fuzzy but festive

It's Christmas Eve and I'm in Santa Fe, so you know what that means... my family had posole and tamales for dinner, then walked Canyon Road. Merry Christmas everyone!

not much heat, but lots of atmosphere

Last night Josh and his roommate decided to surprise their other roommate with a new fireplace, just in time for the holidays. Looks pretty awesome, I say.

Christmas festivities

Last week I attended two work parties and joined Josh for his work party (which was at a bowling alley and therefore automatically beat mine). Then I finished all of my Christmas shopping this weekend. It's pretty exciting to know that I don't have to run around frantically shopping when I get to Santa Fe later this week. Tomorrow I'm going to bake cookies after work, and Tuesday night Josh and I will have dinner and exchange our gifts. Then Wednesday I'm headed west!

woohoo!

I just submitted my last assignment, and I am now done with school work for the semester. (Well, I still have to go to class on Monday, but I just have to sit and listen.) It is officially winter break! Winter break with a full-time job of course, but now I don't have to do homework or feel guilty for not working on my homework. I think I will try to read a few history books over these several weeks to help flesh out some of what I learned in my course on recent U.S. history, and I want to organize my notes a little more so I can use them when it comes time to study for comps (way down the road), but I won't stress over that stuff until after Christmas.

We're getting festive in the office.

time flies

Sheesh, it's been three weeks since I posted here. Time flies when you're, uh, plugging right along.

I have two papers due next week, and then I'm more-or-less done with my first semester of school. It's gone pretty well. I'm hoping my little Corolla will last until at least the summer of 2012, but all this driving to Fairfax might shorten my desired time frame.

I spent last weekend in Richmond with family for Thanksgiving. My mom flew out, so it was nice to hang out with her. It was also nice of her to go to the outlet mall in Williamsburg with me on Black Friday (afternoon).

Some day I want to go to New York for Thanksgiving and see all the parade floats in real life.

I can't believe it's already December. It's cold outside. And dark. I don't think I will put up my little Christmas tree this year, since I'll spend the holiday in Santa Fe, but I'm going to hang up the chili lights Josh's grandma gave me last year.

I'm contemplating trying to fit some mosaicing in between the end of school and Christmas, but I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet and time is flying, so that might be wishful thinking.

random bits to share

I just learned that the brontosaurus and triceratops didn't really exist. (Well, I guess I was late on not knowing about the brontosaurus, and the verdict on the triceratops might still be out.) Crazy.

On October 31st a bunch of New York City librarians and library supporters dressed up like zombies and marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest budget cuts. They had signs like "Better Undead Than Unread" and "No Libraries No Brains." How awesome is that?

I also just learned about the Random Acts of Culture project, and *may* have teared up while watching this video.

Halloween

This year for Halloween I decided to dress up as something that has been on my mind a lot lately. So I dressed as a stink bug! Josh made the main component of my costume, and it. was. awesome.

I wore it to work on Friday:



Josh dressed up as a zombie, and on Saturday we went to Richmond so he and Jay could be in the Zombie walk:



Josh was the tennis player and Jay was the plumber.



Sunni had fun watching the zombies.




Saturday night Josh and I went out dancing in Shockoe Bottom.







Sunday Josh and I carved a jack-o-lantern at my grandparents' house and I passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Jay brought Bobby over in his dinosaur costume. His "Raawr" was pretty cute.

I went to Philly.

Hi guys. I know it's taken me a week to tell you, but last weekend I went to Philadelphia for a conference. Josh joined me for the trip, and we took the Amtrak train straight from Charlottesville into Philly. It was pretty great. I haven't traveled on a train in the states like that, but it was way better than trying to fly. No security or baggage fees, bigger seats with much more legroom, the ability to get up and walk around whenever you want, and more interesting scenery.

We got into the city around noon and checked into the hotel, then had lunch in Chinatown. Next I headed to a conference panel, but was informed I needed to go run an errand for work at the American Philosophical Society, so I grabbed Josh and we headed over there instead. It's a neat place, and from there we walked around the historic area a little and visited the printing shop by Ben Franklin's no-longer-existing house. That evening we went to a reception, then Josh and I wandered around the city for a billion years looking for the perfect place to eat. We finally found it, even though it turns out they only accepted cash and were a bring-your-own alcohol establishment. So we didn't drink or have appetizers or dessert because they either didn't serve it or we didn't have enough cash to cover it. But the food was delicious.

Saturday I was busy with conference stuff all morning and for part of the afternoon, minus a lunch break during which Josh and I wandered around some more and ate sandwiches. That afternoon while I was busy he visited the Academy of Natural Sciences, then we met up and did a whole lot more walking. We visited a brewery for beer and appetizers, then walked across the river over by the university and ate dinner at the White Dog Cafe, which a co-worker had recommended. The food there was also delicious, but we ordered way more than we could handle (we should have skipped the appetizer at the brewery) and pretty much rolled ourselves out of there. There was no way we could have walked all the way back (over twenty blocks) being that full, so we took the subway (or "el") back.

