Yogademia

Mad Men, à la Sesame Street

2009-10-26T11:24:00.000Z

I'm back from the States! Hope you've all been doing well! Lots of stories to come, but in the meantime - for all you Mad Men fans out there, a little Sesame Street love for you. Listen for the supremely snarky grownup sentence at 2:06...

Balancing the books with vacation

2009-10-16T03:20:00.000+01:00

After three+ straight weeks flying hither and yon, living out of a suitcase, ambushing advisors, presenting papers, and applying for jobs all at the same time, I am hereby on vacation with my family and my boyfriend for ten days.

Yogademia is therefore on vacation as well. Please feel free to poke around in the archives while I'm away - have you looked at what was going on this time last year? Or in 2007? There's some interesting reading there...

See you back in England! In the meantime, it's palm trees and SPF 50 for me. Ciao bellas!

Autumn Traveler Mix

2009-10-14T13:19:00.002+01:00

The soundtrack for the past three weeks: travel songs, songs about certain cities I've been in, songs about going home, bittersweet music to fit the tone of autumn, and a few things thrown in there because I just miss my boyfriend.

(Click on the image to get a clearer view of the mix.)

Yogini's Choice, 11 October: Travel Edition

2009-10-12T02:21:00.000+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

This week's Yogini's Choice is all about the travel items that have made my life on the road possible, bearable, and liveable over the last three weeks.

*Lush solid shampoo, conditioner and massage bar
Fight the TSA's 3-ounce rule with solid cosmetics. Besides, solids last much longer than liquids, and are much more eco-friendly.

*TranquiliT ultra-versatile bamboo clothing
I wore the 2-in-1 long sleeve top with a boatneck for a conference presentation, and just turned it around to the scoopneck side for a party.

*iPod
I use a little old second-generation shuffle. It's teeny, clips to my jacket, and holds just enough podcasts and running music to keep me going for several days at a time.

*Kashmiri pashmina
Do yourself a favor and invest in a legitimate cashmere wrap/scarf/blanket/pillow/coverup/shawl/accessory/etc. that is light, warm, colorful, and utterly versatile. Works everywhere from cold planes to black-tie balls.

*Spillproof vacuum infuser mug and tea
Never leave home without a travel mug that you can depend on not to spill in your bag, and your favorite tea (or coffee) to wake you up in the morning or wind you down at night.

*Notebook and pen
For those moments on the plane when you can't have your iPod on, when you need to write out your frustrations, scribble down some notes, sketch your surroundings, make a packing list...
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Do you have an article, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Yogini's Choice

2009-10-04T16:16:00.000+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

*Darcy sent me this great story about the Kashiwa Mystery Cafe.

*Have you tried the S.P.E.E.D. process to improve your writing?

*Do you listen to the Penguin Cafe Orchestra? You've already heard them on This American Life and between news programs on NPR!

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Do you have an article, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Boston Bulletpoints

2009-09-30T17:35:00.001+01:00

*I have finally managed to get a meeting with my advisor - during his undergraduate office hours.

*Said advisor refuses to meet together with me and my second committee member.

*It's nice not to have to convert pounds into dollars.

*Tea at the student café only costs $1, and they'll happily refill your hot water.

*The students are getting younger and younger.

Drumroll, please...

2009-09-28T16:39:00.001+01:00

Well, I didn't get the job.

BUT!!!!

Just today, a brand-spankin'-new full time post was announced at a UK university in my specific field! Talk about the universe opening a door when closing another!

So I'm taking my own advice, asking "what's next?" and channeling my energy onto the page - the application page, that is. No use wasting all that good creative power on wallowing! There is ENERGY to spent here!

I am fully convinced that the universe has got my back. And that ROCKS!

Any day now...

2009-09-28T13:38:00.000+01:00

Between today and Wednesday I will be hearing about whether I've got that job...

*thinking positive thoughts*

The suspense is KILLING ME!

