ethnowoman

Attention freya46 : not being able to cut or post pics is indeed a browser issue. When I stop using IE 6 and switch to Firefox, I get all my LJ perks back.

However.... I can't read any comments in Firefox.

And Paul tells me this computer can't be updated to IE 7 or 8 because it's too old and runs Windows 2000.

And now my whole text box is blinking. ALthough that may be an "old computer" thing more than a browser problem.

I need a new computer. I'm just loathe to spend the money. I know a lot of people like to buy high-tech toys but I consider it money down the drain until I actively talk myself into it.

Today I played hookey. It felt good to stop banging my head against the wall of the universe for a while.

Bug and I went to live in the underground city. It's a series of shopping malls under (and over) the city, all strung together spanning many many blocks. You can access it from lots of points at ground level or from the metro level. Anyway, I went in and out of Baby Gap for the first time -- for under twenty dollars, quite an achievement in restraint -- and also found some quasi-maternity wear at Old Navy. Bought Christmas presents.

Bug ate ice cream and made a friend in the nursing room, a 5 month old baby. Specifically I thought she was going to explode with excitement. It's been a long time since she's seen another baby.

I didn't achieve the daily goal of eating a croissant, but I did have a crepe. It was a savory one because I felt vaguely like it would be wrong to eat something dessertish for my main lunch dish. The savory crepe was all right but next time I will order mine as Nature intended them to be, with fruit and whipped cream.

After the houseboundedness of Saturday P and I decided we needed to Get Out. We highjacked ourselves to Ottawa. Since P is a bit bitter about downtown Ottawa now since that's where his car was broken into, we went out to the Stittsville flea market.

It has shrunk! It used to be Canada's largest indoor-outdoor flea market. But apparently the land got sold to a strip mall, and then the mall never went up, so the land sits empty while the poor flea market languishes on a new site about a tenth of its former size.

There was enough to keep us busy for an hour anyway. Paul flirted with a 12-string guitar and I admired furniture.

Then we met xiphia for a lovely dinner at Sukothai on Robertson Road. What a nice end to the day! It was so nice to see her again. Except that listening to her talk choir stuff made me seriously covet Polyphonia. =0 But that's okay and I'm glad Caldrithig will have a choir again.

Home again very very slowly because Bug had some abandonment issues in the backseat. Eventually I sat in the backseat with her, and the dog rode shotgun with Paul. Bug stared at me the whole time with a goofy, besotted grin on her little face. She was so happy to have her mommy with her. So much happiness for such a little act.

Not sure what this week will bring. I need to find new ways to get interviews. Or perhaps I will just give up on my research group, and interview my friends and family instead. =0

I ate nachos last night, because I felt I deserved them (!) but thought I was going to barf afterwards. So not tolerating fat right now. Makes me wonder how much of my "morning sickness" during first pregnancy was actually a reaction to the crappy crappy food I was craving.

We ended up taking a walk last night, prowling the grounds of the College du Montreal, built in 1729. It was originally a seminary but is now a private highschool. They have a reflecting pool on the grounds that looks like it's just big enough for two fish to do the 500-metre dash.

Bug is almost done nursing; we're down to two sessions a day. She seems to be voluntarily stopping; sometimes she just won't latch and cries for the bottle instead. This comforts me a bit because I hated to stop if she was going to feel deprived. It's possible also that the hormones are changing the flavour.

She will probably be in the seventh month before we stop entirely. I can't believe I made it this far.

I taught Bug to drum last night! She has a book with rattly plastic bits in the hard cover, and when she hits the top it's exactly like a drum. I bongo'd her little hands in some rhythms, and when I was done she bongo'd by herself! not as rhythmically but that's okay. =) It was Very Cool. I look forward to teaching her so many things.

It's me! I admit it!

I've crossed the line from polite requests for interviews and am basically into stalking. My first-choice interviewees are showing a shocking lack of interest in my Very Interesting Project.

Today I'm going to start phoning all my Plan B and C people for interviews.

I went to a very interesting lecture last night at Concordia sponsored by the Oral History Centre, concerning new ways of making research, in this case ethnographies, available to the public. Kind of a cross between anthropology/ artwork/ community outreach. Lots of networky after which was good. I found out that the promised AV equipment is NOT in the city--it's on order.... that changes my plans.

Watching Bug try to crawl is very interesting. She's desperate to move forward but she can't get her tummy high enough off the ground. She's got the right moves but she's hung up. So to compensate she kicks her legs frantically then flings herself sideways to get an inch of forward momentum, then claws with the free arm and flings herself back on her tummy. Repeat repeat. We thought she wouldn't be interested in crawling but we were clearly wrong.

It's kind of sad and cute at the same time, like watching a decapitated zombie go for one last brain. I try to help her but it doesn't seem to take.

