17 classes taught

1 rear-ending while in Vanessa’s car by Vanessa’s student, who later became my student (Davis is small)

2 trips to LA with Denise to visit the wonderful people at The Simpsons, where we got to tour the animation building, watch them record the music, and watch them record the voices. 

1 amazing day watching Alexander’s robotics team (of which he was President) win the regionals, so they could go on to the International FIRST competition

1 conference in London, where I got to see Liam and Courtney and Chaz, to meet Carmen, who has offered to marry me when I get serious about moving to England, and to present on Octavia Butler

1 magical conference in Alcala, Spain, the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon and Cervantes, where the University was founded in 1499, and where I spoke on Buffy comics and found Duff Beer!

1 endoscopy, 1 MRI, 2 neurologists, 2 ER visits, 5 allergy shots every other week

1 summer of dead electronics: 2 computers, 1 DVD player, 1 phone, 1 car, 1 watch

1 day at WonderCon with April and Alexander (with 1 meeting of Berkeley Breathed)

2 students who said I kept them from dropping out; 3 students who said I saved their lives 

2 plays at The California Shakespeare Festival

1 viewing of John Leguizamo’s amazing new show                                                  

2 cats (Osiris and Mahahes) after Isis ran away

1 wine-tasting afternoon with Rae

1 taking over the editorship of Prized Writing

1 Tim Burton exhibit

1 trip to Ashland to see 4 amazing plays with Dan

1 getting to hug Scott Thompson after seeing him with Kevin McDonald

2 trips into San Francisco, to see Stuffed and Unstrung and Richard III with Kevin Spacey

1 Driving Miss Daisy with Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones

2 Grandparents who renewed their vows

1 giant (several pounds) application for a three-year contract at Davis

2 visits to Davis by Zach Weiner, author of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

1 replacing Mindy (temporarily) as friend to Vickie (due to computer literacy)

3 websites that regularly feature my writing, though I’ve just quit one: www.dr-karma.com; www.matchflick.com; www.examiner.com

2 Christmas trees (one taken down in time for Martin Luther King Jr Day; one put up the Saturday after Thanksgiving)

1 month of time travel dreams induced by the writing of a soon to be published paper on Time Travel in Star Trek

1 surprise party thrown for me on Father’s Day by my friends who wanted to celebrate the successful parenting of my beloved child (and yes, I was surprised)

40-something weeks of book group (which has been running about 8 years)

4 movies at the French Film Festival                       

1 Doctor Who Experience!

4 university committees & 3 journals served on

1 Christmas in Florida

12 months of teaching, with nary a break

52 weeks of great friends, new and old recipes, and wonderful reads

1 completed child, turned 18 and sent to college

1 2011 list completed, to be sent to you with my love, Karma

I had to leave my darling Christmas Tree with my friends looking after it to head to the South for Christmas. Those who’ve been to my house know that my tree goes up the first possible moment after Thanksgiving and stays up well into January.

I have a fascination with Christmas trees–when I was a child, I would play with the giant one my step-father would put by the spiral stairs for hours. My smaller dolls would make nests in the tree, talking to various humanoid ornaments.

I can’t play with the tree much anymore. My allergies to all things natural–including every kind of tree–means that decorating is a trade-off in happiness and welts. Still, having a tree up is worth it to me. Here’s this year’s:

Yes, that’s Katharine Hepburn behind the tree. And then there are Simpsons:

My major award (I’m glad it didn’t break in transit; I think it’s from Italy):

 

And the strangest ornament I’ve ever seen. This is a Disney ornament, from the Disney store. So why is there an Imperial Walker on it (with a Christmas wreath)? The mystery remains.

Vanessa gave me a brand new ornament right before I left–one with Beyonce the Chicken, but I didn’t get a picture yet. Next year!

So this week I went to the ER on Tuesday because my back was out. The medications I could take were severely limited because of my upcoming endoscopy on Friday. In fact, I had to go off all pain medication on Thursday because of the 2 day fast that was supposedly required (pain medication + empty stomach = nausea). On Thursday night, I started my “cleanse,” which required me to visit the bathroom very often, even though it hurt to walk there.

