Where I was last week

Another week, another meeting (this time a conference) in the western part of an Atlantic state. Last week, I was at the Institute for Computer Policy and Law at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. This annual conference looks at the policy aspects of IT in higher ed, and also at the legal context for those policies.

Privacy law & copyright were on the agenda, but also a pretty animated session about the "pre-settlement letters" sent by the recording industry to students at colleges and universities. Want to see a bunch of IT policy folks and CIOs get riled up in a hurry? Start talking about the RIAA and the ways in which they're trying to get legislation passed to beat higher ed into submission.

Cornell is gorgeous, as well. There's Cornell Plantation, an area of green space that's part of the campus. I walked some trails there with T, the Associate Counsel for the University of Minnesota. There are the Finger Lakes nearby, and many of the conference participants had dinner on a boat cruising Lake Cayuga one night. Over dinner, I heard some gruesome IT war stories from J, a security specialist from a big public university in the west. He made Brandeis look like a well-heeled and impeccably-managed institution! Listening to him made me feel great about what we're accomplishing. My last night there, I had dinner at the world-famous Moosewood Restaurant -- great vegetarian and vegan food! I highly recommend it.

I have a few pictures of Cornell and the surrounding countryside on my phone. So far, I've been striking out in my attempts to retrieve them so that I can post a few. Hopefully soon, I'll figure it out.

Appointment shmapointment

So I went to see the doc a couple of days ago, and everything seems to be a-ok. The appointments are kinda funny. You arrive at the docs on time, after rushing like a maniac (but safely) to be there on the stroke of your appointment. Then you sign in and find out the doc is running a half an hour late. Then you sit in the overstuffed waiting room watching kids from infant to ten zoom around and play at full volume. Then, when you're finally called in, they weigh you (woo hoo) and only then will they let you pee (which you have to do badly since you're pregnant and went way back a half an hour ago). You pee on a little stick to show them whether you have sugar or protein in your blood. Then they take your bp (which was nice and normal) and then you wait again for the doctor to come in. When she arrives, looking very perky, she listens to Philomena's heartbeat (a healthy 149) and then asks if you have any questions. She's totally willing to move up your next ultrasound, though only a few days (Friday the 3rd is the new date). She says, "you look great--you're glowing and your hair looks wonderful." You take that to mean you're doing well, though you know your hair looks good because you just spent a nice chunk to have it highlighted and cut.

And then you go back to work. It seems so anticlimactic, though you know that they need to check out all of these things monthly to make sure that you're on track.

And I'm on track. We have the fetal survey at the end of next week, and I'm feeling pretty good. Freaked out beyond belief at the thought of having a little baby, but well nonetheless.

Next update coming soon....

Progress, on the right

I just returned from a two-day meeting at Bucknell University in central Pennsylvania.

[Digression: Why Bucknell, you ask? Recently I was asked to help oversee a survey that evaluates the delivery of IT and library services at colleges and universities. The survey team members (all from colleges and universities on the East Coast) meet in person every few months to advance the work of managing the survey. Bucknell was the site of the most recent meeting.]

Central PA is rural, and not at all like Boston. To illustrate what a different world this is, here are a few signs I saw while making the 90 minute drive from the nearest airport to Bucknell.

Exit 50
Rt 22W
Progress
(I always wondered which way to go in order to achieve progress. Guess now I know.)

Be careful of
Aggressive Drivers
(Think they mean me? Or perhaps just any driver from an urban area?)

Buckle up
for the next Million Miles!
(Hmmm.)

Be careful.
Heavy DUI corridor.
(Maybe there's not enough to do around here.)

Some pictures from Israel

I promised some pictures from Israel, so here are a few. As you know, this study tour for the Summer Institute for Israel Studies enabled our Summer Institute participants to meet with policy makers and scholars in Israel, as well as see the country and some of its cultural offerings.

The first photo is of Elie Rekhess, an Israeli scholar who studies Israeli Arabs (or Palestinian Israelis--depending on their politics and sense of identity). On this particular day, we visited a community center in the Israeli Arab town of Kfar Qanna and visited a museum commemorating a massacre in 1956, when Israeli troops fired on and killed nearly 50 Arabs from the village who had been working in the fields and had not been informed that a curfew had been imposed. We discussed the narratives of this event, and then saw the village. After that, we had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called El-Babor, and then went to view the security barrier/fence/wall that separates Israel from the West Bank/Palestine. We then had a lecture/discussion in an Israeli town called Katzir. There, we heard from Youssef Jabareen, who helped write a document detailing the Palestinian Israeli future vision of Israel, as well as Hillel Frish, who served as a counterpoint. The photo below is of Professor Elie Rekhess at the fence/wall, telling the group about its purpose, and the villages that it separates.

