Some lists from my trip

Movies Watched:

Catch and Release (on the flight west)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (rented, and the only one I'd already seen)
Shrek the Third (in the theater)
Night at the Museum (rented)
School of Rock (Ryan's)
Music and Lyrics (rented)
The Breakup (rented)
Hot Fuzz (in the theater)
For Your Consideration (rented, and a mistake)
The Queen (rented)
Click (Ryan's)
Code Name: The Cleaner (on the flight east)

Museums Visited:

Palace of the Governors, Museum of New Mexico (alone)
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum (alone)
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (with Mom)
Museum of Fine Arts (with grandparents)
also, the Rio Grande Zoo (with parents)

Books Read (not enough):

Star of the Sea, by Joseph O'Connor (for fun)
Lewis and Clark Among the Indians, by James P. Ronda (for ideas)
Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, journal of John Kirk Townsend (for research)

Mexican Food Consumed (also not enough):

Enchiladas at Tomasita's
Fajitas on the plaza
Mom's burritos at home
El Plato Grande (chile relleno, enchilada, tamale) at Castro's
Burrito at Blue Corn Cafe

Visits to Ecco Espresso and Gelato:

Three times to read with a latte
Once for gelato
Once for lunch

Are you sure we're related?

This afternoon Ryan was supposed to hang out with me, but first he had to run to Espanola to buy shot gun shells for his upcoming shoot in California next weekend. So I rode along, but my eyeballs were very tired so I mostly just slept. Then when I finally woke up I discovered that Ryan had driven me off to the middle of nowhere, where he proceeded to scare the you-know-what out of me.

You see, while my idea of a good time on a Sunday afternoon might be to go downtown and get coffee and visit art galleries, Ryan's idea of a good time is to drive his truck through lakes of mud.

He also enjoys terrorizing me, his big sister, by driving up steep and rocky hills. Ryan had a great time and was very proud of his muddy truck, and I will go ahead and admit there were good views from the top.

But seriously, look at how steep and scary this hill is- you can't even see where it's going!

The whole time I pretty much looked like this:

Oh Simon and Nick, how I love you.

One of my two favorite movies ever is Shaun of the Dead. (The other one is sometimes embarrassing to say, because it's a chick flick and I usually try to avoid admitting that, on occasion, I like those sorts of movies, but You've Got Mail is really great, okay there, I said it.) I've seen Shaun of the Dead many times and every time I watch it I crack up and squirm and swoon and do all of the things you should do with a good British romantic comedy with zombies.

Well the makers of Shaun of the Dead made what is in my book another hit with Hot Fuzz.

It's very much like Shaun of the Dead in all the right ways, but it's still fresh and funny and not at all a disappointing sequel in any way. At least that's my opinion, for what it's worth. So you should probably go see it, and if you invite me along I will probably be happy to join you.

Thanks Yo-Yo Ma!

So here's how it went down. Terry (not Rocky, I was wrong) was talking with Yo-Yo Ma at the hotel, and told him about this girl (me) who plays the cello and wrote a haiku about him and waited outside for a long time to meet him and get his autograph. At this Mr. Ma started laughing very hard, because apparently he doesn't get asked for his autograph very often and was surprised that someone (me) would wait around for him. Right away he said something like, "here, I'll make her day," (probably while still laughing) and proceeded to write me the above note!

what an exciting day

Today was pretty good I'd say. First, I got up early to hitch a ride with my dad downtown on his way to work. I went to this coffee shop I like and got a latte and scone (I love scones) and read/researched all morning. (You may think summer equals no work for me, but it's not true. This girl has a thesis to work on.) I then met Dad for lunch, and afterwards we walked over to the state capitol to look at some of the art on display. Next I went by Ryan's hotel to say hi again (for the third time, since I passed it both going and coming to the coffee shop). I had to say hi again, because he had called earlier in the morning to inform me that a particular famous guest was expected to check in some time today. But so far no word. Then I went around the corner to the Palace of the Governor's, which houses the Museum of New Mexico and is also the oldest continuously occupied government building in the United States, built in 1610. As soon as I'd bought my ticket for the museum and entered the first exhibit room my phone rang and it was Ryan.

