You can take the girl out of New Mexico, but you can't take New Mexico out of the girl.

This is the first year I will not be in Santa Fe at all during the holidays/winter break. However, this does not stop me from trying to have a New Mexican Christmas.

On Christmas Eve my dad and I put about 50 farolitos in front of my grandparents house, and even though the picture doesn't do it justice the place looked great.

That same night my mom made our traditional Christmas Eve posole dinner, and for dessert we had the biscochito cookies she and I made.


To top off my New Mexican Christmas in Richmond, my parents gave me a book on the West, a calendar with wood block prints that are in the New Mexico Museum of Art, and a little note pad made out of a New Mexico license plate.

Overall I had a great Christmas, though it would have been better if my brother Ryan were here. Hope you all had a great holiday, too!

hey guess what

My semester is over! It took a while, I tell you what. Today was the last day of finals and guess who, as a graduate student in a field in which tests are not usually given in upper level courses, had a test. Ding ding ding, that would be me. So after a weekend of not studying I hopped to on Monday (except for that Christmas party Monday night...) and then got up this morning at 5:15 to get to school a little early (little early?) to cram before the eight o'clock test. Afterwards the professor asked me, "Now was that so bad?" and I replied, "I don't know yet, it depends on how you grade it." Anyway, that's a third semester of grad school under my belt and only one left to go.

Now I'm working on my holiday spirit and making sure that my no school time is a non-stop good time.

weekend review

Thursday: Went to a coffee shop to study Spanish for a few hours, took my Spanish test, home to putter around and try to take a nap, out with friends on Glenwood until late.

Friday: Went for a run, graded exams, and didn't study.

Saturday: Finished grading exams, went shopping (aka didn't study), out to a Christmas party.

Sunday: Read through some notes in bed, had to take a nap, went for a run, went to church, stopped by Target on the way home, now finally studying. (Or not, since I'm on the internet...)

I passed!

I just learned I passed my Spanish test, which was the reading comprehension in a foreign language requirement to graduate. This makes me very excited.

No one likes a six-year-old Christmas liar.

The only time I ever had perfect attendance at school was during the first grade. The first grade was also the year I lied at Christmas.

December 13 is Saint Lucia Day. I'm not going to pretend I know very much about the actual holiday and how it is celebrated in Sweden or wherever else it is celebrated. I can only tell you how Ms. Nelson's First Grade Class attempted to celebrate this holiday tradition.

Ms. Nelson told our class that on Saint Lucia day the oldest girl would get to wear a green wreath on her head and walk around the classroom passing out cookies. I desperately wanted to be that girl. I was six. My birthday is in April.

We interested girls gathered around her desk trying to figure out who was the oldest. I declared that I was.

"Aren't you six?" she asked.

"Noooo, I'm seven. Definitely the oldest girl here."

"When is your birthday?"

"April 13."

"Weren't you born in 1983?"

"Me? Nope, 1982. I'm seven."

Looking back, I realize Ms. Nelson must surely have known my real age. Or she could have easily looked it up. Yet I insisted, and she gave in. I wore the wreath and passed out those cookies and was immensely pleased with myself.

Of course eighteen years later I still can't see a picture of the blond Saint Lucia without cringing and feeling like a guilty idiot.

Did I forget to mention?

Ryan's employee of the year award included an all-expense paid trip to one of the company's other resorts, anywhere in the world. I have it under good graduation present authority that there is an incredible week of brother-sister bonding in the Caribbean in my future...

I'm the employee of the year's proud big sister.

My little brother works as a valet at one of the fanciest hotels in Santa Fe where all the rich people and celebrities stay. Not only is he an excellent professional car parker, he also has some mad people skillz. Everyone loves him. In fact, they love him so much that tonight at the employee Christmas party he won employee of the quarter AND employee of the year! Way to go Ryan!

weekend review

Friday: Slept in, worked on my paper, went to school to help lead a review session, ran a couple errands, home to work on the paper more, chatted with my friend Amy and learned SHE IS GETTING MARRIED!!!, went out with the video store gang.

Saturday: Didn't sleep in enough, drove to Richmond, had tea and chatted with my grandparents, went to my aunt's house to hang out and eat dinner, home to bed early.

Sunday: Worked on my paper, ate steak, took a three hour nap, finished and submitted the paper, played Rook and won the game by shooting the moon for the first time ever, went back to aunt's house to decorate for Christmas, now to bed.

four little elves gettin' down

Click here for an early present!

today felt like ice outside

It was also the last day of classes! As much as I love school, I also love when school ends for breaks. However, I still have to finish a paper, take a Spanish test, grade tests, take a women's history test, and possibly take another Spanish test if I fail the first one. When all of this is finally done it will be 4pm on December 18, which is a really long way away.

In the meantime, I have some procrastinating work and studying to do.

I froze and caved.

Last night I wore sweats and socks to sleep, and had an extra blanket on the bed. It still took a long time to fall asleep because I was freezing. This morning I woke up nice and warm though, until I got out of bed. I sat in my sweats with a blanket wrapped around me, and thought things might be fine. But then I cringed at the thought of taking all this warmth off to get in the shower, and I couldn't stand it. I have turned on the heat.

signs through radio waves

Yesterday I decided I might start looking into PhD programs in history in case I want to pursue a career editing historical documents, and tonight when I listened to NPR's Fresh Air I was excited because the guest Terry Gross interviewed talked about doing that exact same thing. Coincidence? Or a sign?

Chingedy Ching (hee-haw, hee-haw)

My friend Elizabeth heard a Christmas song on the radio and she became obsessed with learning about it and finding others who had heard it, too. Last I heard she'd only come up with one person, a girl from Boston. The other night she even gave us a rendition of the song, and hoo boy do I wish we'd had a video camera.

Well just now she IMed me to turn on the radio, and sure enough her ridiculous song really does exist. It's "Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey," and for your listening pleasure follow the link. It'll surely put you in the holiday spirit!

Things that went down this weekend:

Friday: Slept in, read some stuff, and went to dinner at my professor's house for mole enchiladas and mulled wine.

Saturday: Slept in even more, wasted time around the apartment, went for a run, read an article, graded some papers, pulled out my cello for the first time in Raleigh and scratched out some Christmas carols, graded more, and watched a movie.

Sunday: Slept in (again!), worked on my paper, went to church at 6, watched some TV, and worked on the paper a little more.

In other news, Ryan moved out of the house Saturday and the family is experiencing a sad empty nest. My parents are sad, Ryan is sad, and the thought of going home to visit (some day, maybe next summer, who knows?) and not having him in the same house makes me sad.

"It's priest. Have a little priest."

Guess who's excited about the movie Sweeney Todd!!! That's right, I am! I love this musical. I mean, a barber kills people and then his lady friend bakes them into pies! That's exciting stuff right there.

I learned about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street when a cabinmate at Interlochen showed me a video of her performing the song "Wait" at her school. I was hooked from that song alone, and as soon as I got back home I bought the original Broadway production's soundtrack, starring Angela Lansbury. I played it all the time, including on family road trips. My brother Ryan was scared by the musical and didn't like it, which usually made me want to play it around him even more.

If he gets to come to Richmond for Christmas I'll make him go see it with me.

bundled

It's 61 degrees in my apartment, and since I'm still unwilling to turn the heat on I'll just put a fleece vest over my sweatshirt instead.

a short list of random

We're supposed to fill out online course evaluations for school, and the last question in the section that asks you to click strongly agree, agree, don't agree, etc. is: "Overall, this course was excellent." Um, isn't' this called leading the witness, or something?

Today I told my professor I didn't think I was smart enough to be a professor because I still can't figure out what postmodernism is, and then a really smart man walked by so she called him in to explain it, and after many minutes packed with big words and concepts like metanarrative, subjectivity, cultural history, and more I can't think of, my head sort of wanted to explode.

So far two students have complained to me about how I graded their papers, and that makes me want to crawl under my bed and never read my emails again.

Tomorrow is the deadline for submitting a proposal for presenting a paper at our graduate student conference in February, and while I'm helping to run the thing I didn't think I wanted to submit a paper. Then I got an email from a fellow student who claims to have read part of my draft for my environmental history paper/thesis and thinks I should submit, and even though I think he's just sayin' that to get more proposals it sort of makes me think I should, because it would be good experience and it looks good on your CV. Apparently the academic life is all about enhancing the ol' CV. So now I have to decide if I want to spend lots of time tomorrow writing a short proposal and, well, writing a CV, which sounds like zero fun.

