Was Missing in Action... Now in Michigan

It's been 11 months since I've written in this blog.  Life has been busy, & settling into our routine in Michigan has had its ups and downs. We're very grateful to be here in East Lansing, where Robby has an assistant professor position in the Department of Telecommunications (in the School of Communication) at Michigan State University (find out more here).  A number of things have happened to our little family since we moved in January:

1. We bought our first house!  We were reluctant to buy because housing prices won't be rising any time soon...More people move away from East Lansing than into it.  But our mortgage beats renting, & we would have lived near loads of students had we stayed in a rental.  We saw 20 homes in 1 month & bought within a month of living here.  Our 80-year-old house has 80-year-old problems (original plumbing, windows, etc.), but we have tried our best to priorities its needs and not stress about maintenance.

2. I graduated from USC's Rossier School of Education with a Doctorate in Education (EdD) & defended my dissertation.  In the fall of 2011, I collected data then wrote Chapters 4 & 5 in the spring of 2012.  I am quite proud of my dissertation even though no one will probably ever read it.  I discuss teacher beliefs about students' capacity as English learners and connect these beliefs to their behavior in class and their relationships with students.  I focus specifically on ways in which teacher exhibit caring (I have a particular definition of caring that is drawn from various literature) & rigor of instruction (expectations & pedagogical practices).  I observed 3 teachers in Los Angeles public high school in the fall of 2011 - each of them with two sets of students (sometimes upper & lower tracks), & I interviews the teachers before and after classroom observations.  I'm such an English nerd: I made references to and quoted Macbeth at the beginning of each chapter, & I titled the dissertation "Which Grain will Grow...."  This was qualitative research, so my dissertation was rather long.  I can't wait to receive a copy of it in the mail!  & I can't wait to receive my diploma!  Graduation was disappointing.  We didn't have a keynote speaker, & the only speech given by a professor explained the meaning behind our gowns (bleh).  The only worthwhile memory was walking off the stage & hearing Atticus yell, "Mommy!" from the back of the crowd.

3. We traveled all summer: 2 trips to California (I took 3 trips), Germany & Switzerland for 2 weeks, Yosemite during one trip to CA, and North Carolina outer banks.  Needless to say, Robby didn't get much work done over the summer, but we saw lots of family & ate well in CA.

4. We had another baby!  He was born on October 24, 2012 at 7:08pm.  5 pounds, 13 ounces; 19 inches long.  We thought were were ambitious with our first child's name: Atticus Halcyon Loh-Ratan. We thought Atticus was an unusual name. Actually, our real estate agent just got back from Greece & said that there were lots of Atticuses there.  But we were even more adventurous with this second child's name: Thelonius Stark Loh-Ratan.  "Thelonius" is for Thelonious Monk, the famed eccentric jazz pianist.  We didn't like the spelling of his name, so we tweaked it a little.  Ever since we moved to MSU, we've rediscovered jazz music.  The university has a spectacular & very visible jazz band (it's a part of the College of Music), and we've seen them several times, so we've become very appreciative of live jazz music.  & Robby joined the jazz band at Lansing Community College.  He plays the tenor sax.  So we get the pleasure of hearing him practice occasionally at home.  "Stark" is a reference to Game of Thrones.  Robby adores the book series, and he loves what the Stark family represents (morality, loyalty, etc.).  Thelonius's nicknames include T.S., Thelo, & "dou miao" ("little sprout" in Chinese).

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I'll talk more about Michigan in my next entry. Lots to say about it.  I'm a California girl born and bred, so moving out to Michigan has required a lot of adjustment.  I feel grateful to be here, but, BOY, do I miss home.