Birthday Weekend o' Fun

Birthday: Grandparents woke me up with a 7:30 phone call, but I went back to sleep. Post office woke me up with a phone call next, at 8, but I again went back to sleep. Parents woke me around 9:30 with another call, but I went back to sleep again. Finally woke up around 10:15 and did some homework. Drove to Fosters Market in Chapel Hill to do homework with a delicious chai and scone, and Allison joined me. Drove back home while talking to my other grandparents, then got showered and ready for birthday fun. Tess (the other birthday girl) and Elizabeth came over, and we went to Humble Pie for a tapas dinner, which was delicious and fun. Next we went to the area on Glenwood with tons of fun bars, where another friend and her boyfriend joined us, and hopped around.

(This is Tess and me. However, you will notice by the absence of a birthday aura that this picture was taken on Saturday night, instead of the actual day of our 24th birthdays. That's because I couldn't figure my camera out in time on Friday.)

Saturday: Slept in, and read a tiny bit in bed. Went to the Nippon Club picnic with Allison and Sam, where we ate noodles, watched guys in funny shoes drumming, and saw guys who looked like this get hit on the head:

Went to a coffee shop to eat soup and read. Stopped by Target to look at clothes, but ended up with two new CDs instead. Picked Tess up and drove to her boyfriend's bar in Chapel Hill, where we saw The Back Beat, a Beatles cover band (complete with older guys with shaggy hair).

Sunday: Up (relatively) early to meet Douglas (one of my friends from the Williamsburg trip) and his wife Meg for coffee and church. After attending this church since August, this was the first time I actually sat with people I knew. It was exciting. Afterwards we (plus another guy) went out for lunch. Got home but had to take a nap. Started organizing my research and writing my big paper, which looked like this:

You can see the black container, which holds tons more notecards. No fear losing all my work with a crashing computer!

Took a break to watch America's Next Top Model, eat, and talk to dad about tax stuff. Back to paper-writing until after 1am.

The Birthday Lineup for April 13:

Guy Fawkes
Thomas Jefferson (!)
F.W. Woolworth
Butch Cassidy
Eudora Welty
Al Green
my friend Tess
and ME!!!

I just killed eight more flies.

And I know of one still at large. Grroooossssss.

student email

The students I TA for are currently writing group research papers, and I have the job of reading their drafts (not to mention reading and grading the actual papers once they're turned in next week). One student emailed me his paper, so I edited it with comments and sent it back. This morning he emailed back with this reply:

"Thank you for your comments. I don't envy your task."

I've killed at least a horde.

Flies keep appearing around the windows of my apartment. The closed windows of my apartment. They're driving me insane. I can't figure out where they're coming from. Unless they were bred right here in my apartment, which is gross. But why would they go from invisible to huge and slow? When I see one, I grab my flip flop and kill it. It's such an awful and disgusting process, however, that I never try to seek out more. But this morning I said, "enough is enough!" So I drew up all the blinds and killed about seven. It worked for a few hours. Early this evening, however, I killed another five. Seriously, where are they coming from?! Are they sneaking in through a crevice in the window? Or the side door, maybe that's it. But they're so huge, how do they do that? And it's not like they're hanging out around the kitchen or trash, so I don't feel like my apartment is this sty that attracts them. Anyway, they're gross and I'm about to go nuts.

Weekend Review

Friday: Read and wrote a paper. Around 6pm after working in bed all day I decided I had to get out of the apartment, so I went for a short run around the lake. I came back extremely allergy-faced. Made dinner and did some more work.

Saturday: Finished up the paper, then went out to buy allergy medicine and a birthday card for a friend. Couldn't stay at Borders to study because there weren't any more tables, so brought my free latte home to try and research here. Later my friend Elizabeth came over and we drove to Richmond. Visited with my grandparents a little and ate dinner. Went over to aunt's house to see her and cousins. Took Elizabeth downtown to Capital Ale House.

Sunday: Went to mass with grandparents and Elizabeth. Even though it was Catholic mass and I never know what to do or say, it was still nice to be with all three of them at church. Gave Elizabeth an hour-long driving tour of Richmond. Went back to the house and all the family came over for a big Easter dinner, complete with the annual lamb cake. Hunted for Easter eggs. (That's right, I refused to be a "big kid" and hide the eggs because I wanted to look for them, too.) Visited with everyone some more, and finished up my laundry, then hit the road again. Got back to Raleigh, ate some squash for dinner, and watched America's Next Top Model. I've decided to take an Easter break from homework, so I'm going to go to bed now and try to get to work earlier in the morning.

Also, I'm going blind. My sight is getting worse. Maybe these allergies are making it really bad right now, or being tired, or driving a lot, or reading too much, but whatever it is it's no fun. Fuzzy eyes make tired eyes that want to close and sleep instead of doing homework.

The gray clouds are coming....

If I stop for more than about two seconds and think about the fact that I have a 25 page draft of my history paper due in just over a week, I pretty much want to crumple up on the floor and die. So I'm off for a free coffee drink at Borders and to do more research.

a random assortment of things I'd like to tell you

I think I'm getting sick. My dad thought maybe it was because of my "wild living," but it's probably just allergies. The entire city of Raleigh is yellow right now, covered in pollen.