Walking to the parking deck tonight I heard a girl say her friend got her toe stepped on at a club and the toenail fell off. That's gross. I had a toenail fall off once, while slip n' slidin at my cousins' house in Texas, back in the day. It only fell off on the slip n' slide, that's not where I hurt it. I hurt it when I tried to break a huge rock open on the cement to find gold. Instead of gold I got a jelly shoe and frilly sock full of blood.

At least your beer stays cold.

Tonight I had beer, a hot dog, and popcorn while sitting down on row K at a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game with four guys who range in age from 8 to 32. The Canes lost, but it was still good times.

a big bowl of deliciousness

Tonight I made my delicious butternut squash soup. I like it, so I'm going to share it with you in case you want to make it and like it, too. If you don't like it, don't tell me, because I will be sad.

Now, I'm no cook, but this is pretty easy. Take a butternut squash and cook it. I have done this in two ways: you can halve and seed the squash, then place it face down on a baking sheet and put it in the oven until it's scoopable; or you can peel, seed, and cut the squash up into little pieces and boil it (boil it in 1/2 cup of water and two cans of vegetable broth, or if you bake it in the oven add it to the water and broth after it's cooked).

I also like to add a cooked apple, some cooked onion, and garlic.
You're supposed to put the cooked squash in a food processor or blender to puree it, but I don't have those fancy contraptions so I use a slotted spoon and smash it all by hand.

Cook it all up. I added some chili pepper tonight too, with salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of butter.

That's pretty much it. I also like to cook rotini pasta and pour the soup over that. It's good.

It's groups like this that make me thankful.

things I've done the last few days, in no particular order:

read about white southern women during the Civil War

made my mom's rolls

went to the bus station on Boulevard in Richmond at midnight

pet Danny

graded papers

ate a lot of food

played with an iPhone

hung out with the Mayor of Taylortopia

finally started writing my paper

learned to C-walk like the gangster kids of NYC

watched guys chase a dog with flashlights

tried on sunglasses with Sunni

met and hung out with a distant cousin I never knew I had

procrastinated on paper writing

played Wii

watched two guys and a ten-year-old girl chug hot pho

took a couple naps

went on a group Thanksgiving Day walk

ate at Nacho Mama's for Mexican Saturday

listened to Bishop Allen for a billion hours

drank a lot of hot tea with milk

Black Friday

That's what I like to call this day of paper writing. What a sorry excuse for a holiday break.

Weekend Review

Friday: Can't really remember what I did during the day...I'm sure it was supposed to be homework but was infused with procrastination. Went to school in the afternoon to pick up my students' papers, then went with the girls to see Love in the Time of Cholera (which I didn't like) and out to dinner.

Saturday: Talked to Jennifer for an hour, work and procrastination mixed together, mapped the Overland Trail on the floor, went for an extra long run because I got lost (should have made up a story...), met Erin and Brook at the huge library book sale and got The Year of Decision: 1846 and a book on the Donner Party, went with them to Target, went back to Erin's house and ended up staying to talk and watch fighting on TV.

Sunday: Went to church, then home to procrastinate and finally work more on my research and paper. No writing ever happened, but it will eventually.

A thesis in the making.

Yesterday I was going through my research on the Overland Trail and having trouble visualizing where my quotes and evidence fit into their proper geographic locations. Pretty much all of my primary source research is hand-written on index cards, which helps me physically manipulate their order when organizing my papers (which will eventually combine into my master's thesis). So I started putting the cards into piles for areas like the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevadas, and Oregon. But those are way too broad. What about things that took place at the South Pass, Fort Hall, or on the Umatilla River? It was all too confusing for me to keep in my head.

Then I was a genius. Using string and even more index cards with color coded markers, I mapped out the second half of the Overland Trail on my living room floor. It's awesome.


I started the map at the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains, and I have the Oregon Trail going to the Willamette Vally and the California Trail cutting off and going to the Sacramento Valley.

Now I'm going to go add my research cards to the map and decide how best to write this section of my paper. But first I will make coffee.

*************
Later...

See? Only now I still have to figure out how to get all this across in narrative form...

squishin' in the halls

I just got home and took my damp shoes and socks off. It was 6:30pm. They got wet when I walked across campus this morning in a hurricane at 8:30am. That's gross.

You know you're a bad granddaughter when...

When you're talking on the phone to your granddad on his 85th (!) birthday and after he asks excitedly "are you going to sing to me?" you follow the ensuing long pause with "uhhh..."

iknewit

According to the Associated Press Virginia has one tenth of all the vanity license plates in the country. If you're thinking "wow, that's a lot of vanity plates," boy are you correct.

I have this pet peeve when people think their city or state or whatever is really unique about something that, turns out, is common in lots of places. For example, if you ever say "Nothing in [insert town/city here] ever starts on time," or "The weather in [insert town/city here] is so crazy- just wait an hour and it will change," then you should stop saying those things right now. Everyone says those things. I've lived in four states in three different regions, so I will go ahead and claim authority on this one.

However, when it comes to vanity plates, Virginia really does take the cake. It also has way too many inflatable outdoor Christmas decorations.

weekend review

Friday: Slept in, read a little, took a nap, read some more, and went to an archives meeting at school. Stopped by the video store to rent a free movie from Ryan, but instead stayed for lots of hours chatting and ended up going out with him and his friends after work. After hanging out at the hipster dive bar with the bad dj I played and watched a little Guitar Hero, then finally got home really late (or really early, depending on how you look at it). I also met my key chain twin. We both have this key chain:

Saturday: Thought I slept in, but turns out I didn't at all. Read, emailed, read a little more, watched Everything is Illuminated, discovered I was in a time warp, took a nap, read more, watched True Romance, and read more.

Sunday: Slept a little later than I meant to, almost made it to morning church but didn't, somehow found myself in Garner desperately looking for gas, went to my favorite coffee shop downtown to work on my thesis/environmental history paper, ate a shawarma sandwich for dinner, went to church, stopped by the grocery store, and now home to do a little more work.

call me a detective

I'm still thinking about my time warp. I checked some emails I sent out this afternoon, but turns out I really sent them around 10:30 in the morning. Let me just say, 10:30am is the time I set my alarm to wake me up today, and I never got on the computer until (what I thought was) around 1. So I think when I set my alarm last night I accidentally set the clock time ahead three hours before I realized it was on the wrong setting, and without fixing the time I just went ahead and set the alarm time. I think this also means I only got about 3-4 hours of sleep last night. This has never happened to me. And now it's only about 4, so maybe I should go take a nap...

I have just been through a time warp.

Seriously. I'm very confused about what time it is. I honestly thought it was 6:45. I slept in late and am still in my pajamas and have done some reading and I even just finished watching a movie, and here it is, not even 4 in the afternoon. My clock mysteriously jumped three hours ahead. I'm not even sure what time I woke up now. It's like I passed out and now that I'm awake I have this little present in my lap of three extra hours for my day. Now I think I'm going crazy.

Weekend Review: Fort Worth

Friday: Flew out for a mini family vacation in Fort Worth, Texas. Drank coffee so I could read on the plane. Dad and Ryan picked me up at the airport, we picked Mom up at the hotel, and went out to dinner. Back at the hotel to get in the hot tub.

Saturday: Breakfast at the hotel, then off to see exciting art at the Amon Carter Museum. Lunch, then wandered around Texas Christian University for a couple hours before the football game against the University of New Mexico. Took a nap on the grass during a pre-game pep rally. Watched the game and got bored when I couldn't cheer anymore after the first quarter because UNM was terrible and lost 37-0. Left early and took a nap in the car on the way back to the hotel. Hung out in my parents' room looking stuff up on the internet for the next day.

Sunday: Dropped Dad and Ryan off at a shuttle stop so they could go to the Nascar race. Went with Mom to a French restaurant downtown for breakfast and to work a crossword puzzle. Went to the Modern Art Museum where we made fun of crazy art and wore blue booties to go into a white installation. Went to the Botanic Gardens and walked through the conservatory and gardens, then went to the Japanese Gardens, which are always my favorite. Went back downtown and had smoothies, then saw the movie The Darjeeling Limited. Read for a while in the Starbucks at Barnes and Noble, then went to pick up Dad and Ryan. Ate steak and fried pickles. Back to the hotel for a swim and hot tubbing.