Sunday I spent the morning in the conference again, and as soon as it was over we hurried to the Franklin Institute, a science museum. We spent a couple hours there, and then had to hurry back to get our bags and head to the train station.

The weather in Philadelphia was perfect, the conference was good, and it was fun doing touristy stuff with Josh. I also look forward to another train ride some day.

Stink Bug Invasion

We are currently experiencing an invasion of stink bugs over here. I don't actually smell them, but other people do because apparently they spray some kind of stink. Hence the name. They are an invasive species not native to the U.S., and while they don't actually bite or hurt or anything (well, I think they hurt crops), they are quite a pest. Thankfully I have not had a problem with them at my apartment and the two or three I've seen have been easy to get out right away. But they are going crazy at work.

Let me show you.

Here we have a stink bug on top of a cubicle divider.



And here is one climbing the blinds pull.



This one is on my chair.



These are actually outside my window, but still unpleasant to see.



They can be clumsy, so this one flew over to my window but landed on its back. It turned over eventually. They make a whirring noise when they fly, and you can often hear them thumping into the window or wall or wherever they are headed. They startle me every time.



This guy (see him on the corner of the folder?) tried to climb down on my pom-pom, but had to rethink that plan.



This gang hangs out above the door to our offices. I'm always sure they are going to drop on me when I walk through, but they haven't so far.



Sometimes they even go inside the folders. Not a pleasant surprise.



They are all over outside, too. When I go to my car they are all over the place, including inside the little gas door and once under my door handle. This one was outside my window while I was stopped at a light.



But this one was inside.



I haven't seen too many while driving, which is good because they freak me out and make the driving part dangerous. But obviously they are in my car, because in the back under the windshield I have a sort of stink bug graveyard going on. I plan to leave them until it gets cold and they go away, then I'll get some poor kid at a car wash to vacuum them out for me.



Josh had an invasion in his apartment, and about 80 came into his bathroom through the vent. He put most of them down the toilet. I'm glad I wasn't there.

The whole thing is pretty gross.

One space?!

Three weeks ago I learned something shocking. Well, shocking to me. And maybe to you, too, if you're not in the know either.

Apparently, you are only supposed to put one space between sentences.

How did I not know this? When did this happen, and why did no one tell me? Where was the PSA, and how did I miss it?

I like to think that I'm still relatively young. But I did learn to type on a typewriter. I took a semester-long typing course in the seventh grade, and we were taught to put two spaces between sentences. Which was correct, because we were typing on typewriters. I haven't typed on a typewriter in a long time, but I have always kept two spaces between my sentences.

A few weeks ago a friend on Facebook posted a link to this, and it blew my mind. That was the first time I had ever heard about the one space rule. In fact, it was probably the first time I'd heard about any spacing rule since the seventh grade. Then on Monday night a professor at school also mentioned the one-space-for-word-processing rule, so I'm convinced it's official.

Now I just have to tame my eager right thumb.

State Fair

Today I went to the fair with my cousin Jay and his son Bobby.

We saw baby animals and big animals, looked at big produce, drank cider and tasted honey, watched a mechanical pig sing and play the guitar, visited an Oregon Trail camp, walked through a redwood tree house, cheered for racing pigs, and ate a little fair food. Good times.

this and that

I apologize for not blogging lately. Nothing too exciting is going on around here.

School is going well. I'm not overwhelmed (yet?) and I enjoy having reading to do again. Of course that means I always have reading to do... The drive up to Fairfax isn't too bad. It's not fun to do it two nights in a row, but that only happens every other week.

Last weekend Josh and I joined his grandparents in Lexington to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops perform. It rained so they had to switch venues at the last minute and the sound wasn't very good in the new place, but it was still a fun time.

In case you were wondering, I'm not running another half marathon any time soon. I know I talked a lot, but training takes so much time! I still run a few times a week for exercise, but only about 3-4 miles. Someday I want to do another half marathon, but not right now.

My parents sent me a fun fall package with lots of goodies to eat, including caramel corn, cookie and scone mixes, Girl Scout cookies, gummy bears, and gummies that are made to look like boogers (hehe). They also bought out the sale bin of glass tiles at a craft store, so I have plenty of tiles to work with for another mosaic.

A few months ago Josh and I read To Kill a Mockingbird together while on long drives. Now we're reading Of Mice and Men. It's like a book on tape only no tape! Sometimes we even do the voices.

nature

This morning when I arrived at work I was greeted by a praying mantis peeking in at me through my window. That is more pleasant than being greeted by lots of stink bugs, which we also have around here.

productive

Today has been a very productive Saturday. I did some reading (though not quite as much as I was hoping to do...), got my car inspected, took my recycling to the recycling center, went by the bank, took out the trash, picked up around my apartment (including unpacking and putting away the last few things from our camping trip two weeks ago), dusted, vacuumed, swept, cleaned the bathroom, and mopped. Whew. Now I plan to read a tiny bit more, then go out for drinks with Josh to reward myself for all this cleaning. And tomorrow? I will read in my clean apartment for most of the day.

