tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23078501586313508122024-03-06T03:32:00.863-05:00ReaderI am starting to care whether or not I finish my dissertation.Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.comBlogger598125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-72186576019515357842011-08-17T08:27:00.005-04:002011-08-17T08:42:28.811-04:0040 hoursHow do you all regular folks get it done?
(By regular folks, I mean folks with 40+ hour work weeks).
I have been unemployed since May, and I have never been busier in my life. And no! It's NOT all time spent looking for a job (although I do that every day). I cook, I clean, I run errands, I make phone calls, I go to appointments... just the business of being me takes up all my time. INinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-84213067810111747862011-08-10T18:19:00.006-04:002011-08-10T18:35:44.188-04:00Dawn of a particular day
Yesterday morning, I got a text message from an old friend from high school. The text came in at 5am, and after I read it, I couldn't possibly go back to sleep. So I took this picture for you.
My friend M's text message told me that his former wife and the mother of his six year old daughter and four year old son had been killed in a plane crash. The woman he was married to for ten Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-5961221397953867792011-07-29T20:44:00.005-04:002011-07-29T20:56:06.283-04:00Boundaries? Not really.I have about seven minutes (perhaps less) to post before I must return to my living room and join my roommate for a back episode of Project Runway. What's that, you ask? Nina... has a roommate? Yes. Yes, Nina does. LAS and I are now roommates in New York City. What's that? You think it's really risky to move in with someone you met on the internet? Well... for me, this move involved Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-73496333870137016202011-02-21T23:32:00.005-05:002011-02-22T08:45:24.882-05:00In which I make myself very unpopularHello.There really is no dignified way to start this post, so I will just say it: I watched porn. Let me explain: I am 41 years old, and it occurred to me recently that I have never seen pornography - not even Playboy. I might have seen a few naked pictures here or there, but basically, I had no experience with the industry and had never "seen" people doing stuff. I decided that since I wasn'tNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-48904692637269183802011-02-11T23:58:00.003-05:002011-02-14T16:12:22.359-05:00Letter to M: The Darker Time<!--StartFragment--> Social: It was a hard slog after my mother died. My dad turned with full, religious conviction to scotch and mallomars to survive. I drove home every weekend to make sure he didn’t pickle himself. A lot of men get married within a year of losing a spouse, but my dad just seemed to take it harder as every day went by, so I spent a lot of time driving back and forth. I Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-21922945915105538142011-02-04T21:09:00.002-05:002011-02-04T21:18:32.654-05:00Letter to M: The Dark Time<!--StartFragment--> Letter to M: The Dark Time My plans to move to NYC forestalled, I moved back in with my parents. I lived with them while my mother completed treatment for the recurring cancer, and I got menial temp work so the main focus stayed at home. Then one of my menial jobs offered me a promotion – a whole $24,000 a year. The catch was I had to move to Raleigh, NC, and that meantNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-89356733766577973712011-01-27T17:21:00.003-05:002011-01-27T18:52:57.158-05:00Letter to M: College<!--StartFragment--> We were still in touch between 1988 and 1992, but I don’t think we talked much, or at least not enough for me to remember much about what you were doing. All I remember hearing from you is the word “Wharton.” I am writing under the assumption that you remember one word or fewer about me during those years. So, college. I have my own students now, most of whom are Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-76420050013308126392011-01-27T15:17:00.003-05:002011-01-27T15:29:52.502-05:00What did I think would happen?When I was 14 I made a BFF pact with a guy who went to a neighboring all boy school (I was in the all girl school; this all made so much sense at the time). We were very close - told each other everything, talked all night on the phone, went to each others proms, etc. Or did we? We can't remember, but there are pictures of us together all decked out for something. Anyway some people have a Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-77352733438718305512011-01-16T09:37:00.006-05:002011-01-16T10:23:04.009-05:00Facebook as a form of therapyWithin twenty minutes of joining Facebook, I received a friend request from the man who holds my V card. It just got weirder from there. My phone didn't stop all night. Bzzz.. Bzzz... Bzzz... all Facebook notifications from or regarding people I haven't seen or talked to in years - in one case, since I was eight years old. It wasn't merely that people were trying to "friend" me. It was thatNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-78663923143303647652011-01-15T18:47:00.006-05:002011-01-15T18:58:44.048-05:00So I sold out.I put ads on this blog. Why? Because I am fairly broke and because anything would help and because I trust that 99% of you come here to read my posts, not look at ads for anti0-aging remedies. (That does NOT mean you shouldn't click on those ads if you like what you see). Let's see... other happenings... I threw away all the angry fat clothes I accumulated when I was several sizes larger due Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-24249206371787769262011-01-12T16:53:00.002-05:002011-01-12T17:01:55.140-05:00(Hides Face in SHAME)I can't believe I showed you all three shots of my boobs in a lame attempt to get you to come back to my blog. How... tacky. Let's see what's happening today. I got my wish. It snowed and the city looks beautiful, but I suspect it looks so lovely because I didn't have to leave the house today and have been curled up with books in my nightgown and slippers. Yes, I am drinking tea. Yes, a did Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-27024119862532456922011-01-11T22:25:00.008-05:002011-01-11T22:45:45.281-05:00Now this is rightI talked it over with my surviving female relatives and, while noting the opinion of avitable, we agreed that retail lingerie is the right thing for me to do. Who else but me could appreciate and sympathize with the issues common to those blessed with largesse? and who can forget this photo??Jeez I look almost flat chested in that one. Need to find more photos.Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-20866597617796132492011-01-11T17:30:00.006-05:002011-01-11T17:49:57.777-05:00Why all the fuss?OK so I finally got Google Analytics to work. It told me what I already knew, which is no one stops by here anymore, which means I need to start posting every day again - that even though (as discussed) the narrative arc has closed - there is more to say.I'll start with the obvious: what the hell is going on?In August, after my last day of work, I made the decision to allow myself to be Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-10438541302412055252011-01-10T21:59:00.004-05:002011-01-10T22:03:59.577-05:00Yes, I care. I care a lot.I can't get the snippet of code from Google Analytics to stick to the template of my blog. The error message I am getting is something like the XML code is unworthy or some crap like that. WTF?Was it always this hard? The whole problem is enough to make me drink red wine and stuff my face with basmati rice. And if you don't understand that, we really can't be friends anymore. Um but honestly Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-47408743076523033042011-01-08T10:18:00.002-05:002011-01-08T10:25:55.632-05:00Educate MeWould someone please explain to me what is so great about Google Analytics? I tried to sign up for it, but it appeared to be telling me that on every single post, I have to plunk in a mile of code. Am I not reading the instructions correctly? Because if they really want me to plunk their special code into every single post I am not sure I can be their friend. Also: whether this is true or Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-32594099893910629122011-01-07T13:16:00.002-05:002011-01-07T13:23:15.206-05:00For CathIt's snowing in New York City, and my, is it pretty. Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-42784570822915252142011-01-04T23:15:00.005-05:002011-01-04T23:37:43.614-05:00Oh My HeckSo much has happened. And yet nothing has really changed. I am the same underemployed college adjunct as I was and I have gathered no steam on the Phd front. I have only the most filmy vision of the future. What's interesting is my total conviction that although things are not so great financially right now, they will get better. The getting better might be greatly facilitated by my getting Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-65594408800675948862010-11-01T19:49:00.004-04:002010-11-01T19:58:40.649-04:00What happened to me?A lot has happened. I lost my job, and that turned out to be a good thing. As it turns out, I hated that job, and I don't miss it. I miss the paycheck a lot, but for $3126 per month? That much pain? Not worth it at all. I have also been doing some, oh, mental and physical inventory in an effort to somehow get myself back to where I was before the Recent Unpleasantness*. Guess what? At theNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-5729068619643476062010-07-08T17:38:00.003-04:002010-07-08T20:09:09.276-04:00Help me decideMy brother has pissed me off by suggesting that my running days are over. That I can't handle it anymore. That my knees can't handle it anymore. Blah blah. In response I have decided to jog/walk/crawl, whatever it takes, another marathon. I want a January marathon to mark my birthday. Top contenders are:1) Miami Marathon - it's Miami, after all. 2) Carlsbad Marathon - San Diego is perfectNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-30500086362107913012010-07-03T15:11:00.005-04:002010-07-03T15:28:09.918-04:00Try thisCossette is getting married soon, as you all know if you read the previous post --- also, I just told you. So she is trying to get more exercise so she will look hot in her dress. OH. In case any of you care about such things: If you are a girl or a woman or a friend of a girl or woman, you know you need some tight abs to look good in that dress. TIGHT. ABS. So we've been having a little Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-29817972153387442542010-07-01T19:37:00.007-04:002010-07-01T19:51:48.445-04:00Perfect, perfectItem the first: Please go immediately to P's blog and lavish upon her the love and devotion that is her due. Heaven never dreamed up a more beautiful bride. I mean it. Go and give love to the most beautiful bride in the history of marital perfection. Item the second: I had grand plans for my future. They included me never going on another date as long as I lived, vacationing every year Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-60815258366795107662010-06-22T19:31:00.004-04:002010-06-22T19:39:33.285-04:00Back to BlackMany of you said you didn't like the black background, and I agreed with you, mostly. But the blog started black and when I started messing around with the template, everything else just seemed all wrong. So now we are back to black, if not permanently, for now. More on fasting: I decided to fast for a week in order to shrink my stomach and start the weight loss process. Boy howdy, was that aNinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-3555924189098783762010-06-21T13:29:00.005-04:002010-06-22T18:56:11.724-04:00WonderI wonder, too. Where is she? Where is that other, better voice who thinks all this is a story, rather than an merely a break down? Where is the person who makes all the drama into four paragraphs that end in a joke? Where is the person who makes all my problems funny? Where the hell is Nina?Well. Nina's here. The reason she isn't saying much is that her primary fuel is intensity - usually Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-65217039489560001462010-04-15T15:34:00.005-04:002010-04-15T15:41:08.394-04:00Three minute postMy flight boards in three minutes, so I have three minutes to tell you that my boss offered to write me a letter of recommendation and I now have until December to decide what to do. This is welcome news. Also, I am more confused than ever about what to do. But at least now I have more time to be confused. Here is a picture for you: That is me, Tex, and Tess in Iceland. Very overserved. I Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2307850158631350812.post-8551493606914550502010-04-13T20:35:00.003-04:002010-04-13T20:47:52.449-04:00I'm availableNo. Not in that way. Stop looking at me like that. As of eleven days ago, I no longer have a job. Oh wait, I do, but only until August. Then I will be most assuredly available (unless I want to move to North Carolina.) (Which I most assuredly do not.) Everything but my wallet says I should not go there - that I should stay here and try to make my way, somehow. Any which way. And y'all Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08506536350115105742noreply@blogger.com7