Monday: Breakfast in the hotel. Toured the Dallas Cowboys' stadium and threw a football around on the field. Went to the touristy Historic Stockyards but missed seeing the longhorns walk down the street. Got lost in a cow pen maze with Ryan and watched him ride a mechanical bull. Ate a barbecue sandwich. Went to the Bass Pro Outdoor store and saw lots of dead stuffed animals and some live animals, too. Parents dropped Ryan and I off, and we each flew back to New Mexico and North Carolina, respectively. Drank more coffee so I could read and not sleep, and finally got home by 11:45.

Hope I didn't drop a sock in the parking lot.

I just scrounged up sixteen quarters and did laundry here at my apartment complex. In Raleigh. I don't remember the last time I didn't do laundry in Richmond. It had to be some time in the spring. Anyway, I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and desperate times call for desperate measures.

**Update: shortly after I posted I left to go watch The Office at a friend's house, and I saw a sock near my neighbor's door. "That's weird," I thought, "why is there a sock on the ground?" That's right folks, I really did drop a sock.

frightening

I just got back from school and let me tell you I saw ZERO costumes on campus. Well, zero until I saw Jack Sparrow in the parking garage on my way out. This would never happen at UPS. Between no costumes on Halloween and the mostly empty coffee shop across from campus I started to wonder if something crazy was going on and I was the only one who didn't know about it. Oh, and as I complain about seeing no costumes you can bet I wasn't wearing one either. As I told a friend the other day when he asked if I was doing something for Halloween, "homework doesn't stop for holidays."

Anyway, after I got home and checked my email I saw more costume than I ever wanted to. It's times like these that I start to secretly hope my father is really the mailman.

Weekend Review

Friday: Slept until after noon, read, wasted some time around the apartment, read a lot more.

Saturday: Read, went for a run, went to a pumpkin-carving party but didn't carve a pumpkin, walked around the mall a little with Tess and Elizabeth and ate at the Cheesecake Factory, chatted a little more at Tess's apartment, home to read a little in bed.

Sunday: Read, went to church, went to my favorite coffee shop downtown to read, went to the school library and read a little more, went to Ryan and Erin's house for dinner and to hang out- played some Guitar Hero 3, home and now will read a tiny bit more in bed.

a package that says they care

I got a care package in the mail today from my parents full of exciting things. It included very practical things, like my chocolate milk and my health insurance card. It included whimsical things like The Office pencils and a stuffed turkey. It included delicious things like candy and Fig Newtons. It included nice-smelling candles, and fall-colored hand towels, and Halloween cookie cutters, and decorative silk leaves. It also included my UPS alumni magazine and news about a Santa Fe road that made it to the top ten roads in the country and an interview with the New Mexico state historian and comics my dad clips out that I never understand. It was totally unexpected and lots of fun.

Thanks parents!

homework cycle

Thursdays are my Fridays, and boy do I love the end of my Thursday. I'm on campus and working from 8:30 until 6, and then I collapse and watch TV all night and sleep way too much on Friday. And Fridays, while super exciting because I can sleep in, also ring in a new week of work. Have to start a new book for environmental history, have to read articles, have to stress over the lack of thesis work getting done. I usually don't notice the amount of work I do because I understand that I'm a student and it's not a "real" job and I only have classes three days a week and I get to read at coffee shops and write papers in bed. But the last couple weeks it's been hitting me. My weekends are relaxed but full of reading, writing, and grading; and my weekdays (minus Friday) are packed from morning until late at night.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love this work that I do, and to be honest I dread the day I'm finally done with all this graduate school and have to get a real job. I guess this rambling is just a mixture of me realizing how much work I do and reassuring myself that it really is work at the same time, if that makes any sense.

painless surgery in ten minutes or less!

Turns out my implant wasn't so bad, and so far I haven't been in much pain (though my parents and doctor-Grandpa make me worry I'm going to wake up crying and need to jump on the Vicodin bottle). I made the mistake of reading all the things that can go wrong when I signed the consent form, so I was pretty worked up and nervous when I sat in the chair, especially with the official hair net and arm band checking my blood pressure. I enjoyed what I'll call the "happy gas" and the only pain I had was when they gave me shots to numb everything, and even those weren't too bad. I hardly noticed what was going on, except when I spotted the spit sucker and said through an open and numb mouth "is that my blood?" "Well it sure isn't mine..." the doctor answered. Ten minutes later they told me I was done (except for the x-ray and stitches), and I hadn't even been sure they'd really started! The stitches weren't bad either- I tried to talk about beer on the Oregon Trail with string hanging out of my mouth and finally the doctor told me I could tell him about it later. So hurray for no-pain periodontics!

Weekend Review

Friday: Slept in late, read, slept more. Finally showered around 4 and read and graded until late.

Saturday: Went to a health store and antique store with a friend, graded, went on a walk instead of taking a nap, read, took a break to watch British comedies, and read more.

Sunday: Slept in a little too late, read, went for a run in my newly-discovered neighborhood, went downtown to my favorite coffee shop to read, visited a consignment store and read a little more, went to church, went to the grocery store, home to read more.

Coming up: at eight in the morning I'm having what my mother keeps referring to as "surgery," but is just a fancy dentist implanting a screw in my jaw bone. Good times.

it's like leaving breadcrumbs, only instead you make up stories

Today I planned to go for a run but ended up going out this morning, so instead this afternoon I decided to take a walk (since walks don't require a second shower). Rather than head to the lake, however, I decided to explore the neighborhoods around here that I never see. It was nice- full of pretty houses, tall pine trees, and silly Halloween decorations.

The thing about walking in places you've never been, however, is that you have to remember how to get back. It takes a lot longer to find your way when you're lost on foot than when you're lost in a car, especially when your car has a map.

So, in order to avoid never finding my way home, I make up stories with street signs. For example, by the time I'd walked far enough today and needed to head home, I knew that I needed to sleep by the creek, head north until I got to France, and then look for the mountain that would point me home. I have a similar story for when I go running in Richmond- Follow the ridge around the mountain, and then look for the magic stone that will point you home to the castle. I'm not making all of this stuff up, most of these words (or similar meanings) are in the street names. And my stories work, because I made it back!

"they send you off to college, try to gain a little knowledge"

This week I get to read about passenger pigeons and plastic pink flamingos for class. I will also learn about nineteenth-century sexuality, westward expansion, the War of 1812, and the subjunctive vs. indicative in Spanish subordinate clauses. Are you jealous yet?

it's raining!

Normally rain doesn't really excite me, but Raleigh is pretty thirsty right now and we need the rain. They've banned all sprinkler watering, so lawn-owners are probably doing a happy dance right now. I hope that umbrella is still in my backpack...

writin' tunes

It's important to have music playing when I write papers. Otherwise the silence combined with my sometimes tediously slow writing might be enough to drive me mad. However, I have to be careful with the music I play. It can't be too loud and crazy, and I don't want to have the urge so sing along, because that could be distracting. Other than instrumental or opera, I currently only have about three albums that do the trick.

The first is Darryl Purpose's A Crooked Line. I've been writing history papers to this since college. It includes a song about Rutherford Hayes, which is enough to put it at the top of my list.



Next is Eric Bachmann's To the Races. I heard him last year on some NPR show and immediately ordered his CD.



Finally, there is Kris Delmhorst's Strange Conversations. She took famous poems and made them songs. My favorite is the song "Sea Fever," based on John Masefield's poem. In fact, this is the CD that just helped me write a book review ten minutes ago.

weekend: fall break?

Thursday: Up early for a meeting, then meant to do lots of homework but ended up hanging out with a friend for a billion hours instead.

Friday: Read and graded most of the day. Watched a movie to celebrate all my hard work.

Saturday: Graded, then worked on a paper at a coffee shop. Home to grade a tiny bit more, then drove to Richmond. Read more.

Sunday: Read, ate lunch, and drove with the grandparents to Charlottesville. Walked around Main Street with Grandpa, then wandered off on my own to this crazy coffee place to read. Ate dinner with Grandpa, then all three of us went to a concert- Anuna, an Irish choir. Maybe you've seen them on PBS? I haven't. Read a little more before bed.

Monday: Breakfast at the hotel in Charlottesville, then drove back to Richmond. Made a sandwich and hopped back in the car to drive to Raleigh. Went straight to school for a meeting, then read. Now home to eat and finish that paper from Saturday.

an unexpected parade!

