Desert City

On Thursday I'll leave desert city for a debate tournament, and then a few days at home...

When I think of my nearly two weeks here, I'll think of the following... in no particular order

1) THE HOTEL -- decent enough, but after two weeks in a so-so bed with light blankets I'll be happy to get home. Also, the complete disconnect between my reading feminist epistemology and phil of science here, while the nearly all female maids clean the rooms every day. Talk about some class guilt on my part.

2) Feminisim, epistemology and philosophy of science... it is what I've been working on. In particular, "6.498765th wave feminism" -- I make up a new number every time.....

3) Frank Lloyd Wright's home... cool as heck.

4) Road construction -- they closed down a major street -- completely -- for two weeks. The two weeks we were here....

5) Everyone here is from someplace else -- or, at least the English-speaking service economy people are all from up north.

6) The phrases "42 degrees" and "Icy Blast" in the same sentence. To me, getting up to 42 means no jacket weather...

7) Saguraro cacti -- love them, want one for my own, will never have one.... so sad.

8) Football fans -- Ohio and Florida fans = obnoxious drunk crowds... Oklahoma, surprised by their defeat and Boisie State thrilled to death... all and all, about what I expected.

9) Being glad I have my job... I keep running into the day manager of the hotel. I'll casually mention that something is wrong and she'll take care of it... last one was the dryer in the guest laundry. She went upstairs, felt it was warm and thought it worked -- aparently didn't try to actually start the dryer... (ya gotta wonder). I have nightmares that, without an education, I'd BE her.... or, with my education I'll still end up as her.

10) Being looked right through... hubby and I both noticed that we seem to send out signals to service people that don't seem to get picked-up. A classic example was when we walked up to the hostess stand at the hotel restaurant during brunch. I had to tell the woman that there would be two of us AND that we wanted to eat... When I smiled and said, "two, please" -- she acted as if she hadn't recieved enough information... umm-- there's food, you are standing in the position of power to distribute food, it is meal time and you wonder why people are asking you for a f-ing table? Perhaps she was shocked that I'd be wearing shorts and a t-shirt when it was so cold (65-70).