Bug is trying to eat my kneecap.

I got her one of those mesh bags that you put fruit in, with a rubber handle. She ate a large apple piece down to crumbs yesterday. It took about 30 minutes. You wouldn't think someone with no teeth could get that far.

In the other pant leg of the Trousers of Time, I'm in Mexico City this morning, giving a paper.

I made the right decision to not travel... I'm just wondering what it's like there.

Yesterday I made a bunch of phone calls but no one was home or got back to me. I worked on my diss proposal and ethics application and read "Spot's Big Book of Words" in the R. language. It was a lonely day.

Today is networky; an evening lecture at the Oral History Centre with a bunch of Concordia peeps I need to meet. Paul's coming home early to baby-wrangle.

I was pretty tired and logey yesterday but feel better today. Bug wasn't tired AT all last night, she wanted to stay up and party when we wanted desperately to sleep.

In true party girl fashion last night, she projectile vomited all over the bed... me... herself. She was pretty cheerful about it but I was SO done with childraising at that point.

Anyway I had a good night's sleep and feel better.

We have no toaster here. I didn't realize how much I would miss toast.

I keep dreaming that Bug is talking, really talking in words and sentences. She does desperately want to talk, it's clear. She has important baby things to say.

She's grown a LOT in two weeks, since I was in Kingston. L bought her some 12-month onesies that were too big on her, and now they're on the small side of fitting "just right".

I had all sorts of ideas for things to do today but Bug and I ran headfirst into a long nap instead. It was great.

Anyway I have been sorting dissertation and research ideas in my head and in my files. I also started the nasty nasty online ethics proposal. My computer saved me: it crashed and I figured that was a sign that I had done enough on it for today.

Called my mother in law last night and picked her brain about documentaries. She raised all sorts of interesting points and really highlighted how much I don't know about the process. But she got my brain started and now at least I know where to start asking questions.

Paul has decided he hates hates hates the urbanity that is Montreal and is basically counting down the days till we return. So we're pretty much hooped for ever moving here someday. My country boy doesn't transplant to concrete.

Had two great meetings today so research is now officially going great guns! Got an invite to tape a recording session and practices. Tomorrow's job is to shake down the people with the recording equipment. And shake down my other contact to see what concerts are coming down the pipe.

I made Soup of Goodness for supper tonight, spicy beef veg.

Bug met my violinist today and tried to eat his fingers. I tried to steer her towards the thumbs as they are less critical to a violinist. She got really cranky during the language lesson and I put her to bed. She fell asleep mid-scream, it was very funny.

She now sleeps face down if she wants to. It kind of freaked me out the first time but now that she rolls like a logger there isn't much I can do about it. I put her on her back but if she doesn't want to stay there then she won't.

She is covering incredible ground now by rolling... or pushing herself backwards... or wiggling like a snake, or just rotating her body around. She hasn't mastered "crawling" TM yet but that is clearly not far off.

I was puzzling over the idea of making a documentary, which I know nothing about aside from the 7-minute karaoke video I made in fieldwork class. Yes, I filmed the clips and used the software but my video didn't have anything like a narrative or central theme.

It occurred to me that I know someone who does this professionally and can give me as much help as I need. My mother-in-law! She's made lots of documentaries. As we speak she's probably hauling a 50 pound camera somewhere.

I can't think why I needed two days to make this connection.

Also, Paul's auntie--Bug's godmother--who taught French for 30 years, is helping me practice French.

Boy, did I marry into the right family.

I'm sleeping a lot better now in Montreal. It's really nice to go to bed and be able to count on sleeping.

Busy today, two meetings, one at noon and one at 3/4. Hopefully will find out about lots of (I'd settle for one) upcoming music performances.

My Concordia peep is lighting big fires under me. Like a SWAT team: "Go go go go go!" It's very awesome after being stuck in neutral for a month.

We had a lovely meeting at her house yesterday that included another Concordia peep, a prominent photographer. It turns out I am being courted! He and his lab are very very interested in my project and would like to be included. Plus they are willing to loan me any equipment I need including training. It's all quite humbling.

They're keen on some sort of visual end product like a documentary. I'd not contemplated that, but I'm starting to.

I got used as a guinea pig to screen various linguistic dialects to see how similar they were to each other. Most of them were understandable, even when they used special symbols--you just had to read the charts--but not all. The dialect from Albania blew me away.

I found this cool boutique yesterday called "Preloved". It sells new clothes made from 100% recycled fabrics, largely woolen knits. Somebody took apart all the old clothes, made trendy, asymmetrical funky patterns, then pieced the old bits into new outfits. I can't describe it properly and it sounds like you would be wearing your grandmother's patchwork quilt, but the fashion isn't at all frumpy. It's edgy and arty.