Today I went downtown to go to my favorite coffee shop and write a paper (actually I'm there now, and obviously taking a little break from that paper). I ran into some closed streets so I parked early and walked a couple blocks, and on the way there I ran into a parade! Once I ran into a parade in Charleston that wasn't very good and I was annoyed I couldn't cross the street and get away from it, but this parade was exciting because it had a great band and dancing. I deciphered that is was the Shaw University homecoming parade, and I stood there for ten minutes watching it, even though my backpack was very heavy.

a handful of heaven

Today I got a huge bag of delicious and fresh (we know they're fresh because they didn't have any until October, and trust me, we've been waiting for October) pistachios in the mail!


Thanks Grandma!

some things never go out of style

I recently read a blog entry where the author said guys should stop dressing up as presidents for Halloween. Um...are you kidding me?! Sure, more recent presidents are a little over done, especially with those stupid Nixon and Clinton masks, but I would swoon over any guy who came to a party dressed as Teddy Roosevelt or Thomas Jefferson. I'm just sayin'.

in case you missed it

It was OVER 90 degrees here, on OCTOBER 8. That's hot with only one t.

only three didn't make it

I *may* have just sat alone in the graduate lounge playing The Oregon Trail game on my laptop with professors as my fellow travelers who died of cholera and typhoid instead of writing a paper. Just maybe.

my weekend: sleeping and reading

Friday: Slept until 11am after going to bed before midnight. Did some reading and internet searching. Took a nap from 2 until 5. Read a lot more. Watched You've Got Mail (aka one of my top two favorite movies) at midnight.

Saturday: Slept until 10, read, went for a run, and read more. Took a break to eat popcorn and watch British comedies, then read again.

Sunday: Couldn't wake up to my alarm at 7:30 so slept until after 9. Got ready for church but was running late and then talked to my Santa Fe grandparents on the phone instead. Went to my new favorite coffee shop downtown to read for five hours, sat in my car and read more, then went to church at 6. Stopped by Target, and now ready to eat something and then...you guessed it...read.

I taught the kid to pop corn

I like to listen to NPR's All Songs Considered on my iPod when I run, and since I haven't been running much lately I've gotten behind. Today I listened to a show from August 9 and they played a song by the band Beirut. I'm listening to them now on their website, and I really like it. Anyway, the main guy is Zach Condon, and guess what?! I totally knew that kid back in Santa Fe. He got a job at the artsy movie theater where I worked and I trained him in concessions and tickets. He had shaggy bangs and didn't talk much. Apparently he later dropped out of high school and travelled Europe, which has a noticeable influence on his music. Now he lives in Brooklyn and is livin' the dream I guess. Good for him.

Sometimes I think this is me!

toothpastefordinner.com

i'm tired

Monday night I took a short nap around 9pm so I could keep reading. Last night I ended up taking a nap at 10:30. I had to turn that nap into going to bed early (11=early!) because my eyeballs wouldn't stay open, but that meant I had to get up early this morning to grade papers. I woke up at FIVE IN THE MORNING. I don't recall ever in my academic life having to get up that early to work. I'm tired of running on coffee. I'm tired of not getting enough sleep during the week and then not getting enough work done on the weekends because my body won't do anything but sleep. I'm tired of my heavy backpack and walking around campus in one big yawn. I'm just plain tired.

out of juice and suckin' up bugs

Today I had to cancel a meeting (well, we rescheduled it), which I never ever have to do. I'm always where I say I'll be, though I might be a couple minutes late. Anyway, not today. Why? you ask. Because I was stuck in Richmond. Stuck. My car would not go. Turns out I needed a new battery. Grandpa helped me take it and get a new one, so I was only stuck for a couple more hours. I'm sick of dealing with my car. I don't want any more problem, you hear?

When I finally got back to my apartment I heard a noise in my room. I prayed it was not scary vermin. Turns out it was a bug in my floor lamp. I could only see its scary shadow through the glass shade, and I was too afraid to stand on my bed and look more closely. I thought about smashing it with my shoe, but I decided that would be a lot of trouble since it was up there in the lamp and what if it flies? Or stings? Or explodes with babies? So instead I was a genius. I got the vacuum cleaner, attached the long hose, and without every having to look at the thing directly, sucked him up. If you have stories about how that was not a good solution because he could get out and multiply in the laundry closet where I keep the vacuum, I don't want to hear them. Thank you.

Weekend Review

Friday: Went to get my car, then to get my emissions inspection. Instead of the inspection I had to make an appointment, so I went home for an hour, then back out for the inspection, only right when I got there I got the call that my horn was in, so I went and had that fixed, and then went back and finally got the stupid inspection. Went back home and cleaned my apartment and took a shower, then drove to Richmond. Chatted with my grandparents, and visited with our new German neighbors. Read homework.

Saturday: Read in bed, then went for a run. Went with the grandparents to lunch, then home to read more. Almost took a long nap, but drank coffee and read more instead. Went to the Italian Festival in Church Hill with Sam and pet a pig, then went to Captain Buzzy's to chat. Went to aunt's house for some food and more chatting into the night.

Sunday: Read in bed. Had lots of family over for lunch. Did stretches with Sunni, then read more. Took Grandpa with me to church, where he apparently made note of all the dudes with tattoos wearing shorts. Back home to read, a short break for dinner, more reading, a short break to post on my blog, and now ready for more reading.

You know what's not conducive to an afternoon of productive homework?

Stuffing yourself at a delicious Indian buffet for lunch. That's what.

completely spoiled

I'll be the first to admit my grandparents spoil me. I'm in Richmond for the weekend and my sheets have been washed and the bed is made, clean towels are set out in the bathroom, the kitchen is stocked with skim milk and pistachios, and there are even fresh flowers in my room.

I know some of you think I only come to Richmond to do my laundry and eat good free food, but it's not true. Really. I come to hang out with my grandparents.

But I'll also be the first to admit that those other things make a pretty sweet bonus.

Back behind the wheel, and the horn works, too.

I finally got my car back. Finally. And just in time, too. I got a call yesterday from the car rental place that my insurance money was up and starting today I would have to pay for it myself. So I called the repair shop (again) and they said it's ready. Note they didn't call to tell me it's ready, I called them. Anyway, this was some pretty good timing. After watching The Office with the girls last night a friend helped me return my rental car and get to my apartment, and this morning another friend picked me up and took me to get my (finally) repaired car.

Only problem? They discovered this morning that my horn didn't work. But they'd ordered the part already. This made me feel uneasy. I had plans to drive to Richmond, and is it a bad idea to drive without a horn? The lady at the desk said she doesn't use her horn. "Do you usually use your horn?" she asked. Well, no, if you're asking if I'm one of those road ragers always poised to honk obnoxiously, that's not me. But what if someone slowly backs toward me and I don't have a horn to stop them from crunching my brand new hood and bumper?

Anyway, long story short, I left without the horn but in about three hours they called and said they had it, so I was able to get that fixed. I also passed my emissions test and applied my new registration sticker to the license. And everything seems to be working fine because I made it safely to Richmond.

Of course now that I have my own 2000 car back I'm missing the power windows that actually work on all four windows, the air vent that doesn't constantly flip up and can actually point where I direct it, and the cd player of that 2007 rental car...

Who knows what tonight is???

It's the season premier of The Office! Yessss.

I expected this, but it's still annoying.

I haven't mentioned it lately, so you might not realize that I still don't have my car back after my accident a month ago. Every day the new expected date of completion changes. The original estimate was for September 12. Then they called and said it might be ready late on Friday the 14th, or on Monday the 17th. That Monday afternoon I called and they said maybe Thursday the 20th. Friday the 21st I called and they said today, the 24th. Today I called and now they say it should be ready tomorrow. I won't believe it until I see it.

Weekend Review

Friday: Read all morning in bed, ate, read some more, finally got showered and dressed, drove to Foster's Market in Chapel Hill to eat a scone and read more, drove back to Raleigh to read more. This sounds like a lot of reading, and it was, but I'm pretty sure I did some puttering in there, too, and at the end of the day did not feel like I'd done enough.

Saturday: Got up and met Tess and Elizabeth to head to the NC State vs. Clemson football game. Sat in traffic on Hillsborough for almost an hour and then realized one of the other girls didn't have her ID to get into the game (which, thinking back, I don't think they ever checked anyway...), so drove back to her place and got it, then took a different route back to the stadium and quickly got in. Started counting how many times Elizabeth was jeered at for wearing orange and purple. Watched State lose from close seats in the end zone. Melted into a boiling puddle of sweat. Left during fourth quarter tired and hungry. Grabbed a sandwich on the way home and took a shower. Tried to read but took a nap instead. Started reading again around 8pm. Stopped reading to meet Tess for ice cream at 9:30. Read more from 11 until 3am.