The next photo of a settler woman named Eve Harow (originally from Los Angeles) who gave us her opinions on the future of the West Bank/Judea and Samaria/Palestine. She was very passionate in her views, which made a number of the participants uncomfortable. I would have liked to have met some Palestinians from the region who could serve as a counterpoint to her talk.











The third photo I want to show is of the entire group, in front of the Tel Aviv museum. We saw an amazing exhibit by Vardi Kahana that I told you about earlier while at the museum.

















And, finally, last but not least, I met cousins C, N, I and A at the port of Tel Aviv (A not shown). It was a lovely day, with a beautiful view. The port area is a beautiful area of restaurants and shops, right on the sea.

Thathump thathump

So I went to the doc's office on Friday and had a fetal heartbeat check. Philomena's still in there with a strong heartbeat. We all knew this, but my anxiety had taken on a life of its own, so it was good to be reassured. I'm considering getting a doppler (the instrument that lets you hear the heart) to listen in whenever I want. My friend L got one and is happy with it, so we'll see. Do I honor the anxiety and listen whenever I want, or do I suck it up, knowing I'll be able to feel movement soon? Its a di-lemma.

In other news, my acupuncturist is no longer absolutely certain that Philomena's a girl. So we might have to wait for the August 6 ultrasound for certainty. That's ok, its coming quickly, and we'll let you know.

That's it for now. We might see Harry Potter tonight. Will let you know how it is......

Like a cocker spaniel

My trip to Israel was an exercise in hydration. From first thing in the morning til bedtime, I tried to stay hydrated in the Israeli heat. The doctor said that if I got dehydrated, I could experience contractions, and could be in a world of hurt. So, I drank and drank and drank and drank. Which meant....that I found every bathroom in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least twice. The participants got to expect that I would need to go every ten minutes, and one of them said to me. "God, you're like a cocker spaniel," after I once again needed the bathroom before I went anywhere else. Not such a good analogy, since a cocker spaniel could hold it longer than I can....

Still haven't downloaded pictures. It'll happen soon, I promise....

More later....

Tales from the Holy Land

I got back from Israel at about 10 last night, after a 22 hour door-to-door trip. Ugggh. Good thing I started to get energy back last week, or I never would have made it. As most of you know, I was in Israel for work. Every year for the past four years (and the next several also), Brandeis has hosted the Summer Institute for Israel Studies, in which we bring professors from all over the US (and some from further abroad) to Brandeis for two weeks and Israel for one, to learn to teach Israel studies (history, culture, society, politics, etc) from an academic, analytical standpoint. The program is modeled after the NIH seminars, and seems to be quite successful. The program at Brandeis is packed with seminars from leading academics in the field, and the program in Israel is packed with meetings with Israelis from all different sectors.

When we arrived on June 29, it was shabbat, and we went to a wonderful Shabbat dinner at a place called Beit Shalom. The next morning, I took a small group to the Tower of David museum. I gave them some hints about what to look for, and then we had a discussion at the end. Very gratifying after all my work. I also left the museum a copy of my dissertation. I don't think they'll like it very much. After that, there was a tour of the old city, a lecture by an academic on the sanctification of Jerusalem's space, and a great joint lecture by a Jewish academic and a professor from Al-Quds University. It would be great if we could find a way to bring him to Brandeis. After that, we met with a former supreme court judge, toured the supreme court, met with several people from the Foreign Ministry, met with the head of research at the Knesset, toured the knesset, went to Yad VaShem, toured a couple of archaeological sites, went to the West Bank to meet with some settlers and hear their rants, met with some Palestinian Israelis and hear about their vision for life in Israel. We also went to a wonderful exhibition at the Tel Aviv museum by a portrait photographer who took pictures of her extended family, which spans the breadth of Jewish Israeli society. The artist, Vardi Kahana, gave us a private tour of the exhibition.

