Disjointed Observations

I'm still toiling away at my statement of purpose. When it becomes more presentable I'll share parts of it here...

November is one long series of sniffles and sore throats for me, at least in New Jersey. I don't remember being sick like this at Stony Brook--dragging on and on and on.

The amaryllis blossoms are fading. They have lost their gloss. Their edges have purpled and withered. But the second stalk has thrust its head high, and two of its buds peep out from the green sepals.

Hazel has come of age and is determined to mate with O.'s slippers, which are fluffy black bears wearing red hats. The rabbits take turns rubbing their chins on them as O. travels back and forth between their territories.

Is that a third slipper?

O.'s last day of work was a week ago, but Thanksgiving immediately followed, so it's only sinking in now. This is day three of his unemployment, and he has been lovely around the house, baking bread studded with sesame seeds, doing the laundry, and starting the dishwasher without being asked.

He also scheduled Hazel's neutering appointment, thank God and the NJ House Rabbit Society, who supplied us a voucher for an affordable neuter procedure ($75 instead of $200+). Hopefully we can rebond the bunny boys soon after that, and take down the wall that has divided our kitchen and living room these past five months (Has it really been that long?)--"the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility."

Letters of recommendation

I'm working on applications to graduate programs in linguistics right now, and I secured recommendation letters from three of the professors who know me best before Thanksgiving. But this weekend, one of them suggested that it would be good to get another recommendation from a linguist (since my current recommenders feature one linguist, one psycholinguist, and one English prof). And this after she had also suggested it would be good to get a letter from a professor in computer science! (my minor, which I don't intend to pursue seriously in the future).

So tonight I forced myself to ask and ask and ask. I just finished writing four emails to professors to whom I haven't talked in at least a year and a half, or two and a half years for some. Please write me a recommendation letter! I need it a week from today!

Surprisingly, the emails to the professors I know better (the three I asked originally) were much harder to write. Tonight's emails felt rather low-stakes: the worst that can happen is that I embarrass myself a little.

I hope at least one of them says yes!

Amarillys

A month ago, looking for rabbit-barriers at the hardware store, I bought an amarillys bulb on impulse. It took me weeks to free it from its plastic netting and plant it, but even as it waited without soil or water, it grew. Finally I planted it, and within a few days, buds appeared.

Buds

Layer upon layer

One day, one flower opened. The next, two more. Soon after the fourth blossom opened, I had to stake the heavy stalk with a stick from outside and the leftover purple yarn from a failed crochet project. The amarillys stands by one of S.'s collage-paintings.

Flowers, shadow, and collage

As winter presses toward me, I am comforted by the presence of living, growing things in the house. There is still color in the world.

Pollen