Sunday: Slept in and went to late church service. Went downtown to hear some opera singers and symphony players, but only heard two opera songs before the symphony members left and didn't like the opera ladies when they switched to show tunes, so left. Happened to drive by a coffee shop downtown and stopped, which turned out to be my new favorite place. Read until they closed at 5. Home to read more, then eat and watch tv. Talked to parents and puttered on internet, now ready to read more.

more on that movie, because apparently I'm obsessed

So I decided to make use of the internet and actually look up that movie Kevin Costner is filming (with my dad!) and it's called Swing Vote. And then I looked at the cast list, which includes Nathan Lane (Ryan saw him at the hotel a few weeks ago), Kelsey Grammer, Deniss Hopper, Stanley Tucci, and George Lopez. And if you keep scrolling down the list you come to... Joe Gallegos, who plays a reporter. I know Joe! In real life! We were friends in junior high (and lots of kids wanted us to be more than friends, but that didn't happen even after he gave me flowers for my birthday) and kept in touch through mutual friends in high school and a little in college. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago in Santa Fe- he met a friend and me downtown for drinks. Anyway, just another way I'm connected to this movie and Kevin Costner!

update on The Extra

I talked to my dad this morning about his experience with Kevin Costner. Get this- my dad stayed there while they filmed until almost four in the morning! Crazy Dad. But, he's totally going to be in the movie, if you know to look for him. I don't actually know the name of the movie, but next year before the election look out for a Kevin Costner movie about a presidential election that is so close it all depends on one voter, in Texico, New Mexico. And in some scene you will see Costner and his movie daughter or granddaughter or something, and in the background my dad will walk by! That's right- they pulled him from the crowd and had him walk by as they shot a scene seven times. He'll be the guy with a white beard and wearing a leather jacket.

extra!

Kevin Costner is in Santa Fe right now. My brother Ryan always keeps me updated on these things when he sees celebrities. The extra part of the story is that Costner (and some others I don't remember) are filming a movie now that requires a presidential debate scene with a big crowd, so they've woo-ed a crowd to the rodeo grounds with a free concert of Costner and his guitar and free raffle prizes. And apparently my dad has gone over to sit in the crowd and listen to music and be an extra in a movie.

He's always doing stuff like that. Not trying to be an extra, but trying to see movies being filmed. Years ago he took me downtown to stand in the street and watch Woody Harrelson film a dancing scene for some movie I don't remember and never saw. Dad and I also tried to catch some filming of Rent on the plaza once, but we were too late. When Jessica Simpson filmed Employee of the Month at the park across from our neighborhood dad and Ryan went to check it out, and were told by security to leave. My dad also keeps me updated on all the movies being filmed around New Mexico. The latest news was that the old state capitol building right next to the building where he works downtown was recently transformed into the White House for one day of shooting.

Clearly, that stuff is exciting for my father, and I bet he's having a great time tonight.

Looking North

I've been thinking about moving to New England. Ok, that's not really true. But I've definitely been thinking about how I've never been there but I bet I would love it and maybe when I'm finally done with school in three more years I'll go up there. I hear it gets pretty cold, but I think I can handle it. I used to want to go into the Peace Corps and I was eyeing those cold Eurasian countries. Ok I'll be honest, I mostly preferred those places because I'm afraid of bugs and snakes and heat with no air conditioning.

Anyway, here's what my past four years looked like:
-A semester of school in Tacoma
-A semester of school in London followed by a month of travelling around Europe
-My final semester of school in Tacoma, then a few months working and hanging out
-A year in Richmond at two different jobs
-A year of grad school in Raleigh
-A summer in Richmond
-and back to Raleigh.

As you can see, I move around a lot. In fact, in about a month I will have had my current apartment longer than I've lived in any one place since I graduated from high school and left Santa Fe. (Sort of. In some ways my grandparents' house in Richmond wins because I still go there all the time and always have my same room to live in. But you get the idea.)

So I guess I'm just getting antsy. Alas, I still have quite a while to go in North Carolina.

Welcome to my living room.

This is my living room. I got my first plant to put on top of the new bookshelf that I put together myself, so I thought I would share them with you all. If you come visit I'll make tea and we can sit and chat.

Weekend Review

Friday: Slept until 11, finally read a chapter, went to school for a meeting about my thesis, looked at a couple of books at the library, went to an HGSA meeting at Mitch's for two hours (ugh), came home and wasted lots of time, finally read one more chapter (I think?).

Saturday: Slept until 9, read, went for a run (finally- it's been over two weeks), read more, made biscuits for dinner, went to The Nanny Diaries with Elizabeth, came home to read more.

Sunday: Couldn't wake up in time for the early church service (early being 9:30) so slept more and read, then went to later service (11:30). Home to read and grade papers for the rest of the day, including some more I'm about to go do.

Sometimes when you follow the rules you end up in old lady shorts.

The summer of 1999, between my sophomore and junior years of high school, I spent eight weeks at a music camp in Michigan playing the piano and cello. The camp was hard core, and I was grateful I was a piano major and didn't have to deal with the crazy competitiveness that band and orchestra kids had to deal with because of chair placements. But that's a different story.

This camp has a strict uniform code that hasn't changed much since it started in 1928. Concert wear for girls includes navy corduroy knickers, knee-high light blue socks, and a light blue collared shirt (or white on Sundays) tucked in. Plus a red sweater. In the summer. When not performing, girls are allowed to wear navy shorts, and the light blue socks do not necessarily have to be knee high. But the shirt must always be tucked in.

Going to this camp was a big deal for me. I thought about it for several years and worked hard to raise the necessary funds. I was so nervous about sending my audition tape and application that I later wrote about the application process for my college admissions essay. After I found out I was accepted (and even before, I'm sure) I pored over the literature they sent in the mail about camp life and what to pack.

I knew all about the uniform. Knickers and buttoned-up shirts were loaned by the camp (that's right, those things soaked up many a camper's sweat year after year), and you purchase-ordered your blue socks ahead of time. If you wanted shorts or light blue polo shirts you were on your own. But there were still rules.

According to multiple instructions, a girl's navy (and not denim) shorts were not to be shorter than the length of her fingertips. In fact, they called them "walking shorts." Now, if you girls would please stand up and notice how low your fingertips fall, and think back to high school and the days before hip long shorts, I think you will understand where this is going. Long shorts were not cool. But at camp, apparently they were the rule. I had to shop for a very long time before I could find long enough navy shorts that didn't have pleats and a high waist. The pairs I finally settled on were still extremely embarrassing. "It shouldn't be too bad," I convinced myself, "because all the other girls will have long shorts, too. Right?"

Wrong.

I arrived at camp with at least three pairs of long and unflattering shorts. I followed the rules. And I never saw a single other high school girl with long shorts like mine. Somehow they all knew they didn't need to worry about that rule. Or they simply chose fashion over obedience.

I was not a happy camper. And I sure sported those knickers proudly.

woohoo!

Guess who has been classified as a North Carolina resident for tuition purposes? ME!!! That's right. Not only does my address, driver's license, vehicle plates and registration, voter registration, and state tax payments classify me as a resident, but my school does, too. Whew.

the game is called "awesome shirts we should buy Andi"

Check out what Val and Nic have come up with so far:

link

really great weekend

Friday: Slept in after getting home late Thursday night. Read one measly chapter, then went to the store to find zucchini. The first store didn't have it, so I tried another. With zucchini and lots of cheese in tow, went home to make delicious zucchini squares. Immediately cut my thumb on a cheese grater, but wrapped it up in a paper towel to cover the blood and kept working. Also sliced cheese and frantically got myself ready, then left with zucchini squares and cheese for the graduate student and faculty reception at Oakview. Mingled and chatted away. Talked with a professor about Texas and the Oregon Trail while everyone else cleaned up. Went out with a group for (more) drinks afterwards.

Saturday: Up early to pack up my dirty laundry and hit the road for Richmond. Arrived in time for Mexican Saturday lunch. Took a nap. Went to the store to look for zucchini. The first store didn't have it. Recognize this?! Found it at a different store. Learned Ukrops doesn't sell beer, and sort of felt stupid for not knowing that already. Came home to make zucchini squares, but had happy hour with the grandparents instead. Started making zucchini squares, and used a food processor instead of slicing my thumb again. Frantically got myself ready and left with zucchini squares-turned-triangles and beer for the James and Jennifer Send-off. Chatted with lots of friends.