Yogini's Choice: 27 September, 2009

2009-09-27T06:30:00.005+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

*Illuminated Mind wrote a free e-book, The Zero Hour Workweek. The bottom line is that when you do what you love, it doesn't feel like work - hence zero hours of work per week.

*Here is a beautiful travelogue about staying in one foreign place for a while to really get a sense of it.

*I just love Sign Language. Don't we all need a brilliant generating station?

*Coco Before Chanel has opened on this side of the pond! And by golly, the New York Times likes it!

*Are you reading Minimalist? It's Leo Babauta's latest blog about how and why minimalism is good.

*Creatuitive Coaching is offering one lucky woman a chance at four months of free life coaching! Fill in the online application by October 9 for a chance to win.

*Need a journalling prompt or an Artist Date ida? Try writing a list of 100 new blog post ideas.
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Do you have an article, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Gratitude Friday

2009-09-25T16:44:00.000+01:00

It's been far too long since I've posted a gratitude list. And since today is the last Friday of the month, it seemed fitting to round up a few things I'm grateful for.

*Earning a job interview for a great gig that will also allow me to stay in the UK with Darcy. I should be hearing soon, and thank you for keeping your fingers crossed!

*My flamingo-pink Lamy fountain pen for writing morning pages, research plans, thank-you cards...

*Being able to work from nearly anywhere on my own schedule - airplane at 3 p.m., jetlagged in bed at 3 a.m., family couch at 9 p.m....

*Gorgeous two-toned honest-to-goodness pashminas from Kashmir my Dad brought back from his latest trip to India

*Receiving my tea trade package from the lovely Melita - thank you so much!

*Celebrating the marriage of one of my oldest friends on the beach

*Frantically ransacking my closet at my parent's house for a dress that actually fits because all the others that I thought still fit are at least two sizes too big!

*My new stash of TranquiliT pieces bought on sale in August. The noir palazzo capris are already in heavy rotation - perfect for the steamy south!

*The miracle of Skype that allows me to keep in visual contact with Darcy

*Connecting with old friends up and down the East Coast during the next month

*Having my panel accepted at a major national conference in the spring

*Coming to terms with the fact that I love what I study, but that I want to pursue it while having a life

*Finally understanding that there is exactly enough time for all the important things in life

*All you lovely readers who have not only read the blog, but also left comments and send tweets

Stateside!

2009-09-24T11:33:00.001+01:00

Hello, America!

It's a little strange to be back here for the next month. Everything's so BIG. All the money looks the same. No one speaks with a British accent. And why can't I find a decent cup of tea?

This next month will be a whirlwind trip that includes a wedding, a conference, face-time with my advisers, research, an exhibition opening, meetings galore, long-overdue time with a dear friend, time with the 'rents, and a full-on family vacation that Darcy will come over for! But it also means 7 cities in four weeks, so a LOT of traveling. Keep an eye on the "current location"in the sidebar to follow my intrepid travels!

If any of you lovely readers in Boston or New York want to meet up for a cup of tea in person, I'd be thrilled to meet you! I'll be in Boston from 29 September to 9 October, and in New York just for the day on October 7. Send me an email or a tweet, and we'll set something up!
Image credit

Kreativ Blogger Award!

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000+01:00

Lexi at Ellecubed gifted me with a Kreativ Blogger Award!

I think Lexi's blog is phenomenal and beautifully written, so this is a real honor.

Seven Things I Love
1. Beautiful autumn weekends with me-time and couple-time

On my own, I practiced yoga, wrote morning pages, read, napped, caught a free screening of The Crimson Wing, and baked apple-sultana muffins. With Darcy, I made several tasty meals, perused the Cambridge Food Festival, read books at Borders, and enjoyed some quiet time together on the couch.

2. TranquiliT bamboo clothing
Full disclosure: I'm both a TranquiliT affiliate and part of the TranquiliT Tribe. But I do that because I lovelovelove the products. When I get back to the States on Wednesday, I'm looking forward to finally picking up my big order from their August sale, and my recent purchases of the Long Sleeve Wrap Tunic and 2-in-1 Dolman from their new collection!

