You have to put a lot of time into work, and you have to accept that it takes a lot of time. I have to reject the advice of that Emeritus Professor and several others, that one must work as superficially and as quickly as one can. That only translates to rushing, suffering, fatigue, and … More On Identity in Work and Play. On Pace. On Ignoring Mistreatment
In Reeducation we were to accentuate the negative. We were to find our faults and our weak spots. Admit, accept, confess, apologize, make amends, promise to improve, and on, and on. For me, though, that kind of negative approach makes improvement hard. History matters but fretting about it is pointless — although one of Reeducation’s … More Positively
I am continually learning, of course, that it really is all right to do as I see fit. I learned at various points that my doing as I see fit might be challenging to people slightly less confident than I, and that it would be cruel of me not to defer to that so that … More Ich habe gelernt…
I am now over my Brazilian domestic crisis, which was related to my Louisiana domestic crisis. Both crises were very upsetting because they impinged upon my work, a fact about which I am quite embarrassed. I will have trouble with my work as long as I allow myself to be mistreated in general, and that … More In Which I Am Da Whiteman, Claiming My Ground / A Woman, Trying to “Communicate” / A Weakling / A Victim of Emotional Abuse / An Emotional Worker / Or.
This Brazilian house has in it a book in English, published in the seventies, on how to meditate. I am reading it, in part for the information and in part as a period piece. It says you should not use techniques or continue with teachers that feel wrong to you. I found this remarkable because … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Old Fashioned
I have said it before, and I will say it again: I should have started writing this book years ago, because I have amassed far too much material. Had I written more about some of it earlier, I would not now be wanting to stuff all of it into every piece. So I was really, … More Writing on Writing
I am now much happier than I was when I started this post because the electrician came and fixed the electricity. Now I can, for instance, take a tepid, not a freezing shower if I want to, and if it is dark, I have light in the bathroom. This is after twelve days. That, perhaps, … More Academic Monday: What Do You Need?
Please contact me if you know how to hack into Facebook, because I want you to hack into my account. I am blocked from it because my IP is now in Brazil. Since I did not list my true date of birth in Facebook and cannot remember what date of birth I alleged to have … More I Need A Hacker
People say professors lecture from ancient, yellowing notes, but mine lectured from drafts of their newest book manuscripts and invited their famous friends from other institutions to do the same. This is why, when I became a professor, the institutions I worked for seemed to me to be behind the times in terms of research … More On College Teaching, and on Paulo Freire
The advice to “just write, keep on writing,” does apply sometimes. But I think we, who have experience in such matters, know those times when we see them. We also need a place to write — the proverbial money and a room of one’s own. I might own this Brazilian house, for now, in a … More Peep!
coldhearted scientist وداد 