Zozobra

If you don't know about Zozobra, a Santa Fe tradition in which a very large puppet is burned in front of a giant screaming crowd, you can learn about it here.

I learned from Facebook friends that tonight was Zozobra, and I also learned that a New Mexico news station was streaming it live. So I started to watch. Then I called my brother Ryan and turns out he was watching it, too. So we watched it together, from Charlottesville and Flagstaff. That was fun.

Labor Day Weekend Camping

This past holiday weekend Josh and I headed for the mountains. It was pretty great.

We went to Sherando Lake and luckily got the last spot available on Saturday. We set up camp, ate some lunch, and then went for a mini-hike around the lake. While Josh took an afternoon nap I read about history (hello grad school!), and then we made dinner. Saturday night was capped off with a blue grass concert down at the amphitheater.




Josh is a very fashionable camper. He is also well prepared. Check out the bug spray he has ready for me!

Sunday we had a relaxing morning (I read more), then went for an eight mile hike along Torry Ridge. It was a little scary because we kept seeing bear droppings on the trail, but I made sure we made lots of noise and kept asking the bears to please stay away while we passed. We hiked and hiked and hiked and when we finally got to the end, or what we thought must be the end, we stopped for lunch. It wasn't until we hiked back down that I looked at the map again and discovered we didn't go all the way to the Bald Mountain Overlook.






This was towards the top. In case you don't think it looks very high, that green mountain behind me is across a deep gorge or valley or something.

After the hike we rested a little more (I read), gathered a little wood for our marshmallow-roasting fire, and then made dinner. The evening was spent trying to get our little fire to survive and roasting marshmallows.

Monday we had another relaxing morning (I read more), then made breakfast and packed up camp. After leaving our site at 11 we went back to the lake. We laid on the grass and read for about an hour, then went for a swim to the island that our guide book said was 1/4 mile away but Josh says couldn't have been that far. I swam back and forth to the island again after that. Then we showered (yay for bathhouses!) and headed back home (so I could read more).



The weather was perfect (t-shirt weather during the day, grateful for a warm sleeping bag weather at night), and it was a beautiful weekend.

on the brink

I'm sad summer is ending. Soon it will turn cool, and the days are already getting shorter. Plus, my free time is about to fly out the window. Monday I start school again. Admittedly I'm only taking 4 credits this semester, but I will have to commute to Fairfax once or twice a week for evening classes, will have to work a little longer each day at work to make up for that time, and will have HOMEWORK. I will also need to exercise and spend time with Josh. So my schedule is about to get pretty tight in a few days. But I'm looking forward to it. Getting a PhD will take a long time and will be challenging, but I like school, I like history classes, and I know that this degree will benefit me in the long run. Maybe even the short run, too.

just for fun

I (finally) finished another mosaic. I started it a couple months ago and picked the design based on the board and tiles I already had at the time, so it's kind of random. I gave it to Ryan to hang in his new apartment. Because what college guy doesn't want a mosaic of a cable car hanging on his wall?

the rest of the fun in Santa Fe

Okay, now let's backtrack to the first week of August. My friends left Santa Fe on Sunday, Ryan and I went to Flagstaff Monday and came back Tuesday, and on Wednesday Josh arrived!

Dad and I picked Josh up from the airport (after looking at art and history at the Albuquerque Museum) and headed to lunch so Josh could have green chili on a burger. Then we went to the Sandia Peak Tramway, the world's longest tram.









Wednesday evening Mom made dinner, then Dad, Josh, and I walked around downtown and went up to the Cross of the Martyrs. By that point Josh was practically asleep after his early morning flight.

Thursday Josh, Ryan, and I went out for Mexican lunch, which made us so stuffed we basically had to nap the rest of the day to recover. When we woke up it was time for dinner, so Josh and I joined my parents at the Plaza Cafe (Southside). Then I took Josh to a boot store, and he bought cowboy boots.

Friday Josh and I went to Bandelier. Yes, I'd already gone the week before, but I went again. It didn't rain this time.









Friday evening Josh and I visited five different museums (whew!), including one with cowboy boot art. Then we ate dinner at the Blue Corn Cafe and got commemorative pint glasses for Santa Fe's 400th birthday. Later that night we went out with Ryan for a few drinks, including a stop at a happenin' club.

Saturday there was an arts and crafts festival on the plaza, so we went down there to look around and so Josh could get souvenirs and gifts for people. That afternoon we went to my grandparents' house for watermelon and dessert with the whole family.





Josh was not too impressed with our mighty Santa Fe river. His favorite part was the clouds.



Saturday night we (Mom, Dad, Ryan, Josh, and myself) got a little dressed up and went to dinner. We had delicious spinach balls for our appetizer.



Sunday morning we stopped by Jackelope and Josh bought a buffalo jaw bone. Then it was time to head to the airport in Albuquerque.

Overall it was an excellent trip, I'd say.