3. Podcasts
Creative Juicy Life * Creative Living with Jamie * Creatuitive Living * Elsie's Yoga Class * Hillary's Yoga Practice * Tranquility du Jour * Yoga Today * Yogamazing * Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! * Indie Soup Runner * The Splendid Table * The Concert *

4. Lush solid shampoo and conditioner
The Blonde shampoo and Jungle conditioner not only work wonderfully, but are ideal for travel. Plus, they're significantly cheaper in the UK than in the US. For example, at Lush UK, 100g/3.5 oz. of The Blonde costs £4.43 ($7.20) and the same amount of Jungle costs £3.94 ($6.41). At Lush US, identical amounts would cost me $14.95 for the shampoo and $9.95 for the conditioner. Yikes!

5. Halloumi cheese
Halloumi is a salty, firm Cypriot cheese made of a mixed goat, sheep and cow milk. When you eat it fresh, it squeaks between your teeth! But it has a very high melting point and stays together when grilled or fried. Halloumi is a wonderful addition to vegetarian kebabs, or to Mediterranean-inspired wraps. The first time I had it was in Beijing at a dinner party hosted by Australians, but I've never had much luck finding it in the States. Luckily, Britain has plenty!

6. Tea
Green, white, black, herbal - I love them all! As far as I'm concerned, life without tea is life wasted. Right now I'm drinking lots of pure lavender infusions and Revolution teas, but I'll never turn down a well-brewed chai.

7. Blog and twitter friends
Thank you all so much for your comments on posts, and especially for your encouragement about last week's interview! It has been wonderful to connected with everyone here and on Twitter. Thanks for being part of my world!

I'd like to pass the Kreativ Blogger Award on to seven of my favorite bloggers:
*Vienna at Ones
*Sarah at The Analyst
*Revisionista at The Revising Life
*Lavanya at Pieces of Paper, Squiggly Lines
*Alison at Globetrotting Cacti
*Janet at Are We There Yet?
*Lauren at Everyday Revelry

Thanks again, Lexi!

Yogini's Choice: 20 September - Video Edition

2009-09-20T06:05:00.002+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

*Imogen Heap played a phenomenal unplugged version of "Wait it out" from her new album, Ellipse.

*Have you met Belle Renee? Her incredibly fantastic vlog about how much she loves twenty-something bloggers is all over the place, with good reason. I first read about it at GenPink, but you should check out her blog too. We should all be as genuine as she comes off in this video! And be sure to take the dance breaks!

*This video has been making the rounds lately, and it deserves re-watching because it just makes people happy. Happy is good.

And you know about the parody, right? All in good fun.

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Do you have an article, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Interview update

2009-09-18T19:17:00.000+01:00

First, thank you for all your good wishes here and on Twitter about the interview! They buoyed me up as British Rail failed me completely - all trains to London were cancelled for a while yesterday morning. Eek!

But despite arriving 10 minutes late, it went really well! What should have been about 90 minutes lasted nearly four hours. Here are the highlights:

*After giving my presentation, the conversation it sparked went on much longer than anyone expected.

*The "interview" was more like a discussion, with lots of questions that I feel I answered "correctly" based on the nods and smiles around the table. If all interviews were that comfortable, everyone's job searches would be so much easier.

*The camaraderie and enthusiasm of the team is phenomenal, and we clicked beautifully.

*The woman who would be my boss took me out to lunch to talk more after the interview, and even took the time to tour me around the building as well.

*It felt like a really terrific fit.

*My needing a UK work permit is not a problem.

Now, we wait. I'll have an answer in two weeks, so please continue to keep those fingers crossed!

Interview #1

2009-09-16T20:55:00.000+01:00

I have a job interview tomorrow! It's for a job I would really, really like to have too.