Now I'm going to break up my narrative to show you a poem I wrote today (which I don't pretend is actually good). It's a haiku that was inspired by Jack Kerouac, but we'll get to that later.

Ahem:

Ryan called- "He's here"
I ran around the corner
It was Yo-Yo Ma

So sure enough, I booked it out of that museum and actually ran down the street and around the corner, in time to see Ryan carrying luggage and chatting it up with Mr. Ma (sans cello). He had to check in at the desk, and Ryan left to help this other guy get to his room, so I made myself comfortable in the little lobby staring right at Yo-Yo Ma, but pretending to be totally unaware and disinterested. After a few minutes he left, and Ryan came back, and I went back to the museum to learn more about New Mexico.

Now, back to Kerouac. The museum currently has a temporary exhibit with the original On the Road manuscript, typed out on a super long scroll that is displayed in this long and skinny case. Included in the exhibit is a room about his haikus (which weren't always in the 5-7-5 format, and I guess became known as the "American style"), and they have some old typewriters and paper for visitors to write their own. We already know where this goes.

At 3pm Ryan was supposed to get off of work, and he was going to give me a ride back home, so I went back the to hotel (I walked this time), and once again saw Yo-Yo Ma. This time he was talking to some old people in the doorway. I had just shown Ryan my haiku, and he said "are you going to have him sign it?" Getting an autograph hadn't even crossed my mind, because I hate to be one of those annoying fans around famous people (not, mind you, that I'm ever actually around famous people), but I did have the perfect piece of paper in my hand...

Unfortunately Yo-Yo Ma didn't come out of the hotel with the people he was talking to, and instead went back to his room. I even stuck around in hopes he'd come back out (I mean, he had a sweater tied around his shoulders as if he were headed outside)while Ryan walked several blocks to get his truck, but that new autograph plan was foiled. He never came back out.

So that was the end of that. We came home, and I watched a movie with Mom (the sixth day in a row we've watched a movie). Then I went on a Taco Bell run with Dad, and when we got back home Ryan was in the driveway and said:

"Hey Andi, guess what. Rocky [another valet at the hotel] called me and said he was talking to Yo-Yo Ma and he told him about how you like him and wanted an autograph, so apparently he wrote you a little something on a sticky note and it's waiting in the office for me when I go to work tomorrow."

!!!!! I mean, it's not quite as exciting as if I'd talked to him myself and had him sign my haiku, but still. It's exciting. And I can always stick the note to my poem.

Weekend Review

Friday: Went for a run, stayed home all day doing a whole lotta nothing while the rest of my family went to work, then went to Tomasita's for dinner with my parents (I had Christmas enchiladas), and back home to watch the second Pirates of the Caribbean.

Saturday: Went shopping with my parents at the mall in Albuquerque, saw the third Shrek movie, and went out to dinner.

Sunday: Got up early and went with Ryan to his clay pigeon shoot in Espanola. I went with him to a shoot in North Carolina, but this was my first shoot in New Mexico. My Uncle Tommy was there, too. I was the score keeper. I spent the whole time marking Xs and Os and saying things like "dead pair" or "lost pair" and "final pair coming."
Ryan won a belt buckle for being number one in the junior class.



I also took a few other photos, like this


and this, but mostly because I was excited about how different and beautiful New Mexico is.
After the shoot we went home and I took a nap, then I helped my mom make pizza for dinner, which she and dad and I ate while watching Night at the Museum.

A run in the high mountain desert.

I went for a run today on the trail near our house. Let me tell you, I'm a long way away from my lake in Raleigh. First of all, Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet. Normally I don't notice the altitude at all, but I haven't gone for a run here in ten years, and today I noticed. I spent the whole time concentrating on breathing. Next, there are no trees along the trail for shade. And finally, instead of seeing turtles and ducks and squirrels, I saw lots of grasshoppers, some stink bugs, and a lizard.

News from home.

This past week I've been on the move. Now I'm in Santa Fe, and let me give you the updates.