Soon after being taken in by the nurse Friday, I noted something seemed wrong. She asked when I’d last eaten and drank. When I told her I hadn’t had anything to drink since the night before, she declared me “hard core.”

Now, of course I am hard core, but following medical instructions isn’t usually what gets me labeled so.

When the nurses were then putting all the fun bruising apparati on me (including the blood pressure cuff, which left lines of red scratches on my arm from monitoring me during the procedure), I made a joke about the cleansing fluid.

Nurse: Why did you drink that?
Me: It was at the pharmacy for me. With instructions. Someone ordered it for me.

One of the nurses disappeared. A few minutes later, the doctor appeared, apologizing profusely for my having done the cleanse. “No one should have to do that when they don’t have to.” They all promised to find out who had ordered the vile solution by mistake.

Then they put me to sleep. They found some “spots” to biopsy. I would have asked what that meant, but I was still pretty drugged up in the post-op talk.

More news to follow, presumably.

When I last left off my London diary, I was just getting to the fireworks. I was there for my first Bonfire Night! Bonfire Night originally started as a celebration of the capture of Guy Fawkes and the King’s surviving an assassination plot. In later years, it became an anti-Catholic holiday. Now, it’s a night for revelry and drinking.

The fireworks in the park were the best I’ve ever seen. They were set to music, beautifully choreographed, and very long. There were some types I’d never seen before, including ones that looked like giant gold fans of light coming up from the ground. We drank our mulled wine and soaked in the colors.

Then we headed back to Courtney and Liam’s friends’ house, where there was drinking and dancing and glowsticks. It was like I was seeing a part of the 90s that I missed somehow. A frenchman in the garden charred the outside of some meat and kept sticking it into my mouth before I could protest. A englishman arranged my glowsticks so they were illuminating my cleavage, popping at intervals out of my bra like the Statue of Liberty’s crown spokes.

When we got back to C and L’s, I was covered in smoke from the smokers in the garden, but we fell asleep anyway and slept late.

I made my way back to Chaz and Carmen’s later that day. We feasted at a Chinese/Indian fusion place close to their house. Wonderful duck, amazing fish with Indian mint sauce. For once, we got to bed at a decent hour, and then Carmen and I were up to museum. We hit the British museum to see treasures old and new. We came across an exhibit I’d seen before–the pills an average Westerner will take in his/her life.

Check out the exhibit here: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/c/cradle_to_grave.aspx

Afterwards, we headed to Nando’s (Carmen was wonderful to indulge my obsession). Then she took me to the geek store–Forbidden Planet, where we got lost for several hours. After coffee, we split up so I could go meet Courtney.

We were off to have dinner with some friends of hers. There was an amazing pumpkin soup, mushroom risotto, jacket potato, and juniper chicken. I wish I could have finished it all, but I filled up on the richness too quickly. C and I had to leave before dessert. I got home in time to see Poirot solve a mystery and then went to bed.

TBC

I have a favorite tree on campus–an autumn gold. I walk past it almost every day; there’s only one time of year it’s this beautiful. The other morning I snapped these pics:

After the Dr Who Experience, Courtney and I needed lunch.  Unfortunately, we came out of a tube stop from the wrong exit and had to walk around a couple of miles before we came to a pub. I had some traditional fish and chips while C had some amazing lamb. Then Liam met us and we headed to the Victoria and Albert. We tracked down a gigantic musical instrument I saw on a postcard: Tipu’s Tiger.  It’s a tiger attacking a British colonialist–life sized. It is also an organ. The colonialist’s arm moves to simulate trying to push the tiger off.

Then we went to an exhibit on The Power of Making–a large room full of things made from materials you wouldn’t expect–an amazing “glass” sculpture  that’s actually made of sugar, a dress made from needles called the “widow,” but the best thing was a giant silver gorilla made from clothes hangers. It was vibrant and alive and perfect.

After all that culture, we needed libations, so we headed to the Worship Whistle Shop–a place that makes its liquor the victorian way. We had these gin fizzes with sage on top. The atmosphere was very good & so were the drinks. Then we headed to a bar with a cool name that I can’t remember–I had a white linen (though it wasn’t called that). Liam had the guys there make him a a Michelada–it took a while, as it seems that particular drink hasn’t spread that far.