I'm trying not to get too attached to the outcome in case I don't win the gig. But getting the job would mean teaching truly motivated students in my field, AND being able to stay in the UK with Darcy. It's tricky to navigate something like that.

I could be all yogic about this and make some profound comment about non-attachment. But frankly, I'm a little too wound up for that, so [insert your choice of profound comment here].

I'll update you on Friday...or maybe Thursday evening if there is news. Keep your fingers crossed!

District 9: Why you should step outside your comfort zone

2009-09-14T21:00:00.004+01:00

Last week I took a big step outside my little mental box and saw District 9 with Darcy.

The premise is this: after an alien spacecraft showed up in the sky above Johannesburg in the 1980s, the aliens were moved into a segregated community outside the city that quickly became a slum. As the government and a private arms agency prepare to move the ballooning population to another community further away in response to public protest, one of the human team leaders comes in contact with a strange substance that begins to turn him into an alien.

While the change takes place, he is simultaneously hunted by the arms agency for horrifying medical testing and by a Nigerian gangster who wants to cut off and eat his alien appendages to "absorb alien power." But in exchange for the assurance that he can be changed back fully into a human by alien technology, he befriends an alien and his son who have been laboring for the past twenty years to repair a craft that will power the ship back to its original world, and then return to free his fellow aliens. The movie ends in an extended, gory fight and chase sequence, but I'll leave out the end of the story in case you don't want the plot spoiled.

Bottom line: this was not the type of movie I usually go see.

Although entirely fictional, District 9 is filmed as mockumentary. I think that's why I had such a hard time watching it, and a very visceral response to what was onscreen. It was very gory, and some of it was downright repulsive. At one point, I actually thought I was going to throw up because of what I saw. The things that were taking place were not just disgusting, they were downright appalling. The monstrousness of the humans' actions toward the aliens and the protagonist was galling. Lack of respect for life, anti-"foreign" ideas, absurdly horrendous treatment of the aliens, and stomach-turning medical testing are all part of this movie.

On the cycle back home afterward, I was uncharacteristically silent. Darcy was worried that I hated it; I just didn't know how to react. I honestly didn't know what to think about this. It has taken me nearly a week to process it because it forced me outside my comfort zone. In a BIG way.

But after allowing time for my reaction to percolate though from the physical to the emotional and intellectual, I have decided that it really is an incredible film. The subtlety of the politics was brilliant. The cinematography and special effects were superb. The lead's acting was phenomenal. I can't stop thinking about it, as uncomfortable as it was at the time. While I can't imagine ever watching it again, it was a million times more thought-provoking than I ever expected. You should really consider seeing it, both as a film and a chance to step outside your comfort zone.

Have you stepped outside your comfort zone lately?
I mean, REALLY stepped outside your comfort zone?

Yogini's Choice: 13 September, 2009

2009-09-13T06:30:00.045+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

*Tenured Radical has a fantastic post on achieving balance in your academic worklife. Hint: it's not what you think.

*How do you teach where writing comes from, when it just comes to you?

*You only need two words to change your life: "I can."

*It seems that other academics are taking up satya in academic writing and pruning out the jargon.

*This list of the 25 best writing blogs of 2009 includes a wealth of resources on publishing, marketing, creativity, and different types of writing.

*TranquiliT bamboo clothing is my favorite eco-friendly fashion because of its style, wearability, versatility, comfort, and especially their green fabric production process. Their best-selling cardishawl is the ultimate piece for creative dressing.

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Do you have an article, post, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Away at a conference!

2009-09-11T21:07:00.000+01:00

Because I'm in Scotland for a conference, I will leave you with just an image today. This is the ruined castle at St. Andrews, right above the sea, just one of the sites I'll be visiting during my Artist Date on Sunday after the conference concludes. Happy weekend!

