I RAN OVER EIGHT MILES!!!

Today I ran around the lake twice. Then I stopped to stretch and thought, "hey, I'm feelin' pretty good." So I ran around again. That was over six miles, and more than I had ever done before. Then I thought, "hey, I'm not doin' too bad." So I ran around again. Jennifer was right about running becoming addicting. I love it. In fact, today I realized I was smiling as I ran. As you know, I'm not really known for smiling a lot. To think that running was making me so happy (combined with the blue sky, my music, and the turtles that are back) I couldn't help but have a silly grin on my face as I huffed and puffed my way around the lake! It was great. Of course now I can barely move my legs and I have blisters on my feet, but still. Eight (plus) miles!

Weekend: fun but unproductive

Friday: Graded papers, ran over four and a half miles while listening to favorite new tunes under a beautiful blue sky, went to help set up for a conference, bought a cd with my Valentine's gift card and a book of U.S. Presidents stickers as a gift, read for my TA class, went out to sushi dinner with Elizabeth and Tess for Elizabeth's birthday (she loved the stickers), went for Ben and Jerry's ice cream for dessert, came home and read more in bed.

Saturday: Got up at 6 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING to get down to the Graduate Student History Conference by 7:30, helped tie string to balloons, ate a bagel with cream cheese and drank coffee, listened to presented papers, ate a quarter of a muffin and drank more coffee, listened to more papers, ate delicious boxed lunch from the Lebanese restaurant, drank a Coke, sat at the registration table but read for my TA class since hardly anyone new came in, ate a big cookie and drank more coffee, skipped the last session to go outside and read on a bench, ate cheese and veggies at the reception, went home to take a nap, ate a little dinner, went with Elizabeth and Tess to Chapel Hill for free drinks and dancing thanks to Tess's bartender boyfriend, drank a little too much and enjoyed sleepover giggling until 4 in the morning, went to bed at the bartender boyfriend's mom's house.

Sunday: Slept in until 11:30 and then watched My Fair Lady, drove back to Raleigh to grade papers and watch the Oscars, planned for TA discussion, off to bed.

Oh Oprah

Ryan helped Oprah Winfrey with her luggage. Oprah Winfrey. She has her dogs with her. Today she's headed up to Taos to hang out at Julia Roberts' ranch. Look at me- I have the inside scoop on Oprah! He's going to call me back when he sees her again. Then he's going to get the both of us invited out to Chicago to become her adopted heirs. Or wherever it is she actually lives.

Speaking of which, many years ago the National Enquirer ran a story on all of Oprah's houses. She had one in Tesuque. Or at least her manager did or something. Anyway, the NE photographer didn't drive up the road far enough, and instead took a picture of my aunt's house. You could see the barbecue out in front of the garage and everything.

Update: We were a little off on the Taos trip. She had already been up there to visit Julia. Now she's headed toward California and the Oscars. Even more exciting, Ryan saw her some more. In fact, he accidentally barged into a room and found her with her entourage having her hair and makeup done. He was told to get something out of a hotel room that was supposed to be empty, but they forgot to tell him they'd moved Ms. Winfrey in. He had to apologize profusely and the manager had to explain the mistake to her people. Because you can't just barge into Oprah's room like that. She's Oprah.

Why go to the gym when you can take a trip to the library?

And I'm not even talking about exercising your brain.

Today at school I hiked up ten flights of stairs to the very top of the library. I picked up two books, then went back down the stairs to the fourth floor, where I picked up another book. On the third floor I grabbed two more, and at the check out desk I added another three huge volumes I got through inter-library loan. I then strapped the mini-library to my back, trekked across campus, and climbed another four flights of steps to my car in the parking garage.


Later I might use some of these books I picked up to do bicep curls.

I love it when literature and history meet song and dance.

When I was in high school, maybe my freshman or sophomore year, I read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath for fun. I loved it. It was so inspiring, in fact, that I dreamed of one day adapting the novel to a musical. I love musicals. Some of you may be thinking that was a ridiculous idea, but I was serious. I didn't want it to be a Guys and Dolls sort of musical, but more like Titanic the musical (which has nothing to do with Leo, Kate, or Celine, by the way) or Martin Guerre. I imagined songs of joy, songs of sorrow and hardship, songs of love, and songs of determined resolution. And for sure there would have to be at least one song where only two or three men sing, because I absolutely love those, like "The Blame" from Titanic or "Confrontation" from Les Miserables. It was going to be great.

Well apparently I wasn't the only one who thought The Grapes of Wrath had musical potential. It has been made into an opera, and the Minnesota Opera is currently performing its world debut in Minneapolis.

This weekend the cast was on A Prairie Home Companion and sang two of the pieces. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed. I think the style of the songs was close to musical-like, which I enjoyed, but the high shrilly opera voices sort of ruined it for me. And I'm not even trying to be anti-opera, because I just spent three days listening to The Marriage of Figaro on repeat.

