A Rowan by any other name...

Recently, on an earth science forum, someone asked about names, and whether she (as a young academic) should keep hers or take his. I wrote a long response and thought that I might share it for those who may be interested in life as a female academic or just naming in general. Enjoy!

When I got married to my beloved Jason I kept my last name; in part for identity, in part for feminism, but mostly to avoid US customs and immigration horrors. As an international student in the US (on an F-1 visa), I was terrified of changing my name on my passport, Visa, credit card, SSN, SIN, etc. in two different countries. This problem was exacerbated a little because we had to "hurry up" our wedding plans due to visa issues and field work plans that were set in stone. All this added up to me saying "forget it, there is too much that could go wrong/get delayed... I'm keeping my name (for now/academic purposes)".

As an academic with a few papers out at the time (and one of two daughters of an only child father) I am proud that my name can live on, even if only in academia, and it's nice to know that whatever happens, my CV will look as uncomplicated as the next candidate. I know of people in similar fields that married and took the same last name and who often have their papers confused.

That said I think my dad secretly wishes to write a "Martindale and Martindale" paper some day.

Outside of academia is a bit different, officially we're still Rowan Martindale and Jason Visser, but we are colloquially known as the Vissedales (because Martinsser sounded silly). This also helps distinguish us from the numerous families of the extended relatives (e.g. the Kingston Vissers vs. the Niagra Vissers etc.), especially since we move a lot. I know of at least one couple who has made their amalgamated name official, several who use it informally, and once we settle into a permanent job (and country) we may make Vissedale official too (i.e. Dr. Martindale, Mr. Visser but Mr. and Mrs. Vissedale). We haven't figured out what we will do when it's time for kids but I think that hyphenation would be terrible with my long last name. We'll probably pick one, or go with the amalgamated name (I have also toyed with the idea of "Martin" and "Dale" as middle names should we have boys with the last name of Visser). There are a ton of different options with kids (daughters go my mom's name, sons by dad's vs. all Dad's or all Mom's vs. hyphenation vs. maiden names as middle names etc.) but I think both Jason and I would like our family to be a family (and thus have a family name)... but anyhow, that's a problem to be figured out later (hopefully not to the horror of inlaws.... who I know are reading this....)

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on life as a woman with her own last name... feel free to add your own variations in the comments. ;)

Christmas in Hawaii: Day 3 - Volcano National Park

A wet day at Volcano National Park, but still many sights to be seen and an amazing time was had.

Sulfur banks - They'll burn if you get too close, but otherwise make beautiful crystals and, well, you know how sulfur smells.

After emerging from the Thurston Lava tube, we were greeted with a muddy path and a drizzling rain.

Out on the lava fields the wind was howling and the rain was blasting sideways.

Which resulted in an incredibly clear rainbow that seemed to touch the ground only meters away.

What else would one like to find at the end of the rainbow?

Near the shore, looking back, the old lava flows can be seen, with just a hint of the rainbow remaining.

Christmas in Hawaii: Day 1 and 2

After arriving in Kona, we stopped at a Coffee plantation and this was the view.

Nearly the same view, just not looking into the sun.

The view from the back of our B&B.

Geckos abound!

The view from the front of our B&B.

At the Luau, the classic palm tree silhouette.

Dinner was accompanied by traditional hula and Polynesian dance.

Cute little raku turtles.

Christmas Puzzle

For Christmas, Rowan and I received a puzzle from Bill. Rowan does not have an exceeding amount of patience for puzzles, so it was mostly up to me to get this finished before we left. If memory serves, we started the puzzle on Christmas day or perhaps the day after, and it was only just finished today. It is a 1500 peice puzzle and though I have not done too many jigsaw puzzles in my life, I would rate this one as very difficult. See for yourself:

Edit/PS: I should give credit where credit is due though: I did have help from all of the Martindales on and off throughout the course of the puzzle's construction. Often just a few pieces here and there, but sometimes they were pieces that had been eluding me for hours and hours :D

Calgary Zoolights!

Sleigh Bells Ring...