I'm dealing with my first plagiarism case(s) as a TA. It's no fun. I had one student walk away from our private little talk close to tears. Ugh.

I just ate beans on toast for a late dinner. And orange juice.

Duke University is like a different world, totally different than NCSU. My archives class went there tonight to see old photographs in their special collections. First of all, I'm surprised I even found my way to the campus because the directions I had weren't working out. Secondly, they're too busy looking fancy and Gothic to put up signs and maps, so it took some extra wandering to find the library. Thirdly, everyone there is skinny and tanned and beautiful. Anyway, the collection was really great, and I tried to be excited, but my nose was sniffly and my body started to ache and I mostly just wanted to go home.

Luckily my drive to and from Duke was fun, thanks to the mix cd my new friend gave me.

Warm weather is making bugs pop up all over my apartment. A spider here, a fly there. I keep a flip flop handy to smash them.

History Field Trip Weekend

The obligatory Colonial Williamsburg picture. Uncropped.

Friday: Up early to meet at professor's house by 8:30. Rode with two fun guys to Jamestown. Ate lunch at the fake Jamestown, then had group tour with an archaeologist at the real Jamestown. Got sunburned. Checked into hotel, then went to The King's Arm for large group dinner. Didn't eat much peanut soup. Somehow ended up in the tiny group with late tickets for the Legends Tour, so went with three other students to a tavern for drinks. Played fun dice games. Went on Legends Tour, but we all had to pee the whole time. After tour met back with the larger group at the same tavern for more drinks and more dice games. Got slightly rowdy, but definitely had a good time. After the tavern closed at 10:30 we walked back to the hotel and the cool kids ("kids" is relative- I was definitely one of the youngest ones there) hung out until after 2, with more drinks and pizza.

My awesome car mates in their awesome hats.

Saturday: Woke up early for hotel breakfast. Stood with the group in the sun on the loud crunchy walkway by the buses and listened (or tried to listen) to a lecture for way too long. Off to explore Colonial Williamsburg. Toured the Capitol and Governor's Palace, plus lots of artisan shops. Finally got to sit down and eat lunch, then back on the streets for more exploring and note taking. Starting asking around about the Native Americans, or the lack of Native Americans. Learned female blacksmiths didn't wear shirts to work. Was super tired and hot and dehydrated, but stayed strong until 5. Went back to hotel for short nap, with tired feet and exhausted body. Up again to walk back to our same favorite tavern for dinner and more dice games. Off to learn about 18th-century dance at the Capitol. Back to the same tavern for more dice games with our favorite waiter. After tavern closed walked back to hotel to hang out in same hotel room again, but not as late this time.

(I would show the picture of me with the apron on, but I'm hunched over so it will stay up. Since that doesn't look very flattering you get to look at my back instead.)

Sunday: Up early again for hotel breakfast. Back to Colonial Williamsburg to finish exploring. Sat in the chapel at the Wren building at William and Mary for thirty minutes chatting with my new friend. Met back with professor and group one last time for roll call, then headed back to the car and on the road. Stopped at hugest Arby's ever for lunch. Had great fun talking with my car mates, and decided to start a band. We're gonna be rock stars. Rock stars who just had a great weekend in Williamsburg.

The mug doesn't do it justice.

You know those big mugs from Starbucks for every different state? Well my parents gave me the one for New Mexico, because they're cool like that. But let me say, as awesome as a New Mexico mug is, Starbucks doesn't do the Land of Enchantment justice.

Here's what you can learn from the mug: "Red or Green?" is a question. But it doesn't explain that it is our very important Official Question, and that it refers to chile. Seriously, go to any Mexican restaurant in New Mexico and they'll ask "red or green?" I like to order "Christmas," which means both. Actually, I'm usually too embarrassed to say "Christmas," even though that's really what they call it, so I just say "both, please." Next, you learn that New Mexico entered the Union in 1912 (we're not even 100 yet!), our land area is 121,356 sq. mi. (let me add that it's the fifth largest state in the country), our average low/high temperatures are 39.7F and 785F (no joke, they missed the period), and that our lowest elevation is 2,842' and the highest is 13,161' (again, let me add that 13,000 feet is really high, and that Santa Fe, at about 7000', is the highest capital city in the whole country, even higher than Denver).

Finally, you learn: "The state of New Mexico has been a leader in energy research and development since 1945 in the nuclear, solar, and geothermal areas." Sweet- they think the most important thing is that New Mexico helped create the bombs that killed tons of people.

What you don't learn is that even though it didn't become a state until 1912, it's super old. Santa Fe ranks right up there with Jamestown and St. Augustine. You don't learn about the multiculturalism in the state, except through the picture of an Indian pueblo on the front. You don't learn about the world's largest hot air balloon event that happens annually (we call it the Balloon Fiesta!) or about the fifty foot puppet Santa Fe has burned every year since 1924.

Pretty much you don't learn about the awesomeness that is New Mexico. Thank goodness you have me here to teach you.

The grass is pretty green on this side, too.