In other news from Andi's musical world, two nights ago I had a dream that I was watching a student performance of 1776 the Musical, but there was a song I'd never heard sung by a stage full of females. "What?!" I asked the person I was standing next to. "I don't remember this song, and there are only supposed to be two women in the whole show." I was told they added a new song so the girls would have a more equal opportunity to perform. That made me roll my eyes and want to puke.

What rhymes with "shleak" and seems to happen a lot around here?

You guessed it: leak. I've got another one, this time under the kitchen sink. I bet it has something to do with the awful sound I heard when I ran the electric disposal...

comfy workspace

This is where I've spent the majority of the last three days. I just finished my third paper for the week, so let the weekend begin! I'm off for a run and then to dinner and drinks.

For Valentine's Day: A True Story

My first kiss was on Valentine's Day when I was sweet sixteen. I had been dating Chris for a few weeks already, but I was always too nervous to let him kiss me when he would drop me off at home (without walking me to the door, stupid boy) by my midnight curfew. I knew I couldn't keep holding off forever though, so it was well understood that some lip-locking action would happen on February 14, 2000.

After dinner at the Blue Corn Cafe we drove over to the Cross of the Martyrs and walked up the long winding path toward the top of the hill. We didn't go all the way up, because we could hear people up there in the dark and what if they were axe murderers? Instead we stopped about two-thirds of the way up and looked out over the city while standing pressed together in an awkward silence to try and keep warm.

There's only so long you can stand awkwardly and freezing when the big k-i-s-s is about to come though.

"Ok, ok," I said, "let's just do this. But hold on, I have to get something."

I ruffled through my purse (which was probably awkward because I never ever carried a purse in high school, except here, apparently) and pulled out what I was looking for. It was a sticker I'd found on an Old Navy ad in Seventeen magazine. I stuck it to my chest and turned around for him to see.

"Is that a sticker?" he asked. "It's too dark, I can't see what it says."

"Oh? Well, shoot. Um, it says 'Kiss Me.'"



And he did.

Well said, Professor!

"Commas are going out of fashion."

"Commas are common- they hang out in pool bars they're so common."

"Helen Keller felt her way across the room, but she thought that wasn't the cat she sat on."

"I think [subheadings] are your pathetic attempt to bring order to your life."

"You see, us professors, we sit around and laugh at your papers. 'Ah, look! Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.'"

"Even if you pass this class...I have up to five years to change your grade. Don't mess with me."

new accent?

Tonight while leading a discussion group on the agricultural revolutions of both Europe and China I noticed that I was saying a few words differently. Not much, maybe just over pronouncing them? I can't even think of what the words were. Ooh, I think it has something to do with L sounds. Or soft A sounds. Or not. Maybe it's slightly Midwestern? But where would I get that from? I don't even know. It's definitely not Southern. Anyway, just an observation.

fin de semana

Viernes: See my last post.

Sabado: Got up and headed out to work on my paper. I tried two coffee shops in the same shopping center, but they were crazy full with Saturday morning suburbanites. I stopped by Michael's while I was there to look at frames, but didn't buy anything. Then I decided to drive to Chapel Hill and go to a coffee shop there to write the paper, but that turned out to be full, too. So I found a new one in Chapel Hill and hung out there for about four hours. When I got back I went for a run, took a shower, ate, and read for two hours. Saturday night I went out with the girls to see The Breakfast Club ("the most well respected, well traveled and longest established 80's music tribute band in the USA" according to their myspace page) downtown. I didn't really know what we were going to, but it turned out to be a jam-packed concert (apparently they're really popular around here) and was lots of fun to sing and dance around to. It also made me wish I could get up and play Guitar Hero on stage.

Domingo: Went to church, then came home to eat lunch and read all day. Reading (and staying out late the night before) made me tired, so I had to take a nap. But then I read more.

oh dear

I'm having some serious procrastination issues today. And yesterday. The plan was to write my book review yesterday and fix it up today, leaving the rest of the weekend to read for next week's classes. No paper was written yesterday. Neither was anything read. And today? As of now I have two paragraphs down. Two paragraphs. It was very hard to get started. First I slept in, then I went for a run, then I ate lunch, then I got an email that indicated I needed to drive all the way to school just to pick up a photocopied article, then I got back and decided I needed to eat some chips and salsa, which meant I had to fight with the salsa jar for five minutes before it would open. Then I put sweats on and made a salad to eat in front of the tv, and from there I gravitated to the internet and Homestar Runner. Finally, finally at about 7:30 I decided it was time to start this paper. I did some stretches, jumped around on the furniture, made some crazy noises, and started drinking coffee. After this little pre-paper-writing workout I was about to get started when I instead decided to call my brother. Unfortunately he couldn't chat long. So I knuckled-down-buckled-down and started typing. Like I said, two paragraphs. Then it was time to check my email, and go through old saved emails to get rid of things I didn't need anymore, and then I thought I should probably reply to an email from a college friend I got back in August. Then I needed to eat some pistachios and get another cup of coffee. It's 11:20 now, and I still plan on writing more of this paper. I'm ridiculous.