Image credit

Hemingway, truth and icebergs

2009-09-09T06:30:00.002+01:00

September's Ni/Yama of the Month is Satya, the Yama meaning "truth."
"What is Satya? Being Truthful. Why be Satya? So that one's actions are spontaneously true or right." Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, 2.36)

Truth plagues me as I write the applications for my academic job search. Obviously I'm not lying in my applications, so its not a question of fact versus fiction. What bothers me is "truth" in academic writing style.

The jargon that many academic authors use makes me crazy. Bigger words and longer sentences do not make writing easier to read. Using obscure adjectives does not make you smarter than your reader. No one really understands Poststructuralism, no matter what they say. But I find myself using that same type of writing to make my projects more "interesting" or more "intellectual."

Whether you call it academic writing, exaggeration, or just plain lies, it's gilding the lily. It's unnecessary. If I don't believe in my own research and teaching plans, extra adjectives and fancy theories won't deceive the hiring committees. W.C. Fields's advice to baffle with bull if you can't dazzle with brilliance falls flat here.

But I do believe in my plans, and I believe others would find them interesting as well. That is what I need to communicate, without actually communicating it. You don't say, "This is interesting because..." Instead, you describe what "it" is in a way that others will find interesting, because YOU alone can explain "it." But that explanation should also only be a small portion of it, even though it evokes the entire thing. This is basically Ernest Hemingway's Iceberg Theory from Death in the Afternoon:

                    "If a writer of a prose knows enough about what he is writing about
                    he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing
                    truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though
                    the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due
                    to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things
                   because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing."

Icebergs are everywhere lately. Last week I read an article on how to stand out in the academic job search that praised "writing in the kind of iceberg-crisp prose you are likely to find at the start of each week's New Yorker-- sentences of no more than 15 words--with real verbs--and no jargon." In other words, write like Ernest Hemingway.

     1. Use short sentences - namely, declarative sentences.
     2. Use short paragraphs - more focus in each section.
     3. Use vigorous English - specifically active verbs.
     4. Be positive, not negative - say what something is, rather than what it isn't.

Heminway has long been one of my favorite writers. When my friends were nuts for Fitzgerald in high school, I was devouring Papa instead. A Moveable Feast is still one of my favorite books. Whatever you think of him personally, you have to admire his writing.

Ernest Heminway writing in Kenya, 1953

We don't think or act in long, flowery sentences. In my mind at least, the syntax is more like subject-verb-object or just subject-verb. Jargon isn't truthful, and the action of creating jargon certainly isn't truthful either. Jargon does not equal Satya, which makes writing jargon a yogic no-no.

In order to be the change I want to see happening and be truthful, I need to cut out the jargon and (cue irony) eschew obfuscation in my own writing. I can use a simpler, clearer writing style to express the truth of my own plans and my own anti-jargon values. Academic writing could certainly stand to take a few lessons from Hemingway, so it might as well start with me.

I'll let you know how the hiring committees respond to Hemingway and the icebergs.

Check out these resources for writing inspiration from Hemingway:
Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillips
Ernest Hemingway's Top Five Tips for Writing Well
27 Secrets to Writing like Hemingway
Hemingway's advice on when to stop writing

Ten true things

2009-09-07T06:00:00.002+01:00

The ultra-creative Janet at are we there yet? tagged me in a "10 things" meme! Thanks, Janet!

Ten true things about me that you may not know

1) I wake up at 5:15 every morning naturally without an alarm, make tea, and write my morning pages.

2) Although most workdays I wear black, grey and dark denim, when I work out I go for the brightest and boldest colors possible.

3) The Café in the Crypt below the Church of St. Martin-in-the Fields has been my absolute favorite place to have tea in London for at least ten years now.

4) I was recently given a twelve-string guitar.

5) When I travel, what I remember most clearly is what and where I ate.

6) As I get older, spiders make me increasingly nervous for no real reason.

7) Despite their completely different aesthetics, I am equally enamored of Muji and Pylones.

8) I always need at least two pens in my bag, in case one runs out of ink while I'm out writing.

9) To block out noise at night, I use hot pink earplugs.

