Please see Cucina Viola for posts relative to food.

Moving Tip:

=

(Almost) Everyone is Flawed

We all have our flaws, it seems. Some have flaws that are so minuscule that only they can see them (my wife being one of these fine folks).

Suffice it to say that others (like me) have a few extra flaws.

But this isn't about us. This is about our cats. We have two of them, both with flaws (and one with claws, but we'll get to that later).

Meet Bella:









Don't let the cute pose fool you. Bella is a seriously flawed 1 year-old Maine Coon mut, a "Beautiful Wreck" in the immortal words of Shawn Mullins. She is cute and cuddly one minute, and a complete nutter the next. It very well could be that these flaws are the reason she's so lovable.

Bella does NOT have claws.

Meet Penny:









Penny is a 10 year-old Burmese mix that will do anything to please us. She tolerates Bella most of the time, and LOVES people. And people love Penny back. She's the cat for which non cat-people make an exception to their dogma.

Penny has claws.

I am writing this blog tonight because I am fustrated with Penny. Despite having claws, Penny rarely uses them on anything (except Bella). She doesn't scratch furniture, dig at doorways, or mark her territory in any way. Except carpet. Penny has an odd affinity for one particular spot on the stairway to the basement. And she digs. And digs. And we scold. And yell. And she digs.

If I didn't know better, I'd think she was like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, slowly digging her way to freedom, scattering small shards of carpet about the house during her "yard-time." I've asked her about her "Mexican Hideaway" but she just gives me on odd look. Over the last few weeks, it's as if she knows we're leaving her Shawshank behind for a better prison just north of here, and wants to see what is at the end of her digging. Here's hoping she doesn't find out.

Yo, Fabrizio! What It Do?

So, yeah. It's been a while without updates. Here's the rundown:

1. I passed my dissertation defense.

2. I submitted the research to a professional journal for publication.

3. I've been teaching a course at OSU, which is almost over.

4. We've found a renter for our condo.

5. We're getting ready to close on a house.

6. We are packing for the move (barf).

7. I got a dream vehicle, a Vespa LX150. It is brilliant.

So, that's what has been going on! More updates to come :)

Big week -- look out fingernails!

This is decision week.

I have the presentation ALMOST ready to go, and I just hope the committee has mercy on me. What else can one do but write the paper, look things over, and prepare to talk about it.

Two hours later, we'll find out the verdict.

June 6, 2007. 9am-11am. PAES 019.

Not to be lost in all of this is Julie's birthday on June 9th. Happy birthday, beautiful!

I'm back (for now)

What a six weeks!

Today I am submitting the draft document to the committee for their review, and I get a bit of a break over the weekend. June 6th is coming quickly, which is when I have my defense, so there will be a lot of preparation leading up to that....but at least not too many late nights beforehand.

After that, it'll be revisions, all culminating in a June 15th deadline for the document to be sent to the graduate school.

So I thought I'd pop in and say hello and that I'm still alive and writing!

Update Chasm

I thought it important to note that the next few months will see me with my "nose to the grindstone," going after my research quite vigilantly.

SO.........the updates might be few and far between. I'll be sure to pop in and say hello, though!

Today IS Opening Day for Tigers baseball, though! Hooray!

Thank you, OWU!

It's official.

I've accepted a tenure-track faculty position at Ohio Wesleyan University starting in the fall of 2007. I'll be teaching in the PE department, and focusing on brining back the Health Education certification to the program.

I couldn't be more excited - what a blessing!

Now it's all down to finishing the research at OSU.........

Quel Anniversaire, Bien Sûr!

So dig this.

Yesterday was my birthday, my 35th birthday no less.

And this past weekend and run-up to the birthday was great. My best friend was in town, we had a GREAT gathering on Saturday night for dinner and hockey (thanks to my brilliant wife), and we got to watch the Old Firm AND Six Nations rugby on Sunday.

Then, yesterday came the news that I am getting the position at Wesleyan, and I happily accepted! Now I know where we'll be in the fall, and it feels good. And all on my birthday!

And to top it off, my wife found very very tasty vegan cupcakes from here, and she made a chicken curry for dinner. I truly do not deserve all of the blessings that came my way yesterday.

I got some pretty cool OWU gear and a rugby ball, too.

Here's to you - I hope you can have a great day like this, as well.

Griffins and Bishops and Time....Oh My!

So the interview with Wesleyan is now complete, as well. It was good. VERY good. Unexpectedly good.

I REALLY feel great about it, and a decision from them is coming as soon as next week, or possibly the week after. But what of Canisius, you ask?

What of them, indeed.

I haven't heard a word, despite my pleas for the expeditious release of information.

*chirp* *chirp* *chirp*

Silence.

The run-up to a decision sure is exciting, folks. But it'll be a real downer if neither come through, or if I am forced to make a decision before I have all necessary information. That being said, I thank God every day that I have been given this opportunity. Many of my colleagues have not been so lucky.

Have a great weekend. Finkini is approaching 35 years old next week and he's feelin' fine.

Ciao, ragazzi!

Buffalo........ *sigh*

After returning from our trip to Canisius College in Buffalo, I am feeling a bit down. Why, you ask?

It was one of the best places I've been, and I'm not there now.

What makes such a place so great? People, food, surrounding natural beauty, people, great living standards, people, good department, people. Here are many of the places that we visited during our stay.