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Santa stopped by the other day in a not-so-miniature sleigh and two not-so-tiny Clydesdales.

Boxing Day Quading

With the temperatures just around freezing, the sun shining bright, and some nice snow in the fields, Bill got out his quad. When offered the chance to ride, I couldn't pass it up and joined in the fun. This was the first time that I can recall driving a quad and it was a blast, particularly in the snow. I also tested out my new MEC sweat shirt and it performed wonderfully, blocking out most of the wind and keeping my body comfy and warm. The brain monster was also present to protect its source of nurishment.

Christmas at the Martindale's

Christmas! (Brainmonster version)

Christmas at the Martindale's has been very joyful and happy, and I'm sure there'll be more posts soon, but I figured I'd start out with the brain monster! RAWR! Serena knit this awesome hat for me... and I love it :D

 

 

Married!!

Hi everyone, Rowan and I currently in the UK, but my blog has been lacking horribly in updates, so I figured I'd start with something easy and work up from there. For those that don't know Rowan and I recently were married. Here's the full story in the form of a letter I wrote out soon after the event: "Greetings Friends, I have some very exciting and happy news to share, but it will likely come as a big shock, so you might want to sit down. As I think all of you know, I have been dating Rowan for almost 3 years now. During the past year we have seriously been discussing the possibility of getting engaged and hence married. Well, there have been some recent events which have sped up this entire process. I was visiting Rowan's family at the end of June and into the first week of July. On Sunday July 5, at the Calgary airport, heading back to Los Angeles, I was pulled aside to the secondary inspection point when going through US border security in the Calgary airport. After a fairly long wait, I was told I would not be allowed into the US, because I had been there for too many months out of the past year. The problem was that I had been staying in the US more than I had been staying in Canada in the last 12 months. Rowan and I have a very strong and dedicated relationship together. We maintained a "long-distance" relationship for a year when Rowan moved to Los Angeles to do her Ph.D. and I finished up my Master's. Having gone through that, we absolutely did not want to do that again. The very kind border security guard handed me a list of options that would help my case if I wanted to re-enter the US sometime sooner than 6 months from now. Unfortunately, none of these options were helpful or applicable to me. Further complicating matters was an upcoming trip to Austria in August that Rowan is in the midst of planning for her Ph.D. thesis. I am to be her field-assistant for the trip. All of these thoughts, pressures, and complications ran through our minds as Rowan, myself, and her parents sat down to figure out what to do. With surprising ease, it became apparent what the solution would be. We would get married. By being married, I can get a VISA that allows me to stay in the US with Rowan for as long as she is there in school. And so, with very little ado, Rowan and I were married on July 8, 2009 in the presence of her parents, younger sister, and younger sister's boyfriend. It was a time of great joy and happiness, as celebrated the joining of our lives and affirmed our love. There was also a bit of sadness as the situation and circumstances did not allow us to be together with all of our family and friends to celebrate this important event. We hope to find time to visit and rejoice together with all of you as soon as possible. Thankfully, despite the small group gathered, there were 3 cameras recording the event. Rowan and I have selected a number of our favourites, which you can view here. I also have video of the entire ceremony, which I will edit (it runs too long at the beginning and end) and post as well, when I have a moment. Finally, Rowan and I would really like to have a celebration/reception at some later date, when it will work for us and as many others as possible. This would likely happen in Kingston, but as everything has been moving so fast recently, much of this idea is still up in the air and we would appreciate any input on this. With love, Rowan and Jason"

 

 

 

 

Calgary Stampede 2009

Yesterday, I went to the Calgary Stampede for the first time. Definitely a great experience, with many interesting venues, events, and a lot of people! Here are some choice photos from the rodeo itself. We were up on the top level of the grandstand, but fortunately in the front row, so we had a pretty good view of the action. There were some new and different foods available at the Stampede this year: deep-fried jellybeans, deep-fried oreos, deep-fried coke, beef sundae, and probably some others that I am forgetting. We tried the deep-fried oreos. They weren't bad, but they were very sweet... I think I prefer my oreos "natural".