Sunday: Read another measly chapter in bed, then showered and ate delicious lunch with family. Read some more with tea and coffee while everyone else napped. Went to church and got teary-eyed over my real Murphys see-you-later. Home to watch some opera with Grandma and read. Scrounged up some dinner, and now about to read more.

"I think this one's a keeper."

On our never-ending quest to find decent Mexican food around here, the grandparents and I once again tried a new place today for Mexican Saturday. I learned from a recent survey about a couple of new places that are supposedly good. Then I read a review and decided we should try Cielito Lindo. Grandpa had the tilapia, I had good carne asada tacos, and Grandma and I both had margaritas. The place wasn't too far, was cute, and the waiter was friendly and put up with us very nicely (except for the part when Grandpa mentioned I'm from New Mexico and the waiter said "that's near Arizona, right?" Ugh. "Yes," I replied, "but it's much better than Arizona.")

It's still not what I'd like, but that's because New Mexico has spoiled me. Unlike many of the places we visit in Richmond, however, this is one we'll gladly visit again.

Finally.

Tonight I finally went to my first show down here in North Carolina. Well, not counting a few cover bands. Ever since I left Tacoma/Seattle I've really missed going to concerts. Tonight my friend Elizabeth and I went to Chapel Hill to see The Mountain Goats (but really it was just John Darnielle). It was great. I had forgotten about how I listened to a Mountain Goats cd on repeat as I packed up my apartment in Tacoma to move away. One of the lines is "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me." I was prepared to use that as my theme song in my future home of Richmond, but luckily I didn't have to. Of course now with busy and hard school plus a thesis to write, I might have to reinstate it...

back to school: weekend of homework

Friday: Slept in, spent many hours working on my application for in-state tuition, ran errands, home to eat and read well into the night.

Saturday: Read and did homework, ate lunch, drove around looking for an open coffee shop with big enough table, finally found one and spent four hours working on my thesis, home for a crossword puzzle in front of the tv and a little more reading.

Sunday: Read, went to church, home for lunch, read, took three hour nap, ran errands, read.

In case I ever need to leave breadcrumbs...

I just went to the freezer to get down some pita bread (I freeze my pita and bread, since I can't eat it fast enough) for my hummus. I was pretty sure I had seen some earlier this week, which is why I bothered buying the hummus. Turns out I was wrong. Instead of a package of pita I found five almost-empty packages of bread with nothing but the heels. FIVE. I don't like to eat them, and I guess I feel bad for throwing them away so I tell myself I'll feed them to the ducks at the lake. I've never gone and fed them to the ducks. For now I think I'll just put them back in the freezer.

Gracias Profesor(a?)

I am overwhelmingly grateful for how patient and kind my Spanish professor is. Seriously, she deserves a medal or something. You see, I am in a Spanish class with several other graduate students who need to pass the same language comprehension exam in order to get our MAs. We're mostly American history and English students, so this language thing is a big pain in our you-know-whats. Luckily, the course is designed especially for us. All we have to do is translate written Spanish into English. "Como estas?" conversations or written assignments that read like a children's book ("el gato es negro y blanco...") are not our concern. Plus, the course is pass/fail or audit only, so we don't even have to hand in assignments.

But what we do have to do is go around in a circle and translate, and it can be tedious. I mean, we're in the class because we don't really know Spanish and we want to learn it in one semester (ha!), and we don't even really want to learn it but we want to graduate. So we go around reading the Spanish text aloud in English, but the professor must correct every other word we say (it seems) and sometimes we just stare at her blankly. I imagine we must be incredibly disappointing. And yet, she is always smiling and understanding. I don't know how she stands it, but I sure am thankful that she does.

Gotcha!

In case you don't know, I'm a little paranoid about bugs. I hate them. I'm scared of them, I have a special bug dance for when they're around, and I want them dead. Not put outside, dead.

Now, I'm not an idiot. If I can get someone else (Grandpa, my mom, a boy, etc.) to kill a bug for me, I will. But sometimes those people aren't around, and that's when I put my brave and determined face on. It's also important to be armed with a flip flop.

Last night there was a spider cricket in my bathroom. A big one. I got my sandal, crouched as close as I dared, and aimed. Unfortunately I missed, and the thing hopped to safety under the sink where I couldn't see it. "I'll get you in the morning," I said, and closed the bathroom door.

This morning I opened the bathroom door cautiously, and there he was, back in his original position. I got my sandal, crouched a little closer, and aimed. I was 0 for 2. He jumped back to his hiding position. "I'll get you when I get home tonight," I said, and closed the bathroom door again.

This evening I opened the bathroom door cautiously, but he was still hiding. Or, you might say, prolonging the inevitable. I simply had to wait.

Five minutes ago he was back. And I was ready. Third time's a charm.

Junior High Style

Today I signed up for a locker at the library. Only graduate students get them, so that's pretty exciting. Actually, I think this makes me a complete nerd. But hey, I don't want to carry heavy books around campus all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays (when I have three classes, plus extra homework to do in between), and I don't want to spend all my time walking to my car (or rental car, sniff) in the parking deck. Unfortunately my locker is the bottom one, and it's small, so you practically have to lay down on the floor to get into it.

I haven't had a locker since junior high. It was orange. No wait, I had a blue locker my freshman year of high school for PE. I was always a little disappointed in the no locker situation in high school, after growing up with Saved by the Bell. Maybe I'm secretly trying to make up for that now. Unfortunately the tiny locker on the floor buried in the stacks of the university library probably isn't going to cut it.

Weekend Review

Friday: Talked on the phone a lot about my car, moped around, took a long nap, and finally did some reading late at night.

Saturday: Walked to the car rental place, ran some errands, read, took a short nap, went to Neomonde for dinner with the girls, drank wine and watched The Office at Jenny's, and went out on Glenwood for drinks and dancing.

Sunday: Slept in, went to church, puttered around, ate a late lunch, read, took a nap, and read more.

Are you kidding me?!

This morning after dealing with car insurance and car rentals and car fixers, I finally decided I should eat something. So I went to the fridge to get some yogurt, and the light in the fridge was out. Then I opened the freezer and noticed that the ice is melting. So now I have the maintenance guy coming to fix my fridge. I'm just grateful I'm a renter and I don't have to pay for this.

*Whew, don't worry, the guy came and fixed the electrical outlet (I guess that was the problem?) and the fridge is up and running again. Now I have to go catch it. Haha, get it? My fridge is running...

Here, let me tell you about my day.

First, I woke up before the sun. Why? you ask. Because on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a class at 8:30 in the morning, and I gave myself 45 minutes to drive to school and walk across campus. I haven't had a class this early since high school.

Next, I drove to Chapel Hill to buy a book at Borders. Why? you ask. Because my professor submitted the wrong book list and I bought a bunch of the wrong books through Amazon, and one of the books that was not on the list is a book he wants read by next Wednesday, but is not in the bookstore yet, and Borders in Chapel Hill is all I could come up with that had it in stock.

After that I went to my favorite place in Chapel Hill to get a scone and chai and read my women's history book, but then I discovered I bought (again, through Amazon) the third edition when my professor wants the fourth edition, and while that might not matter for some books it definitely matters for this book because I was missing most of the assigned articles.

At three I went to my TA class, which is Early American History. That went fine.

Since we got out early I had time to go to the bookstore on campus and purchase the correct women's history book.

I then had to walk across campus again, through the stifling and sticky North Carolina heat, to my Spanish class. It started fine, but by the end I was tired and she was talking about Spanish grammar and I was thinking to myself "Where am I? How did I end up in this place talking about Spanish grammar? It's like high school again."

When this class finally ended just before 6pm I walked back across campus to my car, thankful that the day was over and I could go home to cool off and eat dinner.

But then.

Then I got in a car accident. And my car was towed away, and I had to call a friend to come pick me up off the side of the road. No joke. I'm fine. I don't know about the car yet.

My friend (Tess) took me to her apartment, since we were all planning to go there and watch The Office later anyway, and she made me dinner and gave me aspirin for my headache, and was a very good friend for picking me up off the side of the road and being so nice about it. She even stood on the super hot sidewalk with me for a long time, where we both got mosquito bites.

