Starts and Stops

Once again, I'm feeling the drag of J's advisor halting progress.  What do you do when you can only get your advisor's attention for 15 minutes a week and they won't write your rec letters or even let you know they haven't done them yet? J's feeling pretty sheepish, as his (now) top choice asked for letters probably two weeks ago, and we're still not sure she's got them all.  He had to send her an email making sure she got them, because his letter writers won't respond to his emails about whether or not they will/have written them.  Grrr.  But-- it was the end of finals week last week, so I should have patience.  I just hate to see him get down about it.  Things got exciting for a few days and then shut down.

In other exciting news, our landlord has dropped another bomb on us.  In September, we had actual contact with him when our A/C went out and he casually told us he was thinking about using our home as leverage in a custody battle.  "I figured I'd let my wife live here rent-free, and her lease is up in June."  Yeah, only slightly horrifying.  Renters' Rights in Arkansas are pretty grim, so we had a huge garage sale and sold off maybe 1/3-1/2 of our belongings just in case he got even flakier and we got the boot.  The idea of moving and then having to move again in 6ish months was horrifying.  We decided to get lighter.

Before that  there was talk of him selling the house, which was OK since our neighbors were interested (and intent on keeping us as tenants).  That fell through when the divorce started and he never returned their calls (after they had already paid for home inspections).  J. says we're probably good because nothing moves fast and the landlord is flaky, but I don't want to count on someone being flaky in a way that is beneficial to me.

Talk is back on about him selling off his properties, and luckily the neighbors are thinking about trying to buy the house again.  I got mad at J. last week for seeming to be cavalier about our possible eviction, but he was just way too stressed/depressed by the rec letter quagmire.  Can we just get out really soon?

The current plan is finish the thesis in March, defend in April, all done by May.  And somewhere in there find a job.  I don't know what I can do at this point but be optimistic.  This blog has helped that last bit dramatically.

In happy-go-lucky news, I had a kick-ass birthday party on Friday that made me forget about my birthday blues earlier in the week.  Here are some pictures, taken by my photographer friend:

My amazing sis-in-law

I love how I look like a tarty cherub in this shot.

Our bathroom has really good light, so eventually everyone came in for some group shots.

Detail of decorations

We forgot birthday candles, so Jonathan obliged with his lighter.

My sis and her new boyfriend. It was hard to find the cutest picture, because they are disgustingly wonderful together.

All in all, it was the best party I've ever had.  My sis-in-law and best friend helped me deck the house out in pink streamers and aqua Christmas balls and decorate a corner just for photos (seen above).   There was a glitch in the karaoke system (namely a microphone and amplification) but we remedied it with a hairbrush and really enthusiastic singing.   The rest of the night was taken up with Framboise floats and photo shoots and chocolate tort.  No one got sick. No one got sad. Everyone got hugs. Then everyone went home.

To India, with love

So, scratch that. I realized I was getting ahead of myself, like when I imagined I'd be a seamstress after two lessons and started a twitter after I thought I'd started a wildly successful blog.  Tiny Park, Arkansas will be a blog or something someday, but really, I don't need two blogs.  

Here's some pics of the clay/pin "robots" I made for a friend to take back to India for her little sister.  I started making these years ago just for fun, but after I invented a position for myself on a non-profit called Art Amiss, I suddenly had to make over 200 of them for a show.  I'm no longer with that group, but people sure do remember those little robots.  That group has asked me to take care of their Etsy site, and I hope I'll get to do some craftin' too.  I don't want to be on the board again, because board members can't submit artwork to shows.  This is the first time I think I'll actually have something to offer.

If anyone knows how to do two columns of pictures, let me know. This was a long one.

The husband sent out his third letter today, which was really a full-on application to a program in Boulder, CO (formerly referred to as NewTownX).  I like the idea of that.  Ohio is still on the line, but France hasn't been launched yet.  He's stressed, but I want to hope that he's feeling good and accomplished.  I'm incredibly proud of him and I'm very happy.  I apologized today for my impatience, which would have been hard to do a few months ago.  I really didn't understand the obstacles in his way.  He seems to be getting over them.

We're going to spend a quiet weekend, but when he goes out to do research tomorrow, I'm going to A-Z in Alma, Arkansas.  It looks like a scary religious compound from above, and is the largest deal/dollar store mall ever.  It is insane.  The things housed inside it must not be, and are very cheap.  I'm taking some friends, and I think our aim is plastic dinosaurs, wrapping paper and op art.  Yes, necessary things.  Sports, furniture, clothing, bridal, floral, rugs, gifts and sports equipment, all in their own giant iron sheds.  And a diner filled with fried everything.  The last time we went, we spent about seven hours and came out dehydrated and thrilled, only spending about $30.  I'll be on the lookout for another factory-second Justin Bieber shirt.  My husband and I have a strange liking for pop star t-shirts and pop stars we don't really know anything about.  He's got a Backstreet Boys shirt he's been wearing for a decade, and has been mentioned in his teaching evaluations.  Good or bad? Who cares, I'm getting some tiny dinosaurs.