Harry Potter

On this, the eve of the release of the final Harry Potter book, I felt nostalgic about the beginning of my love affair with J. K. Rowling. I remember resisting the popular surge surrounding Harry Potter until Isaac was born. I found myself three months postpartum with a healing abdominal incision living in my hometown. I had nothing to do but read, so I finally gave in. I think I read the next two books within a week and was converted. In July of 2000, the fourth book came out and I bought it immediately.

I've changed so much since I started reading the series - I now have lived overseas, kept that infant alive and he now is seven (!!), I've moved so many times (to Illinios, to Minnesota, to Bangladesh, back to the Wilderness and now to Madison), I got my masters and now am back in school again...it hasn't been long but so much has happened!

I am excited to read the seventh book, but a little sad because the series will be over. It's been fun anticipating the new releases and spending two days straight without sleep so I could read them through. I'll miss that. So thanks, J.K., you've been great. I can't wait to read your next series.

A few things.

1. I love having a garbage disposal in my sink and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to live without one.

2. Summer in Wisconsin in hot and muggy.

3. Rush hour sucks. I forgot that living in the city requires standing in line.

4. I miss my mom and dad (and my dogs).

5. But I LOVE my new apartment.

6. Should I get Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access?

7. Last week, Isaac asked me, "when did time begin?"

8. My new favorite author is Marjane Satrapi. Everyone should read Persepolis 1 and 2. Immediately.

9. I need ideas for what to do on Saturday night. Isaac is going to visit his grandparents, and I've got no plans.

10. I should work on my paper.

Move - Done.

I'm such a moving pro. We loaded up the truck on Saturday morning, and by Sunday night, I was all unpacked and things are in their place in my new apartment. (Big thanks to Domestic Nemesis and Hob Gadling for their help! That Domestic Nemesis is a regular workhorse and Hob helped my dad move a huge couch down a winding staircase. Where would we be without friends?)

I'm planning a big "Katie Moved To Madison" party, so if you're in the area, stop by on August 4th...

Introducing the Nari Jibon Blog!

Many of you know that I work with an organization in Bangladesh called Nari Jibon, where underprivileged women can go to receive training in computers, English, and other valuable work skills. I'm proud to announce that Nari Jibon has received a grant from the Global Voices Online Rising Voices initiative! (Scroll down to see Nari Jibon's grant award announcement.) As a blogger, I am excited to see how the students of Nari Jibon develop their blogging skills.

Please take a moment to visit their blog, called Bangladesh from Our View. If you are literate in Bangla, please visit their Bangla blog as well, called Amader Galpo (Our Stories) (coming soon). Feel free to interact with the bloggers, post comments and suggest ideas for new posts. With your help, and the support of this grant, our students will add their voices to the online world.

Hooray for technology!

Have you tried the Wii yet?

If not, you must do it immediately. Isaac got one from his uncle Mithu and it's the most fun creation ever. I'm addicted and might flunk out of PhD school. Especially recommended game: Raving Rabbits.

I'm gonna play again...

Tag line?

Now that I'm moving into the not-so-small town of Madison, I guess I need a new tag line for my blog. Suggestions?

Titles are back!

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures from my brother's wedding. If you missed them, make sure you scroll down and look. It was a GREAT wedding, really the best one I've ever attended. And I'm not just saying that cuz it was my brother's!!

Anyway, I have one week left of my summer class (which I still LOVE by the way), and then I'm moving. This week is a tad hellish for the following reasons:

1) Masud left for Ohio last night and it was heart-wrenching to listen to Isaac wailing and then crying himself to sleep. And to feel this gaping hole in my chest...

2) It's HOT. I'm dripping with sweat and I'm just sitting here. I might as well be in the Desh.

3) Moving sucks. My belongings are all over the place, packed into random boxes and stacked in my living room. I like a little chaos but not this much.

4) I'm still not done with my paper (which I put aside until my class is done) and it's really bugging me.

5) My computer cord exploded or something and so I'm without my beloved laptop until my cord comes in the mail sometime this week. Right now I'm at the Domestic Nemesis' house using her machine. (thanks Gi.)

6) I'm broke. Too many expenses and not enough paycheck. Sigh.

But I shall persevere through this trial! This time next week I'll be sittin' pretty in my new apartment. Those of you who might wonder - I'm keeping my same cell phone number for the time being, and if you want my mailing address to send me goodies, please email me. I think I might throw myself a housewarming party next month so if you're in the Madison area, stay tuned.

For some reason I can't get blogger to accept my post titles! But I finally have some wedding pics for you. There are none of me because I was oblivious and went to change before we lined up for a family shot. Yeah, I'm a ding dong.