10) For the last seven years, I've worn a silver bracelet on my right wrist with this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Rather than tag ten people with this, please leave a few true things about you in the comments!

Yogini's Choice: 6 September 2009

2009-09-06T06:30:00.002+01:00

Yogini's Choice is a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking items on a variety of topics sourced from around the web and world, published Sundays.

*More proof that monotasking wins over multitasking - and that multitasking actually makes you a worse multitasker and a worse monotasker.

*Remembering your driving reasons, keeping work-life balance, staying positive and releasing the academic guilt that does not serve you are just a few of the ways to stay motivated in grad school.

*The latest fantastic indie running mix from Indie Soup Runner is an Angry Rocker Chick Mix that I'll definitely be using on my long weekend run.

*For all you Keri Smith fans out there, here's a fantastic review of her latest, This is Not a Book.

*In case you missed it, here's what a real woman looks like - and the hubbub she creates when her real-life tummy bulge is shown in Glamour.

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Do you have an article, post, theme or subject you'd like to see featured in Yogini's Choice? Write to me at kiki[dot]yogademia[at]gmail[dot]com.

Instant chocolate cake for two

2009-09-04T21:15:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you just need chocolate cake. You need it now. Your partner needs it now.

But you don't want to make an entire cake. Too much time, too much effort, too many calories. When this happens, you need instant chocolate cake for two - baked in the microwave.

Instant chocolate cake for two

*Mix together in a microwave-safe bowl:
     4 tbsp. flour (I've used regular, self-raising, and cake flour, with little difference)
     2-3 tbsp. sugar
     2 tbsp. cocoa

*Add in 1 egg

*Pour in 3 tbsp. milk and 3 tbsp. oil

*Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes on maximum power.

*Divide onto two plates, top with chocolate syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream, ice cream, etc.

*Enjoy!

**For a more decadent treat, use 2 tbsp. shaved or chopped baking chocolate. Melt it in the microwave together with the milk, then whisk in the oil before pouring it over the flour mixture and the egg.

Recipe adapted from Dizzy Dee's coffemug chocolate cake

Shanghai Restoration Project

2009-09-02T19:25:00.001+01:00

Within the creative blogosphere community, many of us are inspired by foreign countries.

France, Italy and India seem to be the top contenders, but China is what does it for me. As a China specialist, I lived in Beijing for a couple years to whip my Mandarin and my research into shape. Even though I have a confirmed love-hate relationship with the capital, China fascinates me endlessly. Food, design, aesthetics, politics, architecture, history, culture, development, and of course, the art.

What inspires me most both professionally and personally about China are the sparks that result from the chemical reaction between China and "the West." I write about these sparks all day for my research and dissertation, wear them for special occasions, cook them for dinner, blog about them in coffee shop culture, decorate my living spaces with them, read novels about them, and listen to their music. I just can't get enough of it, at work or at play. Professionally and personally, East-meets-West is my creative inspiration niche, and has been throughout the length of my Ph.D.

Shanghai Restoration Project is one of my favorite ways to listen to this creative blend of East and West. Producer Dave Liang defines the music as a combination of traditional Chinese instruments with hip-hop, jazz and electronica that is inspired by the cross-cultural jazz of 1930s Shanghai. As a city, Shanghai records cross-cultural encounters in its urban fabric much better than Beijing, what with the French Concession and the Bund. SRP reflects this in very cool ways, both with instruments and in the titles, without being too "East" or too "West." The images they conjure up in their videos are wonderful evocations of the modern and the traditional.

SRP's music is particularly good for yoga and decompressing, with wonderful lyrics. My favorite song for this is Jade Buddha Temple, which asks all the right questions to help you relax at the end of a day.

You seem a little bit nervous
You sound a little uptight
You look a little bit jumpy
You sure you’re feeling alright?

