Days 17-22: Connecticut Part 2

Sunday, October 19: My luggage went missing for the first time in my career as an admission counselor; or rather, it was "delayed" due to a gate change in Philadelphia. Nice to know it was just sitting there at the right gate, beyond the grip of technology. I just about went hysterical for the first minute in the baggage office at Bradley airport: Ma'am is my luggage (dum dum dum)...Missing? (Hand to forehead in a swoon, How could this have happened to me?) It's pretty hilarious in retrospect. My baggage agent was cool as a cucumber, and my red duffel bag arrived at 1:00 AM, after a few anxious hours of worry. I guess that when you're out in the world traveling, your only physical link to home is your stuff, and it's pretty upsetting to think that your personal belongings are floating around there without you. The businessman ahead of me in line at the baggage office was pretty unfazed, as if it had happened to him countless times before.

Monday, October 20



Not a very productive visit, but very picturesque.



Danbury Fair mall (yes there IS a carousel in the food court, can't you tell from the outside?), home of the Ruby Tuesday that Garmin directed me to, without telling me that it was in a mall (I was looking for, but not finding the facade). Thanks, Garmin!


It's not just the students who can be stubborn...it's the teachers too! One shall remain nameless, but has irked me even in the second and third person. I got to formally "meet" her today, and I was, shall we say, underwhelmed. She was totally not listening to me, repeated all the things I said to her students (as if she was the vessel of wisdom), and asked really dumb questions during and after the presentation. At least I expected it!

Tuesday, October 21
One of the things I have realized is that traffic is endemic. Southern Connecticut is a traffic mess, with snarls around New Haven, which Yale or not, I don't much like. One of the teachers at the after school magnet I visited gave me a lecture on adding more career examples to the presentation. (We DO have career examples, I said politely. You need MORE, the teacher insisted. I think there is a real disconnect with some people about the realities of pursuing a career in art. It has to come from the student; you can't make them want it! I did see a haunting piece of video work from a senior, so that made the visit worth it.


Wednesday, October 22
There is a hawk somewhere in this picture.



The coming storm...Metaphor? I hope not!




Somehow I lost my small vanilla frosty between Wendy's and the hotel. I went back out in the rain to see if it was in/on the car, but no such luck, if one can call that luck. [sigh] The small packet of Oreos (ha!) that I got as a Diamond Hilton Member was a sorry substitute. I guess there are no just desserts for this girl.


Thursday, October 23

The weather was weird: c-c-cold in the morning and then pretty warm in the afternoon. Weird for Connecticut, especially since it was warmer than Baltimore in the same time frame!

Early morning frost patterns, or my windshield as a winter landscape.



The traffic today to Greenwich was horrendous. I left an hour early and saw my lead time disappear in gradual intervals as I inched along the highway. Fortunately, I got a warm reception at the school. After school number two, I went to Connecticut Post mall and saw "Nick and Norah's Ultimate Playlist". It was like clockwork:I walked up to the automated ticket kiosk a minute before previews. It was cute and light and exactly what I needed. This was the first movie I've gone to see during travel season.

Friday, October 24

What do you tell a kid who walks up to you and says "my grades are pretty bad and I don't expect them to improve"? A Pre-College kid, no less! I explained that grades were important and there was still time, so he'd better take advantage of it if he knew what was good for him! This is a good school, with a good teacher, but there is a history of difficult boys here. What are they putting in the water?


As seen on the bulletin board at one of my Friday visits:

I wanted to take the flyer because it was so cool, but figured it would do more good where it was.


Driving north to Hartford from Stamford was bloody hell, especially when you leave at 2:30pm to make a 5:30 flight. I made it to Bradley, but with the fact that I had to return the car and wait for the shuttle, that was cutting it a little too close! The high winds in Philadelphia delayed the plane and bought me some time.

Here is the thin pink line that I wrote a poem about at MICA back in 94, as seen from my airplane window, that last sky blue pink bit of light in the sky.