Anyway, enjoy the beautiful pictures! I'll post more once we get our technological glitches figured out. My computer cord exploded or something and I'm using Masud's laptop until he leaves on Sunday. Hopefully my new cord will come in the mail by then!

Stay tuned for news and pics from Isaac and Masud's trip to San Diego.

The Metcalf Men.

Lisa walking with her mom and dad.

Lisa and Rob wrote their own vows. I took this picture somehow, but I had hot tears shooting out of my eyes and my glasses were foggy from tears.

Exchange of rings.

I don't think I've mentioned how ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS Lisa is. She was a radiant bride.



And my brother was lookin' good, too. It's that sexy Metcalf gene.

(A gratuitous kissing picture.)

Riley is ALMOST as awesome as my dogs. He really is a sweet dog, and he tried to participate in the wedding until he noticed something moving in the forest and went off (tie and all) to get it.

Geek Love

I'm in the middle of my super-tough theory class, and I've restrained myself from posting quotes from Tocqueville, Durkheim and Marx thus far, but I just couldn't resist posting this excerpt from the excellent novel "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn. (I'm reading it in my "spare time" to give my brain a diversion from the great thinkers of modern sociology.)

In this section, Olympia is mourning the realization that her father is a fallible being.

It is, I suppose, the common grief of children at having to protect their parents from reality. It is bitter for the young to see what awful innocence adults grow into, that terrible vulnerability that must be sheltered from the rodent mire of childhood.
Can we blame the child for resenting the fantasy of largeness? Big, soft arms and deep voices in the dark saying, "Tell Papa, tell Mama, and we'll make it right." The child, screaming for refuge, senses how feeble a shelter the twig hut of grown-up awareness is. They claim strength, these parents, and complete sanctuary. The weeping earth itself knows how desperate is the child's need for exactly that sanctuary. How deep and sticky is the darkness of chidlhood, how rigid the blades of infant evil, which is unadulterated, unrestrained by the convenient cushions of age and its civilizing anesthesia.

(Page 105 of the hardcover edition.)

Yeah. You should read this book.

Nothing new.

I'm still waiting for the wedding pics. Rob and Lisa are on a mini-pseudo-honeymoon in Washington DC and I'm hoping that they leave me a CD when the come back to WI to pick up their dog, Riley. Until then, you'll have to be satisfied with these gems.

A wedding done right.

The wedding was amazing. It was completely casual and laid back, and it allowed for the most genuine expression of love to come through. I can't wait to post pictures - Lisa was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect. We all sat under a giant oak tree in the meadow next to our house, and the congregation was asked to share their thoughts for the couple. My dad was the officiant, and he talked about how we were all a part of creating this new marriage, and that whenever we think of Rob and Lisa, we should send them our blessings. Then Lisa said her vows - I don't think there was a dry eye present. Once she finished, it was Rob's turn. He didn't say a lot, but the look on his face spoke a thousand words. I got a great picture of that moment and I'll post it soon.

The weekend was full of celebration, and I'm beat today, but I'm so happy for my brother and my new sister. I'm sending you guys my blessings right now!

Yes, I'm totally procrastinating.

I have about 4 hours of deep reading to do tonight, and it's already 7:08, so that means I can get a maximum of six hours of sleep if I do nothing else but read tonight. So of course, I'm blogging.

I just had to update you on my week. Isaac started summer school in Madison this week. There is a community center with a child care program in the little cul de sac where my new apartment is located. Isaac LOVES his school. I hope the transition to his new elementary school in the fall will go as smoothly.

I'm really exhausted this week with the start of my theory class, my return to work, driving to Madison daily (after getting Isaac up and ready and fed and in the car), and all the reading I have to do at night. But I REALLY LOVE MY CLASS. So that's good.

And my brother's wedding is coming up this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it - Rob and Lisa were here this weekend and they are both so happy, and I'm really happy for them. Plus it's gonna be a fun party.

But I'm tired. Today I went to (gasp!) Walmart to buy a 100% cotton t-shirt for Isaac to tie-dye at school (I made sure it was Made in Bangladesh), and I think I fell asleep while walking. Suddenly I realized that I had walked smack into a rack of clothes and my arm hurt and the rack was falling over. I have a huge bruise on my arm that is going to look great in my strapless dress for the wedding. It'll match the farmer's tan and weirdo tan lines on my feet that look like liver spots. Oh yeah, I'm gonna be a hottie for this wedding!

And yes, I'm tired. I fell asleep walking. And you're sharing the road with me. Hence the move to Madison, where I can ride the bus.

OK time to read.

Jesus was a liberal.

Wow.

We really ought to convert to the metric system. Here is a map that shows in red the countries that are holding on to the non-metric system of measurement (does it have a name?)