First of all, my dad has a beard. I knew that already, but I hadn't seen it yet. I'm not gonna lie, he looks a little like Santa Claus. My dad has always had a mustache, and hasn't had a beard since before I could walk. So this is big.

Next, the mini van is gone. We've always had a mini van, but not any more. Instead my dad has a Hyundai Santa Fe (how appropriate!). It's okay I guess.

In related news, Ryan has a big white Toyota Tacoma. He's pretty much becoming a hick. But I still love him.

Today I played my cello for the first time in a couple years. It took a while to get the thing tuned, and then I was surprised at how much I could still play. I'm going to practice more over the summer.

Finally, this morning while drinking coffee and chatting with my mom I looked outside and saw a bird (I'm bad with identifying birds, but maybe it was a robin?) in a nest feeding little baby birds. So that was kind of exciting. Then this afternoon Ryan went outside to deal with Jackson, his yellow lab, and found the nest on the ground, with all the birds (momma included) killed. So that was sad.

The end (for now).

End of the year beach fun.

To celebrate the end of school three friends and I went to the beach in South Carolina for three days. It was pretty great. It only took seven and a half hours to get there, what with the crazy rain that made us pull over on the side of the interstate twice, and the scary lighting right above our heads that spurred us to stop at the Cracker Barrel for dinner. We also sat in the rain on the interstate for forty-five minutes without moving due to an accident up ahead. Finally we reached our condo on Isle of Palms around midnight, and the minute I got out of the car to start unpacking I was attacked by mosquitoes and got four bites around my ankles. I never scratched them once but they were huge and red and forced me to make crazy faces while dancing around in agony.

Sunday Elizabeth and I made a trip to Piggly Wiggly for breakfast food and snacks, and then around noon we headed over to Charleston. We walked around and did some shopping, and then on our way to the park what seemed like a hurricane sprung up, so we ran to the Noisy Oyster to seek shelter from the rain and eat delicious seafood. I had shrimp, fried clams, and grits. After a little more shopping we headed back to the condo and took naps. Let me tell you about this little condo- it had only one bedroom, and two teeny-tiny bunk beds built into the hall! But it was nice for us- it had a kitchen and was right on the beach with full ocean views. Anyway, after the naps we went out for a walk on the beach at night. I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to beaches at night, only because any little thing I see I immediately believe to be a crab or giant squid, all preparing to attack me, of course. The girls couldn't believe I was so jittery, especially since the walk was my own idea! After we got back we played Scattegories and drank ChiChi's cosmopolitans.

Monday was devoted to the beach. It was a sunny day (finally), but the wind was relentless. We lay on the beach for a long time but were covered in sand the whole time. There was sand in my ears, sand creased into the pages of my book, sand in my hair, sand in my bag and wallet... Tess and I went for a quick dip and then walked to the end of the island. Then we all went to the hot dog stand nearby for lunch. More reading on the beach (but we had to move up to do the dunes because the tide was coming in), another quick dip, and then finally back to the condo and into the shower, because I was sick of sand. After showers and lounging (and a short nap for me) we got dressed and headed back to Charleston for dinner. Then we were exhausted and went to bed.

Tuesday I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach by myself. Finally there was no wind. Then we had to pack up and be out by ten. We loaded the car and drove to the aquarium in Charleston to check out the sea turtles, sea otters, sharks, alligators, and sea horses. We then grabbed some lunch and went for a walk along Rainbow Row and the Battery. One last stop near the market for ice cream, and then it was time to hit the road. This time the drive only took about four hours and wasn't scary.

So the trip was fun. We were all still a little tense when we got there because we weren't used to schoolwork being over, but the beach and Charleston were relaxing and we had a great time.