After hanging out and watching TV another friend drove me back home, since I don't have a car to drive anymore, and now I am ready for a shower and to fall into bed.

p.s. Let me add that the day really didn't seem so bad while it was happening. Even the accident was fine- I didn't freak out or cry or get upset or anything. Life happens I guess. It's only now, going back through my day, that I realize it was what some might label "a no good very bad day."

whoah

I just realized I haven't had caffeine all day. I don't think that's happened in a very long time.

my personal parade

Last year at the beginning of the school year I was in the parking deck walking to my car when I heard the pep band march by, and I got kind of excited about the idea that I was going to a school with a pep band that walked around campus. Then I never heard the pep band again and I got kind of sad about that. But today they were back! In fact, I had just driven out of the parking deck and was sitting at a stop sign when the whole band decided to dance right by me on the crosswalk. It was like my own personal parade, and it made me smile.

Toods Virginia, Hello North Carolina

Alas, the summer ended and it's back to school for me. I spent the whole weekend hanging out with the grandparents and Uncle Richard, playing Rook and eating like it was going out of style. Sunday I finally packed up and left Richmond after a concert with Grandpa (plus more snacking at home). I arrived in Raleigh around 9:30, unpacked the car, and decided to go ahead and unpack everything in the apartment as well instead of dragging the whole process out over three weeks. Since I was on a late-night roll getting the apartment back in order I also decided to put together my new bookshelf, which turned out excellently. I'll post pictures later when it has books and I've rearranged the pictures on the wall.

Today I had lunch with incoming students, went to a TA meeting, and had another meeting for the history grad student association. Then I had to buy groceries for my empty fridge. Now I'm about to head over to a friends house for movies and pizza.

Let me say this: Lots of the other returning students seemed full of doom and gloom today with the start of a new semester, but so far I'm excited. Sure, I'm sad the summer is over, too, but I can't do anything about that and as long as I'm here I plan on having a good time. (Of course I may be singing a new tune in a few weeks when assignments are due...)

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

I forgot to tell you that my brother Ryan went to the state championship last weekend for his shooting stuff and he won two trophies. Or maybe it was three. But the real excitement is he is the New Mexico Junior Champion! So congrats to him.

More news from New Mexico is that my mom had surgery a little over a week ago on her arm, and in case you don't know she can only use one of her arms and that's the one that was chopped on, so it's kind of a big deal. But she's doing well and she thinks she might even go back to work a little this week, so that's good. This was really the summer of surgery. Remember Grandma and Grandpa? (who are both doing very well!) Well my other grandmother also had surgery on her hand, and Uncle Richard had surgery, too, or at least he was in the hospital for a while. Sheesh.

My grandparents got a new fancy bed last week so they can each adjust their own sides of the bed, and when I was away working on my thesis at a coffee shop they snuck into my room and took my lovely brass bed away and gave me their bed. I was a little bit sad about this, because I don't like change, but really the bed I have now is bigger and very nice. They've had it for years and years. Also, Grandma let me pick out a brand new comforter for it, which was nice. Then she told me I have to come back and get another internship next summer now that she's gone and bought me a new comforter for the room I'm currently moving out of.

Actually, the moving isn't "current" quite yet. People keep asking me if I'm packed yet and when they first asked that I thought "Pack? I didn't even remember I would have to do that!" But it's true, I need to start bagging and boxing up the room so I can stuff it all in my car and move back to Raleigh tomorrow. In the meantime though, I'm going to go take a nap.

If I think it's delicious, it must be. Right?

I realized today that one of the reasons I don't like to cook very often is that I'm always nervous and self-conscious about how others will like my food. I mean, I'll pretty much eat anything, but it turns out lots of other people aren't the same way. I suppose if I'm trying something new for the first time or just making it up as I go I have a pretty good attitude about the whole thing, as some potluck people can attest to when I show up and say "Here ya go, not sure how this will be but I'm cool with it if you are." Instead, the times I'm most nervous are when I'm making something that I love, which probably means making something my mom makes and I've grown up with.

Once in college I made my mom's delicious pizza (with homemade crust and everything!) and put all the usual toppings on it, but the two friends I had over for dinner began picking toppings off their sections of the pie before I even got it in the oven. "Whoah whoah whoah," I said shaking my head in disbelief. "What are you doing? When you eat Andi's pizza, you eat Andi's pizza!"

They say one of the steps of child development is being able to empathize with others and take their thoughts and feelings into account. At least I think that's what "they" say, but I'm no psychologist. Anyway, I think I must not have fully developed in that area when it comes to other people not liking some of the foods I love.

"You don't like Indian? Is that even possible? It's my favorite!"

or

"You don't like sweet potatoes? Are you even American?"

or today's example,

"You don't like my mom's tuna salad? But it has avocado and tomato and egg and sprouts and you eat it in a pita! How can you not like that? It's the best tuna salad there is!"

Sadly, today Grandpa did not enjoy the tuna salad sandwiches I made the way that he should have. Some people, it turns out, just don't know what's good.

There's a reason I will never watch The Birds.

Remember the bird that had the nest in our garage? Well she's been back for a while, and that means I spend as little time in the garage as possible. The bird, you see, is mean. She's a mean bird. She flies around and yells at you. She says "stay away from my nest and eggs," and I yell back "stay away from my garage you mean bird!"

Lately we thought maybe she was gone, since no one had seen her for a few days and there don't seem to be babies in the nest. I was hoping she was gone today when I went out to the garage fridge for a Coke. I peeked in the door and looked in, guarding my eyes with my hands against the possibility of a beak assault. Instead of seeing her, however, I saw a hummingbird. Ugh. Maybe you think they're cute, but hummingbird shmummingbird, why can't they just stay away? I opened the big garage door in hopes the hummingbird would fly out, and when it seemed to just sit still by the fluorescent light (which I turned off, also in hopes it would fly away) I decided to brave the garage anyway and grab my soda. Of course right when I entered was the moment the mean bird came flying out! Agghh! The place has gone to the birds.

Weekend Review

Friday: Went for a run, ate lunch with the grandparents, took a long nap, went to a movie, and puttered around for the rest of the night.

Saturday: Read, went for a run, drove all over town and finally ate dim sum with the grandparents, took a long nap, happy hour with the grandparents, and did some thesis research.

Sunday: Chatted with Allison, did some thesis research, ate lunch with the grandparents, walked through the Watermelon Festival and then all over the Museum District, went to church, ate with church peeps at Joe's Inn, and more puttering.

morning announcement

This morning I went downstairs to scrounge up some breakfast. I'd decided on eggs in a frame, and it was as I was flippin' my frame on the stove that Grandpa came in with an announcement.

"This afternoon we have an appointment at 4:10."

"An appointment?" I replied, "what kind of an 'appointment?'"

"We're going to see The Bourne Ultimatum. Grandma and I haven't been to the movies since we moved here."

And sure enough, at 4:10 the three of us went to The Bourne Ultimatum.

As we walked in Grandpa asked if we wanted popcorn. Grandma said she didn't want it right then, but maybe she'd want it later.

"What do you mean you'll want it later?" I asked.

"You know, maybe in the middle we'll come get popcorn."

"Uh uh," I said. "You don't leave a movie in the middle for popcorn. You'll miss the movie! It's now or never."

So Grandpa got the popcorn (and drinks).

After the six previews were finally over Grandpa said (a little too loudly) "It's about time." He also leaned over during the film to *whisper* "I wish they'd learn to keep the darned camera still," and after the movie ended he declared (again, a little too loudly) "Well, that was a lousy movie."

So maybe The Bourne Ultimatum wasn't their style (even though they'd seen one or two of the other ones), but we all had a good time. We also left the theater with popcorn crumbs on every one of our shirts, though mine, of course, had the least.

Time flies when you're having fun.

The summer is coming to an end, and yesterday was the last day of my ten week internship. In addition to the lunch and gift I got on Monday, the rest of the archives staff threw an ice cream social for me yesterday. They also gave me a very nice card complete with bug stickers on the envelope. Apparently I made a reputation for myself for hating bugs. And to top the party off, they gave me a framed collage of the Virginia governor whose papers I worked on all summer. The whole thing was very nice and exciting.

Yesterday morning I finished my section of the collection, so for the rest of the day I got to go through an older collection of letters from the late 19th to early 20th century. It was fun to work with a different sort of collection (mine was from the 1970s-80s), even if only for a few hours.

The people at my internship were really good about showing me around and letting me get a feel for different kinds of archival work. Overall I had a great time there. They kept making jokes at my ice cream party about how I must be glad to finally be getting out of there, and I kept having to say "You don't understand! I really do like it here! I go home and tell people the exciting stuff I get to do!"

So I'm going to miss it. And now I have to enter the uncomfortable transition period between work in Richmond and school in Raleigh...

