If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve taken a slight break from blogging. In part, my priorities are currently elsewhere, particularly as the push before the brief Thanksgiving break put “real” work (the kind I get paid for) higher on the agenda. Similarly, I’m realizing that I need more “down time”—particularly in anticipation of our first son: Javier Enrique Centellas (due in a few weeks)—because 5-6 cups of coffee per day is destroying my eyesight & stomach.
Meanwhile, my work plate is full. Some highlights: I’m still making headway on my book manuscript, which is both exciting (I’m hoping for Christmas 2008 presents for all my family & friends) and frustrating (dismantling a 400-page dissertation to fit into a 250-page book is quite a chore). I’m wrapping up the Spring 2008 Latin American Studies (new website in beta mode) schedule, with a number of on-campus evening lectures by some exciting people. I’m preparing to receive more than fifty 12-page comparative research papers, which I’ll need to grade before “Javi” is born. All the while I’ve suddenly found myself involved in a grand total of seven (?!) senior thesis projects. There are other work-related tasks, these are just the “major” ones.
On the home front: K8 was recently (and successfully) very much surprised by the surprise baby shower some of our Dickinson friends organized. I’m rather proud that a conspiracy involving parents, siblings, grandparents, and colleagues worked since September completely undiscovered by K8. Kudos!
This Thanksgiving we’re traveling to Wilmington, Delaware. The three Centellas boys will eat turducken (yes, you read that correctly). We’ll be joined by our significant others, as well as my niece Novalí (who’s now an impressive six years old). This will be our last trip beyond the confines of Cumberland County until sometime in January, I’m sure.
We’re about to purchase a new car (a Scion xD). I’m both very excited (my first new car ever) and worried (I see images of a fender bender in the dealer parking lot). We have discovered that a baby requires a four-door car. And we’re gambling that a new car will last us until he’s in middle school and save us money in the long term.
Otherwise, team Pronto* is bunkered up, waiting. There will be much DVD watching (thanks to a writer’s strike). I’m hoping to renew my relationships w/ The West Wing and Northern Exposure (and hoping K8 enjoys its “ethnographic sensibility”). We’ll see how that goes.
I’ll blog sporadically, as much as I can. I’m still keeping up w/ the Bolivia news, but things are winding down. If you haven’t already noticed, Bolivia has two very clear “protest seasons”: a short one after New Years through Lent (January-February) and a long one between Easter and Christmas (May-November), taking a break around the August national holidays and picking up again around September. But my priority is now not to write frequent posts about Bolivia, but to finish a comprehensive book on the subject.
And, don’t worry. There will be plenty of baby pictures when the time comes. Pronto!