Friday:
Our Hotel - the Lord Amherst

Saturday:
Niagara Falls
Inniskillin Winery
City of Niagara On The Lake
Anchor Bar (original home of Buffalo Wings)

Sunday:
Original Pancake House
Butterwood Desserts
Cole's Restaurant

Monday:
Canisius College (GO GRIFFS!)
Eagle House Restaurant

I loved it here.

I'll keep everyone posted on how the job process goes.

Day at the Falls

Yes indeed....God is good. This was taken today at Niagara Falls. We had an absolutely wonderful day, and I just thought I'd end it by posting this picture.

Buffalo here we come!!!

Habs won, and it was brilliant. Sorry there hasn't been much action on this blog since the game last Sunday...I have been getting ready for interviews and classes.

Now we're in Buffalo, getting ready for an interview on Monday with Canisius College. I am looking forward to finding more about what this program is like, and if it's a good fit. I hope to provide more updates as the weekend and interview progress.

Habs Day in Columbus

Today is the day! The Habs are in Columbus, and my wife was SO kind to buy us tickets to see them play.

They've been crap lately, true crap....but I don't care. I'm ready. PLUS - the recently called-up Jaroslav Halák will be in nets, which makes the focus on the game even greater back in Montréal.

We have to start the winning streak sometime, right? Tonight sounds good to me :)

Updates later.......

Frustrating Saturday

I turned Waldorf down. And it's hard to swallow. Here's hoping some other offers come along.

Amongst other things, last night's important results were more than a little frustrating.

First, we attended the LSSU vs. Miami game in Oxford. What a beautiful arena! And what complete jerks for fans. Been to Yost lately, folks? They were doing your out-dated, unsportsmanlike bullcrap 10 years ago. It sucked then, and it still sucks now. I hope you lose in your first playoff round. Oh wait, you will.....because you always do. And I'll laugh. Jerks. Bad first 45 minutes of the game by the Lakers, and an outstanding last 15. And, oh what a brilliant goal by Troy Schwab to pull the Lakers within 1. Final score Miami 3 LSSU 2.

Up in Montréal the Habs lost their 3rd straight, and 2nd straight to the ottawa senators by a 5-3 score. Ray Emery, goaltender for the senators, tried to take the head off of Maxim Lapierre with a slash during the game, and then challenged Lapierre to a fight. Silly goaltender, don't you know that fighting is for real hockey players? The sens shall henceforth be added to the list of teams to lose the honor of having their name capitalized, and may be referred to as "that team from the small settlement upriver." And Ray Emery???? I hate.

Kentucky kept it close in a game against florida (no capital letter - see?), but any loss to this collection of trailer-park living, gator-jerky eating bunch of mouth breathing rednecks is bad.

Hopefully this coming week will be less frustrating, and not just in the sports world.

Random Thoughts on a Friday in February

Just some random oddities floating around in my head this morning:

- Why, when you want something, is it always such a waiting game?

- I'm back to believing that not pursuing a business degree was certainly the right choice.

- Waking up feeling unbearably anxious is not one of my favorite things.

- The Habs need to pick it up. Now.

- I'm not working as hard as most people do on their research.

- How have I gotten this lucky thus far?

A happy weekend to you - we'll be taking in a Laker Hockey game against Miami at the new arena in Oxford on Saturday, which should be fun. C'mon boys!

Decisions, decisions.....

Well, Waldorf offered. It's a great place, with fantastic people.

But I can't make the decision this quickly. Too many irons in the fire....pots on the stove....skates on the ice....whatever.

Some consistency from Buffalo would be nice, too.

Buffalo.....

Delaware (OH).....

Iowa......

Idaho.....

North Carolina....

Feeling..............................very..............................dizzy...................................

I think I'm going to sit down now. More to come later.

What a Day!

This is a picture of a Bald Eagle that we saw sitting just outside the dining room of The Lodge, where we stayed in Forest City, IA. Julie spotted it, and took this picture. VERY cool.

What a day yesterday! Colts win! Habs win in overtime, and it came down to a mistake by perpetual whine-bag Sidney Crosby! Even Celtic got into the act by beating Livingston (zzzzzzz) in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup.

In other news, I've made it 'till payday (with a lot of help from Julie), and I gotta say - it's nice to be able to contribute.

This should be an interesting week, given the decision that should be coming from Waldorf, and my waiting for the other positions to update me.

And today, well, today is very big indeed. This marks 2 years ago that I met Julie. THAT was a great day.

This is a "Shout-out" to my wife Julie!

Now, we had a great time in Forest City, despite high temperatures below zero. The folks at Waldorf College were great, and we got to really appreciate small-town life in the area. We also visited several great sites around "The Cities" (Minneapolis/St. Paul).

These included:
- The Cathedral of St. Paul
- Lowertown St. Paul
- Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis
- The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis
- Mall of America
- IKEA Twin Cities

Who knows if we'll end up there, but we did enjoy our time.

Off to Iosota!

Just checking in briefly....we're off to Iosota today (where Iowa and Minnesota meet). Clever, eh? I made that up myself. Bet you'd have never guessed.

It's interview time at Waldorf College - so I'll be teaching a bit, chatting up the faculty, and generally having a good look about. And of course missing the Habs game tonight in Pittsburgh. Horrors!

Nervous? Yes.
Excited? Very.
Know what to expect? Not at all.

Wish us luck!