Lifesaver

Today I went for a run in the neighborhood next to ours ("ours" here means next to my grandparent's house in Richmond) and on my way home I found a turtle right in the middle of the street. I decided there was a chance it would be a dead turtle soon if I didn't help it get across the pavement faster, so I picked it up and set it in the grass it was headed for. Sure enough before I even got out of the street a car came driving by, so I'm gonna say I pretty much saved the turtle's life. I was also a little conflicted about the turtle-finding situation, because I knew Grandma would want me to bring it home to be her new pet, since her two turtles from last fall haven't come up yet in the backyard, which suggests they might be gone forever. You see, Grandma loves turtles, and when she finds one she keeps it. But I didn't really feel comfortable saying "listen here turtle in the street, I'm going to kidnap you and take you far away and lock you in a backyard, even though it's a very nice backyard and you will be well-fed." Instead I thought about how it would be awkward to walk several blocks carrying a live turtle, and I wasn't really done running. So not only did I save the turtle's life, but I saved its freedom, too.

school's....out for summer!

Well this is it. My first year of grad school is over. I'm a year of grad school smarter now.

And yes, I finished the paper and turned it in only a couple minutes after five. It was only fifteen pages, but she said "it's cool, it's cool." No, she didn't say that, but you get the idea. The thing about this paper is that it helped me get back to my roots. Sure, I took a New Mexico history class in the seventh grade, but other than that 1) by dad taught me everything else I know about New Mexico and 2) I didn't really care that much about New Mexico history anyway. And yet this semester, when I'm over here on the east coast and can write about anything in the whole world of colonial history, I randomly decide to write about a Native American uprising in colonial New Mexico. It was fun though. All those names I've heard my whole life (streets, my junior high, etc.) all the sudden have familiar historical figures behind them. Anyway, enough about that.

So school is over, but I've got a busy four weeks ahead of me before my internship starts. Fun busy, not stressful busy. Summer fun busy, in fact. I'm sure I'll keep you updated. Speaking of which, as you can see the blog got a slightly new "do." I didn't really mean for that to happen, it was an accident. Oops.

the weekend is over

Friday: Worked on my paper and went for a run. I don't really remember anything else that happened.

Saturday: Worked on the paper some more. Went to the Handmade Market, then to a coffee shop for more work on the paper. Talked to my dad for a long time on the phone while watching coverage of the delayed Nascar race in Richmond on tv with him, remembering our own experience at the same race last year. That's right, I've been to Nascar races.

Sunday: Went for a run, then to church. Back home to work on the paper more. All this paper work and I only have nine pages. It'll get finished tomorrow though, it has to. Also went to Douglas and Meg's house for a cookout, even though it got too cold and we ate in. We still had good times.

only onto page seven...

This paper is taking a while. I know what I need to say. I have it planned out. But it's slow. And I don't think I will make it to twenty pages. I can't wait until five o'clock on Monday, because it will be OVER.

Here, let me give you some updates.

It's the end of the semester, and I'm almost done!

Archives project and "test" - check.
Historical Writing paper - check.
"How Revolutionary was the Revolution?" paper - check (and not very revolutionary, I argued).
TA essays read and grades submitted - check.
Twenty page paper on the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 - still need to write that (due Monday).

So that's pretty much it. For now. I might have more updates later.

I'm speedy

I was waaay off on my 10 hour prediction yesterday. I finished the first set of essays (the shorter ones) in less than four hours. Grading goes so much faster when you don't have to correct grammar and come up with nice things to say!

Favorite part so far: One student cited his seventh grade research paper.

TA stuff

I graded my 32 students' exams tonight (well, the objective part), and my favorite incorrect answer was this:

Gerald Ford used time studies and differential piece-rate quotas to eliminate the informal worker practice he called unskilled labor and to make work on factory floors more efficient.

The correct answers? Frederick Winslow Taylor and soldiering (or stints).

I also had a student include this in their short extra credit essay:

"Then again, the pill is cheaper than a baby."

Also, I have about 60 essays to grade in the next two days. I'm figuring 20 minutes per essay, which I think equals 20 hours. Right? That means 10 hours per day. And knowing me I will take even longer than that. Except I never work 10 hours a day. And I already plan on going out for drinks with the public history students Tuesday night around 8, and Wednesday at 6 I have to take a short archives exam. So we'll see how all this works out...

In related news, next semester I'm not TA-ing for the History of Technology anymore. I'm moving on to Early American (Colonial and Revolutionary) with my current professor (the one who took us to Williamsburg), and Elizabeth is my co-TA!