I'm craving a girl-baby.

This is Zoya, daughter of Zeenat and Tanveer. Sometimes she smiles and looks out of the corners of her eyes and it's almost overwhelmingly adorable.

Zeenat posted pictures of Isaac and Raffae on her blog, so check it out.

I heart DC

Isaac and I had a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

1) Riding the Metro. Isaac loves putting the ticket through the gate thingy and I love how cheap it is, and I feel cool that I know how to use it.

2) The Smithsonian: We hit the National Museum of Natural History and saw the huge fossil collection, watched an Imax movie about sharks, and bought some DIY geodes from the gift shop.

3) The Fulbright Orientation: I absolutely love being invited to this conference because the people I meet are so incredibly awesome. I still struggle with a little of that impostor syndrome when I'm around these folks. This time I gave a talk on making the most of the Fulbright year through outreach, and I scared the crap out of the folks heading to Bangladesh this year.

4) Meeting of the Bloggers: I finally got to meet my cyber-friends Zeenat and Tanveer. I found Tanveer's blog a while back and started reading Zeenotes a short while later. It turns out that we have a mutual friend, and we've developed a casual blogular relationship since then. The visit was great and I enjoyed some delicious vegetarian food cooked by Zeenat's mom especially for me (thanks Khalamma!) I'm hoping Z. posts some of the pictures she took of Isaac and Raffae on her blog so I can link! (And I was completely mesmerized by their beautiful daughter Zoya. I love girl-children!) (AND there is a child in the world who is as picky as Isaac. Raffae and Isaac ate plain spaghetti for supper.)

5) A little bit o' activism: Isaac and I stopped by Senator Kohl's office for "Coffee with Herb". He hosts these meet and greet sessions every Wednesday morning and agrees to take pictures with his constituents. I wonder why he doesn't bother to come to Wisconsin to meet his constituents very often? I put in a plug for the Fulbright program and then stood by as members from the Campus Antiwar Network at UW-Madison (they happened to be visiting DC as well) asked the Senator some tough questions while video-taping him. In case you missed the link to the whiteboard protest I did a while back, please check it out.

I'm glad to be back in the Wilderness for now, though, and I'm looking forward to my class starting on Monday. (That's a lie, I'm dreading it.) I still need to finish my paper, I must think about moving, my brother's wedding is next weekend, and blah blah blah. I'm gonna take a nap.

Boy, do I have news.

First of all, the most important news: I just finished writing a pretty good draft of my paper! I call it a draft because although it's in "final" form, I have sent it to no less than FOUR reviewers for comments. I'm sure I'll have some work ahead of me when I get their comments back, and I still have to do the references section.

Second, I'm leaving for Washington DC on Tuesday. Isaac and I have been invited to present at the New Fulbright Grantees Orientation again this year. I love this conference, because I get to meet the new crop of grantees going to Bangladesh, and I get a free trip to DC! I'll also get to visit my buddy Kei and maybe even meet fellow bloggers Zeenat and Tanveer. (Will you guys be around this week?) We'll be there all week. I've got several museum visits planned, as well as a visit to our elusive Senator Kohl (whose office I occupied in a recent protest.) Since he rarely visits Wisconsin, I decided it was a good idea to visit him in DC while I'm there.

Third, and hold on to your hats because this is a big one, I'm moving. Yes, I know it's surprising, since it's been almost a year since I last moved, but I have decided that I can no longer handle the drive to Madison. It was a sudden decision. I had insomnia one night and realized that I was killing myself with lack of sleep. Actually, I've had some pretty scary moments on the road where my eyeballs rolled back in my head - although my eyelids were open I was definitely asleep at the wheel. I got out of bed that night and applied for university housing, and was offered a place the following day.

I'm really happy about this decision, but I'm dreading living on my own. I've never really done it, you know. I've always lived with SOMEONE. Now I'm really gonna have to grow up. If the toilet is plugged, I certainly can't ask Isaac to plunge it. If a bad guy breaks in, I'm the one who has to beat him with a baseball bat. (Geez, should I buy a baseball bat?)

Isaac will be attending one of the best schools in Madison, renown for its diversity. We will both join Tae Kwon Do classes, and I'm going to host a Hindi movie night at least once a month. And let's hear it for free internet!! And recycling!! And walking to school instead of spending 15 hours in the car per week!! Yes, it's going to be good. And who wants to live in the same place for more than a year anyways??? Surely not I.

(Except that I have to leave my precious dogs in the Wilderness.)

There is yet another announcement in the works, but I'm not ready to go public with it yet, since it involves approval by some Important People. Stay tuned.

To which class do you belong?

Find out here.