a new place for caffeine with character

I'm at a new coffee shop. Ok, it's not new at all, just new to me. It's the kind of place that makes me wonder what I've been doing this whole time going to those other places. This place is cozy, has fun art, good music, interesting people, and is in a cute neighborhood. Plus they have really good drinks. Well, I've just had one drink, but it's good. I also had a muffin. That was only because they don't have scones. I guess that's a minus 1 for this place- no scones. Anyway, I'm supposed to be reading, but instead I'm doing the crossword puzzle in Independent Weekly. And surfing the ol' interweb, obviously. Ok, that's all.

surprise pocket!

Tonight while eating dinner and doing homework at Panera I found a brand new zipper pocket on my backpack. I had never seen the thing before in my whole life. I used this backpack at UPS, in London, at UPS again, and all of last semester. Yet it wasn't until today that I found the elusive pocket! What compartmental convenience have I been missing out on?! You know what's even better than finding a brand new pocket? Finding money in that pocket. Alas, tonight I was not so lucky.

geese tales

Today I went for a run around the lake and took a short break after the first lap to stretch. I tried to touch my toes, because I read somewhere that if you are really fit you should be able to touch your toes, but I couldn't. I actually don't remember ever being able to touch my toes without bending my knees. Anyway, as I came up from reaching down I looked over and saw two large white geese high-tailing it straight for me.

"Egad," I thought, "those geese are gonna get me."

So I took off running again.

***

Once when I was very young I was in Lubbock, Texas, visiting my grandparents. Grandma took my cousin Leslie and I to feed the ducks at a nearby lake. I don't remember how it all played out, because like I said, I was very young, but some geese came over and one bit Leslie on the finger and another one pecked me on the head. To fill in the rest of the story I'm going to imagine Grandma bravely shooing them away and swatting at them with the bag of bread crumbs.

***

I believe it was the summer of '97 when my Aunt Judy took me to visit Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. While there we rented a canoe and paddled our way down a river and ended up at Lake Michigan. Somewhere along the way we floated in a wide calm section of the river, to rest out weary arms. We didn't rest too long though, because a whole line of geese started swimming straight for us. Only now that I think of it, those might have been swans.

***

One summer day I was in Albuquerque visiting friends from high school. Becca had just gotten a new puppy, so we went to a park to let him run around. Walking down the sidewalk at the edge of the park was a couple with a pet goose on a red leash. It was pretty awesome.

My Weekend

Friday: Woke up early and drove to Richmond. On the way there I came upon a long line of slow cars in the right lane on I85. Knowing this could only mean one thing- a cop was ahead- I went ahead and decided to pass them all, including the Sheriff in front. The rest of the scaredy pants soon followed because seriously, 70mph is too slow. Ate lunch, lazed about, and tried to read for school/watch tv with Grandma. Watched There's Something About Mary with both grandparents. That's right, you think about it. Amusingly awkward.

Saturday: Slept in, then tried to go for Mexican lunch. Our favorite place, Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Cafe at Stony Point, is closed forever. We tried Mexico on Forest Hill but it wasn't open yet, so we settled for Moe's. Went to a fun coffee shop I just discovered on the south side, where I read history for over five hours. First I got a latte, then a couple hours later I went back for a cookie, and a couple hours after that when I wanted to throw my book about the Indian slave trade in South Carolina out the window, I went back for a glass of wine. I think that was the first time I've mixed alcohol and homework, but it was necessary.

Sunday: Read for school and waited (for what seemed like forever) for Uncle Richard to arrive. Finally ate lunch, then ran out the door to meet Allison. Went to FSC for church, ate a monster cookie, and then went with Allison for a delicious beer at the incredibly empty Capital Ale House in the west end. Went to aunt's house to watch the second half of the Super Bowl, which I didn't pay any attention to or care a thing about. Also played some Wii Sports.

Monday: Woke up early for a big breakfast with Uncle Richard. Finished my laundry and headed back to Raleigh. Sang along to Broadway showtunes the whole way, and decided the 1970s is my least favorite decade for musicals.

Early Bird

Guess what. I got up to my alarm this morning at 7:30. I knew I could do it if I had a reason. Now I'm off to catch some lunch in Richmond!

silly over some snow

I woke up (and slept through for almost two hours) the news on the radio saying schools were closed because it was going to snow. They cancelled school before it even started snowing. By the time I was out of bed looking through the window there was a cover of white on the grass and cars, but not much. Nothing to warrant all this commotion. By about noon it switched to raining and now all the snow is gone.