You can find the exhibition, and her comments, at her website. It was simply incredible. We met with other academics and had a tour of Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Another highlight was meeting an Israeli author/filmmaker Etgar Keret in Jaffa. After the formal program was done, I got to see my good friend R, and stayed the weekend with A's parents, M and A. I also got to see my friend M, who has a one year old and is pregnant with number 2.

As soon as I download my pictures, I'll put some up here. I don't think there are many good personal ones, but you never know.....

Anyway, it was a good trip, though I missed Josh a lot. I'm very glad to be home, and I start work tomorrow.

I woke up at 4:30 this am, and I hope the jet lag isn't too bad all week....my hopes aren't too high. NOT looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning....them's the breaks though. I'm quite excited about my job, just wish I had a bit more time to recover. And sadly, Josh has to work today. He says he's coming home early.

While I was gone I missed Max's birthday party, which I'm bummed about. Hopefully S will send some pics, and I'll post one or two here. Also, S's birthday was on Saturday, and I wish I could have celebrated with her.

I'll write more (not too much, I promise) when I put up some pictures, perhaps later today.....

Love,
Steph

Max goes to the Nats, and other tales

It's a mostly quiet weekend around here. Steph gets back tomorrow evening. Yay!

Last night I caught up with some 2nd cousins -- a combined mishpacha from New York and lovely Newtonville -- for Shabbat dinner. My cousin J was nice enough to call me to invite me to dinner at my cousin C's house in Newtonville. I had a great time catching up with everyone, and dined on tasty kosher chinese food. :)

Tomorrow, it's off to Nantasket beach, south of Boston, for a reunion of some cousins from my mom's family that I've never met. Can a family gathering technically be called a reunion if there was never a union to start with? Guess I'll find out.

To tide you over until Steph regales you with stories from Israel, here's a photo of my sweet nephew Max at the Nationals game. I think he witnessed Dmitri Young's grand slam and a Nats win that day. Gotta love the fact that the guy in the red shirt behind him has a Sox cap on.

Some fun on independence day

Celebrate July 4 with cookouts and beer, you say? Or perhaps by watching fireworks and John Mellencamp on the Esplanade with 10 million other Bostonians? Try this on for size....

This morning I celebrated the 4th of July by getting lost, on my bike, in the birthplace of our American democracy -- Lexington and Concord (and let's not forget Bedford)! I had planned a 25 mile ride out to Concord and back to soak up the sun on this glorious morning and get in some exercise. However, while rubbernecking at the Lexington town green, I took a right when I should have taken a left and ended up traipsing (map-less, I might add) through Bedford and into Concord center on quiet roads past pretty houses.

Concord was full of other riders, but still quiet & peaceful. I sat under a tree, in the shade, snacking on a Clif bar and some water before hopping back on my bike, getting lost again, and making a huge circle around the (now closed, I think) Hanscom air base. Finally, I picked up Route 2A, which goes right past the Minute Man National Historical Park! (Who knew?) The park has house museums, farms, pretty scenery, and an area labeled Paul Revere Capture Site where people seemed to be hiking. All a 15-minute drive from home, and definitely worth a return (planned) visit sometime.

In case you're wondering, I made it home alive. :) And my actual route, which in no way resembled the route I had in mind when I set out, looked like this.

Electrifying!

Last night was an otherwise ordinary night.... puttering around the house, missing Steph, making dinner, listening to the Sox on the radio.

Actually, listening to the Sox on radio isn't all that ordinary. Steph hates to listen to Joe Castiglione, the "Voice of the Red Sox" -- too nasal! She prefers Don Orsillo & Jerry Remy on NESN (the Sox cable network). So we rarely listen to the Sox radio broadcasts. But I love 'em -- somehow the freedom of moving around the house tends to beat watching the game while being chained in front of the tube. Mostly. Except when Don & the RemDawg are cracking each other up on TV in the middle innings of the game.... that's just the best.

But.... in the middle innings of last night's game, with three runs already on the board for the Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury, the rookie centerfielder, just called up from Pawtucket a few days before, amazingly scored from SECOND (!) on a wild pitch. Wow! This guy has some serious wheels, and is an incredible talent. Guaranteed: in very short order, we'll be saying "Johnny who?"

Henry in the stroller

So, did I mention that my lovely sister S is also pregnant? She's due in November, so my parents will have two stunning new grandkids by year's end. Of course, will her doggie relinquish the stroller when Miguelita the fetus emerges into the world? We shall see....