They even sell baby clothes! Grown-up sweaters are 115$ and I wouldn't buy one right now anyway, but they do sell baby sweaters for 29$... I may go back.

I was supposed to have a research lunch date yesterday but I got stood up. So Bug and I had some leisurely chai, then strolled down St. Laurent to explore shops since we were there already. Ended up walking home, via all the interesting shops of course. I don't know how far I walked but it was a LONG way. Took 40 minutes to get there by bus.

By the time I got to the underground city I was DONE but still about 12 blocks from home. I stopped in at their truly excellent nursing room mostly to take a break in a really comfy chair! Babies are great to have sometimes.

Today: Paul wants to show me the old College du Montreal, which he found by accident last night and is very pretty. Then Atwater Market--we have high hopes for this because the internet press is very good--then visity chez Concordia peep.

I may have an interview out in Trois Rivieres for next weekend. Very pleased about this.

We thought it was so great that Bug went to sleep early last night.

Unfortunately Paul and I are not geared to go to sleep at 9:30 pm.

Bug woke up at 7 am bright and fresh, while Paul and I felt like we'd had a kicking.

Paul says they have to be at least eight months old before you're allowed to duct-tape them to the walls and sneak off for a nap.

Bug's favouritest thing to drink is water. In any container: a glass, sippy sup, water bottle, sports bottle. She just snarfed an entire sippy cup of water, minus what went down her shirt of course, then cried when the cup broke (was empty).

Our apartment complex is painting our balconies today. Paul and I question the whole concept of a wooden balcony/ fire escape, but hey, we're only here for three more months.

We had a loverly visit with Freya46 last night but I felt pretty wretched when we got home, and Paul let me go to bed early while he dealt with Missy "I'm Not Tired". Even counting getting up with a sick dog and a hungry baby, I feel tremendously rested and energized today.

Today: more article reading and pondering what it is I hope to learn in this trip. More language studies; my Concordia peep is coming over tomorrow yay!

Today's post is brought to you by the word "Gonna".

How many people do you know who use the phrase "going to" or "going to go" as in "I'm going to go to the store"?

No, they say, "I'm gonna go to the store". We never write it though. It's our undocumented dirty little secret.

Very noticeable when ESL people use the phrase, especially when they haven't mastered other things like past tense. It seems wrong and I want to correct it but I realize they have picked up on colloquial usage 100%.

The only person I know, myself, who says "going to go" is my mother in law who works for a cable TV company and is on air a lot. She uses less contractions than other people too.

Just a random thought from the depths of my brain. I wonder what other colloquialisms we (Canadian anglophones) have that we don't see for being too close?

Nice to see that the skills I acquired in umpteen years of pet ownership are not being wasted.

If the bunny hops back and forth along the line of vision, and then randomly attacks once in a while, it is the MOST interesting toy EVAR.

Mind you she also thinks my elbow is fascinating, so not a tough crowd.

Bug woke up a lot last night crying, having bad dreams or teething pains or something. But then we had a nice long nap together this afternoon which was lovely.

Research didn't really go today, although I did read a very relevant article. Pondering buying a video camera for my research. I may have a coffee date for Friday.

Paul's brother mailed my pregnancy journal here and it arrived today. I had written what my doctor said last year as I was racing to finish my candidacy exams, that he sees a lot of doctoral students doing the same thing. He said a lot of them don't want to do any research after the baby is born. "They're not lazy... they just want to stay home with their babies."

I didn't really relate to that last year but it's hitting a chord now.

Bug and I went for our H1N1 shots this evening. We thought Paul could get one too but it turned out that it was either him OR Bug. She is on the 6-month wire so it could go either way: they won't immunize infants before 6 months but in that case they do both parents. Anyway, we immunized her, and I got it automatically as a pregnant person, but without the adjuvant.

Ironic that we qualified for the shot when we don't get sick, though. Paul is the one who takes all the colds and flus "for the team". Regardless of personal history, he has to wait a couple more weeks before it is available to his demographic.

The flu clinic was really well run. I was terribly impressed with their efficiency and the no-wait concept. From triage to 15-minute after-shot wait we were under 30 minutes total.

Bug was a trooper for the shot! She charmed the nurse and only whimpered for a minute, then back to her sunny self.

We stopped on the way home at the Forum, old arena of the Montreal Canadiens, and took some pics of Bug on centre ice, and Paul and Bug in the bleachers. Apparently P is a closet Canadiens fan!

As usual, waiting for Bug to talk herself to sleep. Wish I could sleep too.

...and apparently I can only post one picture at a time. I'm not sure what has happened, but I've also lost ability to cut text.

Bug in her Elizabethan at Feast of the Hare, Caldrithig: Entirely formed from remnants of L's closet except for the tassel.