Paper Towel Holder

Bowl for Mom

I’ve also been working on a sharpening jig for my turning tools–I’ll post pics of that soon! 

I Said

First, let me honor your presence,
only let me sing songs for old times’ sake,
remembering anything I said to bless you.
Let me honor your commitment,
explaining with the clarity of an
x-ray how I worked for
answers to love in Neruda,
in the depths of Macchu Picchu.
Let me keep you together,
each halves in a whole,
let me remain steadfast in what I said:
that you can be imperfect together,
that you can believe in each other and no one else,
and then you will know…

This poem is posted in the Poetry pages, but I thought I should share it here too.  In the next few weeks I’ll add to my tale of Alex and Kirsten’s wedding: what it was like, what it meant to me, and the story behind the poem.

On Wednesday I received a letter notifying me that I have been awarded tenure!  It’s official now!  Yay!

I am unquestionable happy (ebullient, even) with receiving tenure.  It is the culmination of many years of work–not just at Chabot, but also at UMass Boston, NIEHS, and grad school.  Still, it’s a weird feeling.  There was no defining moment in the tenure process, nothing at all like a thesis defense.  My level one tenure committee recommended tenure, then my level two committee signed off on it, and then the board gave it their OK (it was a consent item, along with all the other personnel actions, at the Feb. 16 meeting).  I suppose the level one recommendation was the hard part.  It’s not like the board was going to override it.  Still, I didn’t want to do any celebrating until I received the official letter.

And now I have that official tenure letter.  On the global scale, while achieving tenure at Chabot College may not be quite the same as getting tenure at Stanford, I couldn’t be happier with my situation.  It’s a function of being in the right place and knowing it.  I have found a place to work where I fit very well.  I feel valued and respected.  I still tell people about the time, early in my first semester at Chabot, that my colleague Laurie came by my office to ask me a question.  She asked me (I don’t remember what the question was) as if I had been there for five or ten years!  I definitely didn’t feel like a junior faculty member then.

I have been fortunate to have found such a good fit.  I love what I do (teach chemistry).  I like participating in the running of the college (as Curriculum Committee Chair).  Sure, there are things at work I’d rather not deal with, but it’s worth it in the long run.  Maybe I’ve looked for a job like this because this is what I saw my dad had–a job that he enjoyed, where he was highly valued, where he was an important member of the company.  I too wanted to be an important member of something.  And now I am.

I also feel like my work makes a difference.  I suppose it’s a bit self-centered of me to say, but I feel I play an important role in society by educating students.  In particular, working at a place such as Chabot allows me to reach students who may not otherwise have been interested in science.  I also feel I can add to the experience of those students who are interested in science as well.  Last year I had a student tell me, at the end of a year of organic chemistry, that I “made her believe in herself.”  How cool is that?

So I’m in a good place, work-wise.  And I have a wonderful wife and amazing kids.  So I will proceed to toot my own horn, now that I have tenure: Beep, beep! 

The thing is, I remember Jonah showing similar behavior at a young age.  Jonah wasn’t as fussy as Dylan, but the trait of increased fussiness when I would sit down while holding him was there.

So I have this theory.  OK, it’s a bit far-fetched and rather silly, but it helps me not get as fed up with the little guy.  I call it the Big Cat Theory.

Some reflexes in infants are remnants from earlier in human evolution.  The grasp reflex may be left over from our primate ancestors–infants then needed to grab on tight to their mothers (or mothers’ fur).  I propose that the “fussing when the person holding him sits down” behavior Dylan shows is an evolutionary remnant as well.

Millions of years ago, our primate ancestors roamed the plains of Africa and were sometimes preyed upon by big cats (lions, leopards, etc.).  Stopping to rest for a few minutes had the potential to be deadly, as you never knew where a big cat could be waiting to pounce.  Obviously, infants who were docile and let their parents sit down with them fell prey (along with their parents) to the big cats.  Infants who fussed and kept their parents moving survived.  So Dylan’s fussing to keep me walking behavior is left over from avoiding being eaten by big cats millions of years ago.

That’s the Big Cat Theory.  I keep telling Dylan that there are no big cats in our house, but I don’t think he believes me.  Santina doesn’t think my theory holds water.  But even if it doesn’t, it still keeps my spirits up when Dylan is keeping me from sitting down.

And I explained what the various letters and lines represented.

Later that day, Santina showed me a picture she had taken of Jonah drawing at his easel:

Wow.

My son, the junior chemist!

Thank you to everyone who has sent us congratualtions.  I have posted some pictures below:

Upcoming woodworking projects: guitar stands for me and Jonah, a set of small shelves for the nursery, and a hope chest for Santina.