My Day of the Dead

I'd been wanting to visit Tallahassee's oldest graveyard, Old City Cemetery, for a while, and I decided that Halloween afternoon would be a good time to pay my respect to Tallahassee's historic past.

It's eleven acres, which makes for a satisfying walk winding in and out of the rows of tombstones. I saw the earliest grave -- a tourist who, according to his marker, was visiting Florida for his health, and was subsequently buried here in 1829. Union and Confederate soldiers are buried in this cemetery, along with Tallahassee society ladies, African-American civic leaders, and a slew of yellow fever victims from an outbreak in 1841.

My favorites were the weird and fanciful Gilded Age monuments.

The raised coffins are designed for a swampy Florida landscape.

As the sun started to set and the shadows grew longer, the cemetery got creepier. I wished I hadn't been reading that book of Gothic tales.

The pamphlet I picked up -- "A Walking Tour of Old City Cemetery" -- assured me that there is no resident ghost.

But there is a witch, and this is where she is buried.

The pamphlet denies it, but says that the rumors about Elizabeth Budd Graham won't die. It occurred to me that Halloween might not have been the best time to visit the cemetery after all.

Yes, definitely time to leave.

Talloween

Last night David and I went to a classics department Halloween party, our first Halloween party since we lived in Bloomington. "It's our first real Halloween in Tallahassee!" I said. "It's TALLOWEEN!" David said. The theme for the party was "Heroes and Villains," so I decided to go as Ursula, the villain from "The Little Mermaid."

David went as a hero, Aquaman from "Batman: The Brave and the Bold."

We made his belt from craft foam and spray painted a pair of Darth Vader gloves green.

I made my costume from this dress that I found at Goodwill.

I turned it into a strapless dress and added some velvet to the bodice, because I think velvet looks sort of squidlike. I had an elaborate plan for making the tentacles, but in the end I only had one afternoon to make the costume, and I ran out of time. David came up with a great Plan B, though: rolls of velvet attached to the skirt. A haircut and lots of gel turned a long flowy angel wig into something more Ursulaesque.

At the party, glasses and a jacket made it a little more like what Ursula would look like if she got a job teaching classics.

It was a great party.

As we walked into the house in our tights and tentacles, we were a little worried that we would be the only people in costume. But everyone dressed up.

There were classical costumes -- the Furies, Bacchus, Medusa, Denniston's Greek Particles -- and then there was Lady Gaga, Guitar Hero, Carmen Sandiego, Dr. Who, Dr. Horrible, and the entire crew from Firefly, plus many others.

Just after this, we left the party and stopped by CVS, where people seemed startled to see Aquaman and Ursula picking up some eggs and milk. Even heroes and villains have to run errands.

Happy Talloween, everyone!

Lake Ella Update

This is one of my favorite views in Tallahassee: Lake Ella as seen from my preferred table at the Black Dog Cafe.

This morning I saw grebes, cormorants, and this little fast-moving bird that I couldn't identify -- maybe a juvenile duck of some sort?

And some very grumpy Florida soft-shelled turtles.

The Long Wednesday

OK, I know this is a very long post, but bear with me and you will get a revealing glimpse into my daily life. I was inspired by the day-in-the-life posts of the Krentz family and Temporary Librarian to record everything that happens to me on a typical Wednesday.

I wake up around 6:30 and make it downstairs by 7:00.

I do a dance workout in my living room.

I get ready for class. This morning that includes painting my nails gray and putting on a giant purple sparkly ring.

At 8:30, I walk out to the bus stop. The bus stop is really close to our townhouse. You can see it in this picture, which I took from my driveway -- it's behind the second tree from the right.

I wait at the bus stop worrying that this will be the day the bus doesn't show up. Meanwhile I can hear a chorus of chickadees and mockingbirds from the trees around me.

Occasionally the birdsong is punctuated by the thwack! of an acorn falling on my head.

To my great relief, the bus shows up.

Most of the people on the bus are students going to FSU or Tallahassee Community College.

This picture gives a very misleading idea of how fast the bus goes.

An hour later, I arrive at the main bus terminal to transfer buses.

I board my second bus. Campus is a fifteen-minute drive from home, but it takes over an hour for me to get there by bus.

This is Carraway, where I teach my first class.

I don't know why the Greek classes are always in here; it's the geology building.

I always enjoy passing this card catalog and seeing the label "He-Ma," which some enterprising geology student has changed to "He-Man."

I teach my Greek class. I have about fifteen students, and I spend the class period making them translate Plato and asking them questions about grammar and philosophy.

I go to the campus bookstore after class and hang out at the coffee shop, which is behind all of these shelves of FSU umbrellas, snuggies, and coffee mugs.

Usually I just have a cup of tea, but today I have breakfast: a cinnamon scone.

Then I walk across campus.

This is Dodd Hall, on the other side of campus.

My office is located somewhere in the depths of its labyrinthine passages.

This is the office I share with David.

We haven't moved anything into the office yet. The previous occupant just moved his stuff out recently. We do each have our own desk -- mine is the one closer to the camera. David's is behind the table.

When you share an office with your husband, every day is like a sitcom. (This is our 80s-sitcom pose. We also came up with some possible titles -- "Private Office"? "Office for Two"? -- and a synthesizer-heavy theme song beginning, "Sharing our lives! We're gonna make it through!")

Our office used to have a view of a nice green space. Now it has a view of construction equipment.

I spend the next five hours in this office. Fortunately I've brought everything I need for a day on campus in this large purse/totebag thing.

Here's what I carried on the bus and across campus: a lunchbag, a water bottle, a hat (which I wear while walking), a lint roller, cuticle cream, three handkerchiefs, a book of short stories, two red pens, assorted papers and notecards, Plato's Apology, my myth textbook, a smaller purse (in which I carry some of this stuff), keys, two coin purses, lip balm, a dead cell phone (I lost the charger), two lipsticks (pink and red), foundation, blush, highlighter, a comb, tweezers, a flash drive containing all of my lectures, sunscreen, hand lotion, extra hand lotion, Advil, ginger mints, ginger candies, and what appears to be roughly one billion loose cough drops.

This is what I have for lunch: bread and cheese, carrots, and a pear.

I grade papers, write lectures and exams, and work on the article I'm writing. Sometimes I also take a nap in my desk chair.

At 5:15 I teach my myth class, which has about 150 students.

My classroom is the Dodd Hall Auditorium. I stand up on a big stage, and I always feel like I'm putting on a one-woman show.

David snuck into the back of my classroom and took these pictures.

After class I go back to my office, but I'm too tired to do any work. This is my favorite time to read blogs.

At 8:30 I make my way out through the passages of Dodd Hall.

The blue glass windows of the Werkmeister Reading Room glow with an eerie light.

David picks me up outside and takes me home.

I make dinner: chipotle vegetarian sausages and pan-fried Italian kale, and a bowl of frozen blackberries for dessert.

David and I watch TV -- yes, this is America's Next Top Model. I told you this post would be revealing!

Poppy hangs out in my lap.

Around 11:00, I go to bed. I'm rereading this H.P Lovecraft book at bedtime. I find that it encourages interesting dreams.