It's early January...

...and I have one more week before classes start and before the phone might start ringing again, and before I get an inch closer to knowing where I'll be next year. So, instead of working and waiting, what am I doing?

• Instead of reading about the political upheaval in 18th and 19th century Spain, I am making a very involved Marinated Lamb Tajin from my new Regional African Cookbook.
• Instead of getting ahead on my reading for this semester's class, I am erasing all the pencil marks out of the copy of "La deshumanización del arte" (Ortega y Gasset) that I got out of the library.
• Instead of fine-tuning my job talk, I am listening to this kick-ass CD mix of the best rock/pop/etc. from 2006 I was given and feeling very cool, indeed.
• Instead of looking at the evaluations my students from last semester wrote about me, I am running into one of my students from last summer in the citrus fruit aisle at the Berkeley Bowl and exchanging very pleasant pleasantries.
• Instead of re-reading my dissertation, I am watching Spanish movies (see photo) and Spike Lee documentaries and Veronica Mars episodes.
• Instead of starting one of those new Spanish novels I keep telling myself I should crack open, I am reading New Yorkers and The Secret Life of Bees and Amy Sedaris' warped hostess book.
• Instead of reading the Bible (how many times have I told myself I should read the Bible?!?), I am hanging a framed copy of my grandmother's cherry pie recipe on my kitchen wall, and knitting a scarf, and hiking from my front door to Tilden Park with Addison, and throwing out old T-shirts that I love but are three sizes too big for me.