You seem a little bit frazzled
You look a little bit frayed
You act like this was on purpose
That’s just a masquerade

Lie down (and throw your mind away)
Cool off (it‘ll still be there tomorrow)
Stay in (forget about your day)
Tune out (we’ll all be here tomorrow)

Exhale
Exhale

If things seem a little too frantic
And there’s no place you can turn
Just shut your mind, turn off your lights
To a point where life returns

While chaos never ceases
Confusion never dies
You can put your stressful world on hold
Just close your eyes

Lie down (and throw your mind away)
Cool off (it‘ll still be there tomorrow)
Stay in (forget about your day)
Tune out (we’ll all be here tomorrow)

Exhale
Exhale

Yogademia Action Plan and Goals

2009-09-01T06:38:00.000+01:00

Happy September 1! It's a New Year for academics, with the fresh start of a new term.

When I started writing Yogademia back in April of 2007, I described it as "the girl's guide to living a fulfilling and mindful academic life." This came out of my desire to combine my yoga practice with my academic life, and an attempt to draw lessons from one to apply to the other. At that point, I was living in Beijing, but returned to the States a few months later for my fifth year of grad school. During that year, I was teaching, preparing for comprehensive exams, and working part-time as the research director for an arts advisory firm to make ends meet. I was also singing with an a cappella group in order to, as I put it, "keep my soul intact." This was great fun, and I wouldn't have given it up for the world. But academia doesn't leave much room for outside things like that - you know, outside interests and work-life balance.

This was brought home to me on a Friday in May after three full days of comprehensive exams. My committee chair congratulated me on passing and officially becoming ABD before handing me a stack of 30 undergraduate exams, apologized for the academic calendar, and told me I had 48 hours to get them graded before sending me on my way. During that ensuing 48-hour period, I also had our singing group's final dress rehearsal and end-of-term concert, and I was trying to pack up my life to move out of Boston as well. So after an already-exhausting week, I sucked down a few more triple espressos and stayed awake for a few more days before leaving Boston cross-eyed with fatigue and fury.

That was the finale to what to date has been the most spectacularly stressful and genuinely rotten academic year of my life, and I am now in the equivalent of 23rd grade. That's a lot of years of schooling to beat out for the position of "#1 Worst Academic Year Ever."

Obviously, during the summer of 2008 I was...um..."less than enamored" with academe. The blog then went through a year as The Prosecco Life, where despite my best efforts I still talked a lot about the same things as before. But that's also where I met many of you, and for that I am profoundly grateful!

When I figured out that I was still blogging about the same things as at the very beginning, I realized that the whole time I was just trying to seek a balance between enjoying my own creative interests and what can be the all-consuming path of an academic. For example, blogging - it allows me to write creative pieces without footnotes or jargon, to talk about the other things I'm passionate about, and to connect with other wonderful and like-minded people who have a range of values, hobbies and interests that intersect with mine. It's my own little revolution, my own version of a finger in the face of a system that can eat you up if you let it. I have simply decided not to let it. Period.

This is why I recently moved back to Yogademia, complete with it's own special domain name, and came up with the tagline "balance your books." The first thing that came to mind here was an accounting image: tallying up your debits and credits to make sure that you come out at least even, but preferably in the black rather than in the red. Too much academic work and my soul quickly ends up in the red, overdrawn and depleted. The second thing that came to mind was an image of balancing my research books on one side of a scale, and all my other interests on the other side of the scale. The idea is to balance the weight with some lightness - kind of like the way ancient Egyptians believed that when they died, their hearts would be measured against feathers.

After working through The Artist's Way this summer, I realized that rather than fighting against the typical academic mindset of work-work-work from the outside, I had to be living within it to really be the change I want to see. It's easy to talk about balance in academic life when you're not living it; to make the difference you have to work from the inside. And when you get right down to it, I can't give up academia - it calls to me. I think of new ideas for classes to teach all the time. To stage my own little revolution, I have to work from the inside.