It's a dirty job, and you have to stay organized.

A few weeks ago my uncle was helping my cousin work on his truck, and somewhere along the way he cut his hand. "Now I'm a real mechanic again!" he said. That was when my cousin held up his scarred hand and said "Look at this- I'm a plumber and I get cut all the time." Then I jumped in. "I'm an archivist, and I can get a mean paper cut."

No my friends, the world of archives is not as quaint and bookish as you might imagine. Take today, for example. An eighteen-wheeler dropped off two palates piled high with old boxes and filing cabinets full of papers, and I helped to rebox and move them on the hot loading dock. Well, we started to rebox and move them until we noticed bugs, and not dead bugs but moving live bugs. And I got red rot all over my clothes, which I had to blot out with tape in hopes it won't stain. So that was pretty exciting.

Today was also my last day working with the woman who has led my project all summer. As a treat she took me to lunch to celebrate. She also presented me with a cute gift bag. She noticed that I went through a ton of post-it notes this summer, because they help me stay organized. Apparently not everyone uses as many post-it notes as I do, and she was amused. As the supportive person that she is, she wanted to help me out with future archival projects and with my thesis work, so she gave me quite the assortment of brand new post-its. She thought she was being funny but I'm already planning how I will put these babies to use.

weekend review

Friday: Up early to take my car to the shop, then back home for Grandma's delicious scones. Went for a run, then had grilled tuna steaks for lunch. We also had sliced avocado so between the scones, tuna, and avocado I had three of my favorite foods before noon (we ate early). Went to the eye doctor to get a new prescription for my blind eyes and ran a few other errands, including getting a new bookshelf for my apartment. Looked at terrariums at First Friday with Sam and got a delicious beer afterwards (that makes four of my favorite foods in one day! Oh, and I ate pistachios, so that makes FIVE!)

Saturday: Went for a run, then out to a new Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was better than some, but still not quite what we're looking for. Drove to Raleigh and checked on my apartment (no leaks or bug problems!), then went to a cookout at Ryan and Erin's house. Didn't win the limbo competition, dance competition, or raffled door prizes.

Sunday: Slept in some, then drove back to Richmond. Went to a really great chamber music concert with Grandpa. Home to work on the crossword and take a nap on the couch. Now a little puttering before bed.

I guess I won't be taking us to the beach.

Today Grandma gave me a small flier with details on how to go online and find out if she won a sweepstakes. The prize is $25,000 a year for life. I won't tell you the details because everyone knows that sharing info on large prizes with friends means lessening your own chance of winning, and apparently I'm not that nice. Anyway, being the smart Grandma that my Grandma is, she decided it would be better to enter the contest under my name so the "for life" part will last a little longer (barring any horrible unforeseen circumstances, of course). We started to plan out how we would split the prize, since she got the flier but it is under my name. Grandpa said I could have it all as long as I took them to the beach every year, but I said maybe I should just get $5,000 a year and they can keep the rest. I think we all agreed that was a good plan.

Alas.

I still have a few days to keep trying for a $10,000 award and daily prizes, but we did not win $25,000 for life. Looks like we'll have to find some other way to get to the beach.

stamped: return to sender

I'm a disaster.

As you probably already know, my apartment is in Raleigh. I, however, am in Richmond, and have been in Richmond all summer. But you know what goes to apartments? Mail. I mean, mail goes lots of places, but my mail happens to go to my apartment. My mail is usually not very exciting. Forests of trees-turned-fliers-and-coupons generally fill my box, but a few important things come, too.

Now, ordinarilly when someone leaves her apartment for the summer she makes sure to deal with the mail situation. Maybe she has her mail forwarded, or has the post office hold it. Maybe she even has a friend check her mail every once in a while.

But me? I didn't do any of the above. I thought I would be going down there a lot more often during the summer and I could just empty the box every once in a while. Then unforeseen things happened around here and I didn't get away much. Yet even when that turned out to be the case, I still neglected to deal with the mail situation. I pretended that my teeny tiny mail box grew to the size of a locker in my absence and continues to be a happy receptacle for my mail.

The truth, however, is that after the box became crammed full the post office was nice enough to hold my mail for thirty days, and after thirty days was up (at least a month ago) they began to return my mail. It's all gone. A friend checked yesterday and all that's left is a dang flier.

Ugh.

weekend trip north

This weekend I went with my friend Tess to Washington, DC and the Northern Virginia area. It was great fun. We stayed with my (great) Uncle Richard in Leesburg. He recently moved into the penthouse of a big fancy condo in a big fancy condo complex for 55+ers. It's okay to laugh when you hear that the place is called Leisure World.

Friday we saw the changing of the guards at Arlington Cemetery, visited the National Portrait Gallery, ate lunch at the Chinese place in Chinatown with the guy making noodles, and visited the National Museum of African Art. Then Uncle Richard took us to dinner at Clyde's in Leesburg.

Leesburg, it turns out, is closer to West Virginia than it is to DC. So Saturday we drove to Harpers Ferry. I really liked it there. There was history (+1) and mountains (+1) and wineries to visit on the way back (+1). Saturday night we went to Adams Morgan in DC, which is a strip with tons of fun bars and restaurants. I think Uncle Richard didn't know what to do with two twenty-four-year-old girls at Leisure World running around at 9pm trying to get ready for a night on the town.

Sunday we slept in and then went to brunch with Uncle Richard at an old bank. Then Tess and I went to Georgetown to walk around and shop before hitting the road again for Richmond. I also introduced Tess to the world of Ikea on the way home.

Overall it was a pretty excellent weekend. We saw museums and sights in DC, mountains and history in West Virginia, a beautiful winery, and DC nightlife and shopping. And seriously, how could a weekend that involved taking this picture not be awesome?

tagged: 8 habits or facts

1. I still drink Carnation Instant Breakfast most mornings for breakfast. In fact, I'm running out...

2. If I write in a book that I'm reading for school (and those are the only sorts of books I write in) I do it in pencil because I think it keeps the page a little cleaner looking and also because I am always self-conscious about what other people will think about what I've underlined if I ever sell the book or lend it to someone, and I imagine that I can always just erase everything, though to this day I have never actually gone through and erased any of the pencil markings.

3. I make my bed every day, even when I live alone in my Raleigh apartment. Every day. Mostly this is habit, because my Dad always forced us to as kids and because my grandparents will give me a hard time if I don't, but I also feel like it makes the bed seem more fresh when I get back in at night, even if I haven't washed the sheets in two months.

4. When eating M&Ms or Skittles I like to have an even amount of colors in my hand, so I will eat the extras until they're even, and then eat those evenly, usually three at a time.

5. Since I have been getting up early every morning to take Danny on a walk (so he'll poop somewhere other than the yard) and to water, I have been in the habit of cheerfully telling myself once I'm out of bed to "Greet the Day!" And sure enough, it helps cheer the morning up. Coffee helps, too.

6. My love of crossword puzzles has put my grandparents into the habit of always leaving the Flair section of the newspaper (aka "Andi's section") out in the living room for me, even when they've already thrown the rest of the paper out. Also, when I am in Raleigh for school but they know I am driving up to visit for the weekend they save me the crossword, and that makes me happy.

7. When I go to Taco Bell, which I mostly do in Santa Fe but occasionally do in Raleigh, I usually get a bean burrito and a soft taco supreme.

8. My face often has a habit of giving away whatever I'm thinking without my noticing. This usually simply amuses people, because I have been known to make some funny faces unconsciously.

At least the running warmed me up.

Those of you in the area already know that today was unseasonably not as warm as usual. And a few posts ago I told you that they keep the building freezing at my internship, so I use a lunch-time walk in the heat to warm up. But without heat today, I stayed cold outside even though it's July and I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. In fact, I looked down while eating my sandwich and noticed that my fingers were white and my nails were purple with cold-ness.

As I continued to walk down the nice tree lined street in the Fan and contemplate my freezing fingers, a whooshing flurry flew precariously close to my head. "Goodness!" I thought, "that bird scared me." And then the bird scolded me and I looked up in a tree to see its beady little bird eyes staring directly at me. Before I could even comprehend the creepiness of the ogling bird it took off from the branch and headed straight for my head. I jumped and hurried off down the sidewalk, but the whooshing bird came at my head again. No joke, the bird was stalking me. I had visions of bird poop in my hair and my eyes being pecked out, and when the bird kept flying from tree to tree and aiming at my head I freaked out and ran down the street to get away. Seriously. I ran. With my open Coke.