Then we headed back to Liam & Courtney’s, where Liam made chicken wings and we watched what happened to be on TV–Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. I headed back home afterwards & ended up staying up talking to Carmen until late. Didn’t rise until after 1 in the afternoon.

Carmen made some fantastic pancakes, but then I was off to meet Courtney and Liam again. We met at a tapas bar (named Carmen), and then to a friend’s place that was close to the the Bonfire Night festivities  . . .

After staying up way to late with Chaz and Carmen, I woke up so I could meet Courtney to go to the Dr Who Experience! Courtney was hoping there would be some little kids to watch, and there were. We entered a gallery and then moved to the experience–we got to stand in a moving tardis, we got to walk through a valley of Stone Angels, we got to be attacked by giant Daleks, and we got to be called “shoppers” by Matt Smith. As one of the young boys said, it was “sick!” Then there was the museum, with costumes, etc. There was a creepy wax Matt Smith, models of villains so you could see how they’d changed over the decades, etc. Need to get the rest of the pictures from Courtney, but here are the best ones from my camera (more on FB soon). Hit the gift shop, spent too much, even though they didn’t have postcards (is that because it’s impossible to send mail from a Tardis?).

Drove myself nearly mad trying to get ready for the London/Spain conferences. Those of you aware of my work load this term know that the week before I left was the busiest, not even counting the packing and the prepping for other lovely people to take my courses when I was away.

It was with some relief, then, that I found myself boarding the plane to London. I read Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett to get myself in the mood. Found myself behind two Brits in line–the man was complaining about some salty cheese–and I knew I was going home.

The flight was delayed, so we got in later than expected. I then had to make my way through customs (what is your conference on? Vampires?! Is this some kind of literature thing?) & to Chaz and Carmen’s. Carmen was kind enough to make me a cup of tea. I was able to instantly agree with Chaz’s assessment that I would love her. We share a lot of the same interests and she’s extremely intelligent, articulate, and beautiful. (My ex has excellent taste in women!)

Then I was off to a fancy champagne bar to meet Courtney and Liam. We had a rose and some very nice tapas while catching up. Then we headed to Soho for more wine and pizza. I made it home relatively early, but stayed up with C and C until midnight–we had to catch up too. I was also able to have my first mince pie with cream–I have to say that I I’m sold.

The next morning, I was off to the conference. Most of the papers were on Trueblood and Twilight. One other paper was on Fledgling, but it was the day before, so I didn’t get to see it. The arm of the University of London where the conference was was in my old neighborhood–Bloomsbury. Thus, I knew precisely where the Nando’s was & headed there for lunch. (Ah, peri peri chicken.) Then I had my paper, which I think could have been stronger, but a woman came up after and asked another presenter and I to submit papers for a collection she’s putting together, so it couldn’t have sucked too badly.

I then ran into the British Museum to say hello to old friends (statues mainly). Hit the gift shop for some presents for the boy, then off to meet Afzal for dinner. I had a decent venison ravioli (deer is in season there), and then we headed off to the theatre. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy. They are both brilliant performers. Redgrave’s Southern accent only slipped on a couple of words. The staging was beautiful–simple, but effective. I really wasn’t expecting to moved by the play–I know the movie well and wrote a paper on the play a long time ago when I was an undergraduate. Still, I teared up at two moments (even though I could recite the lines).

We hit a Snog Yogurt (snog means kiss) in Soho and then I headed home. I beat Chaz there, so Carmen and I opened some wine and talked. We had to open another bottle when Chaz came home and ended up talking until three in the morning. A heavy rain reminded me I was in London as it hit the sloped windows of my attic room.

More to come . . .

The other day, I apparently felt my first earthquake.

I was reading in bed, when I noticed that my dresser was shaking. I thought the neighbor couple on the other side of the wall must be enjoying themselves. When my bed seemed to move for a micro-second, I chalked the sensation up to my exhaustion.

When my friends then asked a few days later if I felt the earthquake, I put it all together.

However, the earthquake was just one sign of many of the coming end-times. The second sign was when I became possessed by Zuul. Then I met the keymaster:

P.S. Don’t forget to check out what Zuul and I have been writing lately at www.matchflick.com & http://www.examiner.com/scifi-in-sacramento/karma-waltonen