It's clearly become an orgy of cute.

Also even more self-referential than usual.

Chickens from Medellín

Left to my own devices...

Apparently, I will learn to sew. Sweatshirt with oil stain + liberty fabric present finally find each other!


It's a little free-form crooked, so I kind of have to stand sideways to make it look good, but I'm fine with that.

FOUND!

Add a new item to the list of apartment awesomeness:

There are some good things lying around in boxes on the sidewalks within 4 blocks the house around 8 or 9 pm most nights of the week. We picked up all of this at just 3 places last night. Already made compote with the apples and strawberries, scarfed down the grapes with shredded ginger (magic!), I've roasted some of the eggplants for eggplant caviar, and stuffed my face with more fresh strawberries. I should add that the best find we didn't even take, which was so many hardy greens - think collards. But I picked up the winter CSA this weekend, and the fridge is seeping greenage. But point being: this neighborhood is prime free food spot!

In other news, for those keeping track at home...

We were all forced to buy new calendars.

Some hot sailors kissed.

New Brunswick celebrated global warming.

First polar bear swim of the year.

We got a new pet.EP danced with a dog. I thought this was a camera. (It's not.)

What have you done in 2012?

Statistics

My least favorite thing in the world is when people brag about page numbers. In person or on Facebook, it only leads to the listener/lurker feeling bad about her/himself, because the nature of academic life is such that you are constantly aware of the impossible task of reading everything you need to know or writing down everything you want to say. It's not academic neuroticism; it's the nature of knowledge. Still, hearing the number of pages somebody managed to bang out in a day makes one feel pitiful, a loafer, a slouch. No matter whether the pages written were any good or had a thousand long block quotes taking up all the white space, or if the book they read had pictures or was written by the Dr. Seuss of their discipline. No matter. Internal monologue: OH GOD, WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY TIME?!

And so, it is with the mental health of all my numerous and sundry Facebook friends and at the sad expense of my few, so very few but loyal blog readers, that I announce the birthweight of Chapter 1. I'm sorry to do this, friend(s), but I have to. For all the times I thought, hmm, well, if i can squeeze out 25 pages for each chapter, add 10 pages for intro and conclusion, tack on a hefty bibliography and images, maybe I'll just clear a respectable 150 pages???, I announce to you:

Chapter 1: 73 pages, not including 59 images.

*I do not know this baby.

BOO-YA!