On bites (and reactions to)

Warning: a fairly gruesome image follows...

Despite having lived here for five years now, I've been fairly lucky in the whole: get bit by terrifying things part of things. I haven't, despite spending a lot of time in the woods and outdoors. You would think that, after spending years in Far North Queensland (hello sandflies!), SW Virginia would be a paradise of non-insect life but that's not the case. I live in a house that's almost 100 years old and used to be an undergrad residence before I moved in. There are cracks from which insects emerge, probably various crevices that the spider-cricket hybrid that exists in this part of the world lives in, and I've seen different types of scurrying creatures in the basement as I go to do my laundry.

Every time I return from a few weeks away, the house is filled with dead earwigs. I have no idea where they come from but they are everywhere. This summer, I found some in between pages of my books on the bookshelves.

All this is to say that insects are not rare in this part of the world. I've never been fond of insects--of any kind (is anyone?)--but we've kept a wary distance during my existence here. We seem to know the other exists and give each other a wide berth--helped by the fact that Dog tends to eat anything that moves. That changed a few days ago when I found my arms and hands covered with bites. They were extremely itchy and, after a few days, the skin around them died (? -- became hard and crusty). Right now, I'm at the stage where it looks as though part of my hand is about to fall off.

I have no idea what did this or how it happened but people's reactions have ranged from: What happened there?! to telling me of the many (many!) terrible things this could be: flesh-eating bacteria, chicken pox, wasps, burns...a nice lady at the grocery shop held my hand as she told me a story of how, in her day, no one swam in the rivers as it was "well known there are insects there that, when they bite, you can't move and that is it, sweetie".

The practice of strangers talking to you--a common habit in SW Virginia life in my experience--means I've also been told of many ways in which I can deal with this. So far, I'm going with the: let's put iodine on it and hope it goes away soon approach.

I'll write a bit about classes next time. For now, here's how my hand looks (arms are worse)

Back in the 'burg (and posting regularly--I hope--this semester)

So, after summer spent with parents, one of whom has been spending a fair bit of time in hospital (getting better), I returned to the US of A a few weeks back. This is going to be a very busy semester--more so than usual for reasons that will become clear as we proceed--and I figure I'll write about some of the things I see/note around here, both at work and when I'm out and about in the area. For reference, I volunteer (sometimes) and am working on doing something in the so-called outdoors once every couple of weeks or so. I also pop into gas stations, visit fairs and yard sales, drive dogs about, and such. I'll try write about some of these experiences and encounters.

I'm teaching two classes in the Fall--a senior seminar on Diplomacy and Security that I'm running as one on terrorism and counterterrorism and a National Security class for upper-level undergrads. The senior seminar is my 15th? 16th? new prep since I started here. I know. I'm also doing an independent study -- on radicalization - with some graduate students. Add the usual committee assignments, panic/worry over not having done enough work over the summer and it's likely to be a fairly (quite) busy Fall.

I've taught the NatSec class before but this semester we have three different versions of it. We also have a new Security Studies Concepts class and so I ditched a lot of the theoretical classes as I reckon they'll be covered in the Security Studies class (on Securitization, feminist and postcolonial approaches). I also changed classes on police militarization (which, last semester, almost led to blows in class) and added sections on State Terrorism. Otherwise, it's a fairly straightforward class that examines some key concepts still and then moves towards "issues". So far, I've got a full class signed up. Let's see how many stick around after the semester starts next week.

For the Senior Seminar, I've got 11 students now. I think 8-10 is a good number but we'll see how it goes. I feel that since the class is only advertised as "Senior Seminar: Diplomacy and Security", students don't really know what they are getting or what will be the topic. I think quite a few faculty make posters and pin them around but I wasn't too organized for that.

Not much to add. I still need to put up readings online and am trying to finish writing a paper that has done the rounds of different journals and emerged differently each time. Those types of things are the hardest to place--by the time it's gone to Journal No. 3, I forget what the reason I wrote it for was. Ah well, as is the norm in academia, keep at it I guess. Sometimes, though, I miss the proper 7am-3pm, paid almost as much as I get paid now job I had in my early 20's...

This weekend, I'll be walking dogs, signing up to foster for a shelter in a nearby town, and checking out an Auto Fair and Swap Meet at a nearby town. The plan is to also send off this one article before the semester begins on Monday.