Here is what's on tap for Yogademia in the course of the New Year:

*Four posts per week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
While I initially planned to post seven days a week, the time I was spending at my computer was leaving me feeling burdened rather than balanced. And really the only reason I tried to post daily was to reach 600 posts on the third anniversary of Yogademia in April. That just meant I was a slave to the numbers, and real life is not made up of round numbers.

Cutting back my post schedule leaves me more time for the things that are interesting to blog about - you know, like life, and living it, which has to be done away from the computer. Today's post is a special exception to the Yogademia posting schedule, because everyone knows you have to set up your resolutions on the first day of the New Year!

*Bi-weekly posts on the "Ni/Yama of the Month"
The Yamas and Niyamas are the ten "commandments" of yoga philosophy. I'll be looking at and applying one each month as a little bit of personal preparation for the yoga teacher training I'm planning to do after I become Dr. Kiki in May.

*Bi-weekly reviews
With all this time away from my computer, I'm looking forward to more time reading, writing, listening to podcasts, visiting new places, seeing exhibitions, new discoveries, new yoga poses and the like. I'm hoping to share some of this goodness with you here on the blog in the form of reviews. If you have suggestions of places, things, shows, music, movies, or anything else that would make for a good review, please let me know!

*Monthly Yogademia Profile
I missed August, I know, but I do have my September interviewee all lined up. She's great, you're going to love her and her optimism.

*More joy and fun
We got a little too serious here in August. Serious isn't bad; it's just that on the footnoted page there isn't much room for humor, and that bled over a little too much into the blog. I want more sparkle, more color, more of my own photographs, more joy and more fun here!

*Straight-up blogging with honesty, integrity, creativity, authenticity, and positivity
Although the backstory behind Yogademia isn't terribly positive, that is the kind of story you won't typically be reading here. This is not a place to snark about my academic experience. I've learned that mentality just leaves me feeling toxic and rotten inside. It won't always be perfect, especially during this last crazy year, but I'm hoping to be honest and real about what is going on without being negative.

So there it is! Thanks as always for being along with me on this crazy ride. I'm so excited to be connected with you, and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions whenever you like!

Image credit

August Goals Check-in

2009-08-31T06:40:00.007+01:00

The goals I set for August were big achievements that I hoped to accomplish playfully.

The most important professional goal, to be completed under any circumstances, was the final chapter draft of my dissertation. With that now out of the way, I have a complete first draft of 200-odd pages including five chapters and a healthy chunk of an introduction. I did finish the book review that was due, but didn't put the finishing touches on the papers/presentations I'm giving in September and October. Ah, well - that's what I get as a break from writing job and postdoc applications.

On the personal goals front, I did finish The Artist's Way, post daily at Yogademia, and write up my action plan for the blog that will be unveiled tomorrow! I didn't manage to keep up a daily yoga practice amid everything else, nor do I feel I did a whole lot for SWIM this month.

As far as playfully goes, well - not so much. I spent a TON of time blogging this month, and I didn't really approach it playfully. It got a little too serious, if you ask me. All that time at the laptop left me feeling shackled to my computer instead of feeling balanced. Frankly, what's the point of trying to live a balanced life as an academic if you're still using your computer all the freakin' time?

But completing that final chapter draft meant a big ol' reward, which is why Darcy and I went off to the Scottish Borders for five days. We took the train from Cambridge to Edinburgh, then cycled the 25-odd miles to Peebles where we stayed in the 16th-century Barns Tower.

The tower is four romantic stories of spiral staircase delight, with two fireplaces and all the modern conveniences inside thick fortified stone walls. We spent our days cycling along the Tweed River Valley, or reading in front of the fire on the one rainy morning we had all week. On the cycle back to Edinburgh on Friday, we stopped in at Rosslyn Chapel - you might remember it from The Da Vinci Code, but even without Dan Brown's interference it's still an ornate 15th-century gem covered over with carvings connected with the Knights Templar, bible tales, Scottish history, the family's history, and even the ancient pagan Green Man.

Tomorrow will reveal the year's action plan for the site, and all sorts of other goodies. I hope you're as excited as I am!