Is This What You Get When You Mix Jewish and Buddhist?

"The psychic told me I've lived thousands of lives!" my mother told me, excitedly.
And you still haven't transcended? was my initial reaction, which I kept to myself.

My Asia Perspective

With the popularity of G4's nightly broadcasts of Ninja Warrior, aka Sasuke,and MXC (which I can't stand) I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like ABC's new show called "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" came along.
It's so odd how Japan has become so popular and mainstream now, about 20 years after its global political and economic relevance peaked. Don't get me wrong. This burst of popularity certainly works for me and my chosen careers and I won't deny how fascinating Japan is, but if I were young and starting out on my path, I'd be learning Chinese. As a matter of fact, despite my mid-pathness, I am learning Chinese. (It gives me something to do with my brain while scraping paint from the house. Think global, work local?)

Voice of a Jumping, Screaming Flea

Finals are done. Papers are graded. Grades have been submitted.
So, I'm done, right?
Mmm, not really. My desk is still looking like a war zone. I am on a mission/rampage to make this institution acknowledge the importance of Asia in a 21st century education and as a result am all over the place trying to create new contacts and work the ones I have. It's an even rockier task now that a hiring freeze has been effected and everyone is set to hunker down and protect their own turf. It's the lack of foresight that gets me. I mean, isn't it obvious? No matter where you are, you can't ignore Asia.
I've got the mindset of a leader and the qualifications of a peon. It sucks that I'll have to go back and earn yet another degree if I ever want anyone to give credence to my ideas. Either that or I need to find someone to front for me. I don't care if I get the credit. I just want to see this place move its ass out of some other century (20th? or 19th?) and into this one.

Channukah and a Ramble

I made latkes and noodle kugel for dinner tonight, for what has become our traditional Channukah dinner. The latkes are a little bit labor intensive, but they're tasty and since it's just a once a year thing, I don't mind making them. Noodle kugel was something I think I only ate once or twice as a kid. It wasn't a regular feature of my family's holiday meals, but I made it last year and it was really good, in an artery bursting kind of way. Again, something that's fine to eat ionce a year. Hell, anything made with a stick of butter, 8 eggs (!!) sugar and sour cream is likely to be rich and to taste pretty good to me.
Speaking of which, I'm all chubbed out again. And I really don't care that much. It could be my age, the wintry weather or something, but for right now it seems ok to not obsess over every morsel of food that goes down my throat. Life has not and will not be compromised because I am 5 or 6 pounds over the number I think should be my absolute top weight. Nothing terrible has befallen me. I'm still getting exercise and trying to drink enough water and be generally healthy. My boyfriend has not fled in terror and run off with a skinny chick. My daughter still talks (and talks and talks) to me. My students all still like me and show up to class and work and listen. My dog still adores me and follows me around the house like a ... puppy dog. There has been no major inconvenience resulting from this. What a notion!
I like food, dammit. I like to make it. I like to eat it. I like to think about it, read about it, and talk about it. I like to look at pretty pictures of it. So yeah, me and food and the scale are coming to some kind of understanding where I'm going to stop admonishing myself every time I step on the scale, but I'll act like a reasonable and healthy adult and eat well and enjoy it.
And another thing. A conversation I had this evening with my boyfriend turned another light on over my head. I'm Jewish. I can opt out of all the Christmas hype on the grounds of that, even if I'm not the most Jewish-y Jew you'll ever find. I am not obligated to jump whole hog into being Perfect Miss Christmas. I mean really, why the hell does my family give Christmas presents to each other when we're all Jewish? That's just silly. The season has its lovely moments and no, I won't be offended if anyone wishes me a Merry Christmas. But it's really okay if I decide I don't want to play along in full force.

Making a Buck Off the Bust

The real estate bust. Not my bust. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter....
We've all heard that the real estate boom is over and that the repercussions are being felt throughout the economy. Bad news for a lot of folks, but not necessarily for me.
I've recently been offered (and accepted) a freelance paralegal-type assignment working on foreclosure related documents. The work itself is not so tough. At least it's all in English. The pay rate is decent and it seems the work is being offered on an as-much-as-I-want-when-I-want-it basis for now. It also counts as actual legal-related work experience, which could distinguish me from the crowd on my translation resume or when I talk to potential translation clients looking for a legal translator.
I earn more per hour translating, but I also have to use my brain a lot more. If I did either job on a full-time basis I suppose I'd have to decide which I prefer: more pay and harder work, or easier work and less money. Good thing I get bored so easily and am apparently incapable of doing any single job on a full time basis.
When I was at the law office getting the low down on the assignment one of the legal secretaries asked if freelance legal work is what I did full time. I was somewhat appalled as I heard myself explain that actually I teach and translate and am picking up this legal stuff as another side gig. Does the word "enough" not exist in my world view of employment? But when you freelance you are subject to the phenomenon that when it rains, it pours; and when it doesn't rain, you're stuck bone dry. Might as well make the most of the opportunities and make hay while the work pours and later on, when it dries up, kick back in the sunshine. Or something like that.
Many freelancers extol the benefits of multiple work sources and how it's really more secure than relying on just one employer. Looks like I'm taking that concept and expanding it to cover multiple fields. If the teaching somehow doesn't work out, I have the translating to fall back on. If the translating ended up driving me nuts (which it could), I could work as a freelance paralegal. This should probably make me feel secure in my ability to earn a living. Instead I think it just makes me sound scattered and twitchy. Which is dumb because it's not impossible that I could be good (or at least competent) at all of them.

Da Kine

Being kind of sick kind of sucks. My head feels like a bowling ball on my neck. I have no appetite and feel sort of sick but am not actively puking. This is something definitely beyond my regular lethargy, but it's not presenting as actively sick. I don't have to go to work today, but there's plenty of work to do on the house and getting ready to move there and all the other stuff March will bring with it. I'm kind of torn between acting responsibly and resting now so this thing hopefully doesn't develop into the flu that many people around me have been sick with this past week and forcing myself to do stuff, which will most likely make me undoubtedly sick and then I won't feel guilty for resting because I'll be too busy feeling like death to care.