was a hand-me down for Theo, and thus really old.  Old enough that I probably shouldn't, according to the manufacturer, have used it with Charlie).
--Played with Charlie
--Celebrated Hanukkah
--Talked through some awesome gift ideas with our good friends
--Impulsively bought another selfie stick
--Brainstormed 40th birthday plans (is it too early for an April bday?)
--Hammered out traveling goals for our kids

Here's last night's Hanukkah picture.  We just light all of the candles, because they are so pretty.

candles jumped in

Hanukkah has been in full swing around here, so we are at a peak excitement level nearly every night.  Tonight was Theo's preschool Hanukkah party, which was absolutely amazing in part because his class did a candle dance and (though I am biased) he was really good at it!  Here he is with a candle crown, decorating a dreidel:

What is it with preschools and crowns?  I'd never given much thought to the form of hat known as crown until I had a kid, and now it seems like crowns occupy my thoughts more than they should (I'm making a special birthday crown for Theo this year because last year's paper one was so well-loved).

Yesterday I spent a whole lot of (someone else's) money on a hotel and flight for my talk this spring.  I am so very excited for that mini-vacation/work trip.  It is in Boston, during the marathon, so hotel prices are off the hook.  It makes absolutely no sense, but a 5 star luxury hotel is cheaper than a standard chain hotel, so I'm luxing it up for a few days!

festival of lights night 1 (last night)

hermanos

Nothing says Jewy McJew more than your kid bringing the menorah with him wherever he goes....

This guy's been eating some foods.

 These guys have been bonding.

when it's dry and ready, I shall play

December is shaping up to be the most exciting month of the year.  Hanukkah will bring daily presents, and then Santa will bring even more! What a time to be alive! (for Theo).

pix

I saw this picture on facebook and I get deliriously happy whenever I think about it....knitted on sewing needles.  What.a.time.to.be.alive.

This year, I bought a tiny fake tree to put in Theo's room, but he insists on moving it different locations within our house and plugging it in.  It's currently 3 feet away from the big tree in our bedroom.

tweets

If, as a lawmaker, you can say nothing except for some platitude-words that appeal to mass delusion, and your position is that it's "complicated" or unconstitutional to do anything to change the rules that govern our society, or if you make the false comparison between guns and cars and claim that accidents happen, or that it's just bad terrorists and our guns laws/culture/idiocracy have absolutely not one thing to do with it, then seriously.....

 It's sobering to follow real people.

I think he means “Odd that we live in a country where….”  Or more specifically, “Odd that we have a political party where…”

Yesterday’s mass shooting was more personal to us because of where it happened—a regional center, like the one here we’ve been to many times here, that offers assistance to families with children who have developmental differences.  They employee kind people who help you navigate state agencies and school districts to find the resources you need for your children.  The last time I was there, I sat in the waiting room with a family who had a severely autistic teenage daughter, who ran around the waiting room, happily, though she did not have language.  Regional centers provide services, like respite, for those families, so that the strain of caring for special needs kids doesn’t break them apart.  This morning, NPR mentioned that the shooting was bringing the existence of regional centers into the mainstream, which is a weird angle, I think. 

do-over

Well,  I have finally finished my summer fellowship project on Jefferson and agriculture, sent off my many applications, and drafted an education poster for an astronomy meeting.  In other words, it's all coming to an end, this fall of being stretched in too many directions.  My burnout feels very real right now...the kind of burnout that is not fixed, as if I've crossed over some burnout threshold and am just DONE.  Of course, this cannot be the case, as I still have to get up and go to work everyday, but I am really trying to savor tree-holiday season right now.

One of the perks of living downtown is our proximity to Christmas in the Park, which is like a small, month-long carnival with decorated trees and outdoor performances.  I took Theo tonight and we rode the train and listened to music.  He really likes concerts (and flashing lights), so it was a success!

 Theo on the train.

Theo and Nana were mesmerized by the flashing lights.

He rode this car ride by himself.   He's three!

There was music, with a very prominent sax section.

This guy is a ray of sunshine.