best of the best

So the Basant family plan has had to be altered. Initially we had thought to go off birth control March 1st and condom it until the end of May (After S and N's wedding) and then try to get knocked up June or July. Well, due to my desire to have a honeymoon (no Vegas does not count) we are heading off to the Dominican Republic the first week of April. I do not want to have to deal with anything but relaxing, so I think we are going to stick with the pill until after we get back.

Propelled by some interesting heath issues, I decided to take the plunge and find an OBGYN that I would see regularly instead of the hit or miss approach I am so fond of. Thinking about finding a doctor in this time frame means that I need to think about more than just me, this doctor will be the doctor that helps me as I prepare for pregnancy and beyond. So being an American in the year 2008 I hit the internet.

Amid a slew of reviews and websites. I found that most of the truly desirable clinics were either in St. Paul or Edina. Choosing between being snooty or having a long drive I choose to join the Southdale elite. Clinic Sophia is highly listed in many places but I felt nervous going today. I mean who really likes to have their vaginas poked? But frogs be praised - it was great! I mean it was a pelvic exam, but it was the best experience so far. The whole place was very well run - very polite and friendly. So I left today with a plan for pregnancy - lets just hope it works like I see it in my head!

sign of the times.

I managed to hold my birthday a secret from my class until the very end of the day, when my kids came back from theater where A had subbed. He had somehow programmed them to preform this beautiful little monologue in chorus about how it was my birthday and that there was no way that A had told them about it. Suddenly the class was in a frenzy, how had they not known it was their teacher's birthday? The dreaded birthday serenade breaks out in a fairly unison key (it is an arts school after all!) and at the end of the "to you" one of my Jewish girl begs a version in Jewish and at least 6 kids pick up the call and sing to me the song they learned in Hebrew school. Hoping these will be the last notes I hear about my birthday for at least another year, the Spanish portion of my class breaks into "Cumpleaños Feliz." Granted, the song sucks, but its a little refreshing in the remix!

alone

I am not sure quite how it happened, but I have become an actualized conservative. Not a republican, or a member of the christian right, but a conservative. Initially this was simply a rethinking of my core belives that resulted in the realization of the title. Now however, I find the way I believe my life and my country to be in direct challenge to my profession. Minnesota is typically a liberal state and the teaching profession as well. So my day to day interactions are always slightly in favor of everything I do not believe in. No where has this come into such sharp contrast as in my graduate classes. I have been astounded by the uneducated statements that have been uttered as fact in my time there.

This Saturday was my last grad school class after meeting for two years with this small group of 20. Two years of papers, projects, and discussion. Now my final paper has yet to be finished, and I must persevere through the next two months to complete it, but regular classes are done. I also must admit that my frustration level at this point is a combination of many things, but I simply could not manage to make it to the congratulatory luncheon that all of my classmates were to attend after the final class. Given the overwhelming nature of my feelings, I could not bear to make silly small talk. I left. I left without even really saying goodbye to these people.
I am still not completely sure if it was the right decision, but I was done. Done with all of the mindlessness. For the first time in a while I am truly reconsidering my career - or at least my place in it.