Feeling Christmas

What does it mean to be in the Christmas spirit? This year I was far away from friends and family, and I would be spending christmas -- all of it -- in a strange place away from home. Yet, I still found ways to feel christmas, from playful email exchanges arguing over when it's appropriate to start listening to christmas music, eating too much dough at cookie-baking parties, going to christmas performances and festivals, watching (and re-watching) my favorite christmas movies, and singing carols at a christmas eve service. As I constructed this list it occurred to me that one of the best things about christmas time is the traditions that are the same no matter where you are.

Maybe this is why I got so obsessed with christmas flash mobs on youtube - the idea of people performing for an unsuspecting crowd and bringing strangers together for even a short time. It seems like the perfect representation of what people mean by christmas spirit. I took great comfort this year in the mobile nature of christmas traditions, and was happy to find that even though I might miss specific people or specific things, like White Christmas at the Carolina Theatre, I've found plenty of ways to engage in my christmas traditions.

Of course there were times that I was really sad and lonely missing my family and friends, and to say that I was content this season in finding whatever ways I could to enjoy christmas traditions doesn't take away at all from the ache of this christmas not being like the ones before. But it does mean that I still "felt" christmas. Which is to say, I felt all the joy that traditions, at their best, can bring: a way of making anywhere feel familiar and a way of bringing strangers together through common activities.

So I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and that you'll be feeling christmas for all the year to come.

Something to Say

Having nothing to say can be a frightening issue in several instances: when you are supposed to be blogging, when you are supposed to be publishing, during important conversations, during presidential debates....

While I will probably never find myself in the latter scenario, the first three, and especially the first two, are common self-inflicted circumstances for me now. As I was trying to figure out what to post for this week I felt as though I did not have anything important to say, and it was the same feeling I got earlier in the week when I was brainstorming "future projects" (something I have to discuss for my tenure review). Although blogging and scholarly articles and casual conversations may be quite different, I do believe the ability to have something to say comes from a certain habit of mind.

This habit of mind consists of:

1) CURIOSITY. I believe that to have interesting and fresh things to say, you have to ask a lot of questions, which means you have to be curious about what you see, read, and hear all around you. I tend to get so busy in a day that I breeze past things that should require a second look (group of kids on skates with movie cameras in our street), or don't stop to find out more (like seeing an interesting headline in the New York Times, but not actually reading the article).

2) REFLECTION. When I hear someone say something worthwhile I suspect they have thought about it before. Setting aside some "still time," as I call it, to reflect on things that have happened to you in a day can cause you to realize what's been in your head that you didn't even realize you were thinking about. getting it down on paper, of course, is a must. Perhaps 19c writers were so amazing because they kept journals.

3) INTERACTION. Other people will draw your attention to things you didn't notice, will challenge the same old way you have always thought about things, will reinforce something you were already thinking but hadn't been able to put into words, and all other sorts of things that will sharpen, enhance, and deepen your own interesting ideas. I call this a habit of mind because I think you have to interact in an intentional way that is other-oriented. You should do more listening than talking and you should not immediately discount what other people suggest. And, you should try to interact with people who would not normally make your "friend" list because they are too different from you.

So as I sat here tonight wondering why I have nothing to say, I thought about how maybe I'm not intentional enough about these particular habits of mind: curiosity, reflection, and interaction. We'll see if my blog posts get more interesting if I start doing these three things. If you have habits of mind that help you come up with interesting ideas or things to say please share!

Upon Reaching December

When Pandora opens it automatically restarts where it last left off: with “Jingle Bell Rock” and “O Holy Night.” Our house smells faintly of burnt wood. There are Ziploc baggies of cookies on the counter. My nightly ritual consists of plugging in lights at dusk and unplugging them before bed. Yes, such signs mean it is now December and the holiday season is in full throttle.

This year, though, it means even more. Having now reached December 2011 means I survived my first semester at my new job as an assistant professor. Some things are not so different, especially as I stare at the stack of essays and exams that need grading. Some things are only slightly different. I have still had the joy of Christmas baking and Christmas movie nights, though not with my long treasured friends, but with new friends I am quickly growing to love. I have a North Carolina Frasier Fir in my living room, though it was gotten in near tears in 40 degrees of pouring rain at the Home Depot.

And some things are vastly different. This year I won’t be preparing for MLA interviews, nor will I be frantically finishing a dissertation. I will, however, be putting together my tenure notebook for my first tenure review in January. When I look back at the last several Christmas breaks it does strike me that they have been defined by some of the most monumental milestones in our field. (I hope this causes people who complain about the long breaks professors get to give that a second thought).

Maybe that’s why it only feels natural that I have a make-or-break sort of project like the tenure notebook to keep me occupied during the holiday. Oh, don’t worry. There will plenty of festivities. I’m already slowly working through the Christmas movie list (The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas, check. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, check.). And I am nearly sick of eating Christmas cookies and listening to Christmas music. I am working my way steadily through Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and tape.

I do feel a sense of accomplishment that I completed my first semester here without major incident, or, in other words, successfully. Putting the notebook together will involve much reflection, so I suspect my posts throughout December on the blog will include more thoughts evaluating my experience. Right now, though, I am enjoying the feeling of knowing I finished, without dissecting it any further than that.

Thanks to all of you who have been “listening” to my thoughts this semester. I hope to be a little more consistent with my weekly posts. If there is anything you particularly want to hear about, professional or personal, about my transition from graduate student to full-time faculty, from North Carolina to Texas, just let me know.