Like most everyone else in this world, I often wish a few things in my life were different. If only I had an amazingly cute apartment in an amazingly cute neighborhood. If only I looked like a super model. If only I had a wealthy husband and could travel more often. Heck, if only I had a guy to go out to dinner with every once in a while. I don't really think of myself as a terribly jealous person. I don't covet fancy cars or huge houses or designer clothing. And yet, as the pastor pointed out at church on Sunday, wishing I had someone else's life is envy, and envy means trouble. Not that there is any particular person whose life I wish I led. It's just the little things that start to add up. I wish I had her hair, I wish I lived where they do, I wish I had her style, I wish I wish I wish.

The other night I was hanging out with two friends, and I told them I had just realized I'll be twenty-seven by the time I'm done with my two degrees here in North Carolina. "I'll almost be thirty, and my life will barely be starting!" Did you catch that? Barely be starting. That's always been my problem. Life will be exciting as soon as I get to college. I can't wait until I graduate. Things will be great once I get into grad school. Real life will start when I'm through with school, or when I have a good career, or when I'm married, or when I have kids... Before you know it I'm going to be old and dead. One of my friends said something that is always said or realized when I get in this situation, and which always helps (until I forget it and get back in the same bad cycle). It doesn't matter that I'll be twenty-seven, she reminded me. "Because you're still having a good time now, while you're in school. Look at the fun stuff you did this weekend, for example."

And she's right. I may not think I have the fabulous life I dream about, but it's still pretty good. I like school a lot, definitely more than working. I get to sleep in and read books and study for hours at coffee shops. In a way, I even get paid to do it. I've also made some good friends here, and I keep making more. At the same time I occasionally have the chance to visit old friends. I have a loving and supportive family, both immediate and extended. I have the time, desire, and good health that enable me to run around my lovely little lake. There are smaller things that make life fun, too. I enjoy talking to friends about history and theses and evidence and arguments, and being super excited about a field trip to Williamsburg, yet I still don't feel like too much of a nerd. I also enjoy eating simple dinners that include lima beans with friends. I like hanging out with the two guys in my homegroup and talking about theology, or about how much we like beer. I don't like grading papers, but since it has to happen I like making a hot cup of tea and wearing sweats to grade on my comfy couch.

So life is good. The problem is, not only do I need to remember that, I also need to really believe it. I need to stop constantly looking at how it could be better, and I need to enjoy and be thankful for all that I've been blessed with already. Because I really have been blessed.

My Weekend

Friday: Woke up sort of early and wrote a short paper; drove to Richmond for internship meeting; went to grandparent's house (they weren't home though, they're in Greece) and did laundry; aunts came over and we had dinner; finished laundry and drove back to Raleigh.

Saturday: Woke up early and went to the conference; after I got home I spent an hour and a half ordering books through inter-library loan; went to dinner at a friend's house and hung out with the girls.

Sunday: Slept in, then read John Bidwell's trail diary from 1841; went for a run; went to the evening church service; went to the store; came home and made my butternut squash/apple soup (I also added a few carrots, and ate it served over rotini pasta); watched a little tv; read some more; finally off to bed now.

a day with the Superstars of Early American History

This morning I woke up before the sun to get dressed, pick up a friend, and get to Chapel Hill for a history conference at UNC. My professor had told us about it last week in class, and I decided it would be a good thing to go to. It was in honor of the retirement of Don Higginbotham, and many of the speakers and attendees were his former students. The first speaker was Pulitzer Prize winning Gordon Wood, on George Washington. Next was Jack Greene on the need for historians to stop viewing the colonies merely as precursors to the United States. I was in the elevator with him and his wife before I knew who he was. After lunch Joseph Ellis spoke. He wrote Founding Brothers (which also received the Pulitzer Prize) and American Sphinx, and he's one of those historians who has made it over to the popular side, like McCullough, only Ellis actually has a Ph.D. Also at the conference was Fred Anderson, but I missed his talk yesterday.

Anyway, these guys are all big deals in the academic world of Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early Republic history. Other historians came from all over to attend and wish Higginbotham a merry retirement. There weren't very many young students there, which was too bad. I think it was a great opportunity and I'm glad I went!

another RVA summer

The Richmond internship is a go! I start Monday, June 4. I think it will be good, and it pays, which is definitely an internship bonus. I went today and met with the people I'll be working with and saw the collection I'll be assigned to. They seem very nice, and this will be good experience. Plus, this means more hanging out with the grandparents and cool peeps in Richmond.

update

Never fear friends, I fixed the problem and Ira Glass and I are still on for this afternoon. I'm pretty much on my way to becoming a technological genius.

Uugghhhh

I installed iTunes 7, because it kept asking me to and I thought, what the heck? But it doesn't work. When I try to open iTunes one of those evil little boxes with the startling noise pops up and says:

"iTunes cannot run because it has detected a problem with your audio configuration."

I don't even know what that means. And I don't know what to do about it. And I'm annoyed because I was about to download the newest "This American Life" program for my run this afternoon. Buggers.

If anyone knows what to do, and surely some of you computer-types do know, please tell me! Thanks!

Food

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, for several reasons.

First of all, I went grocery shopping today, and groceries, it turns out, are expensive. I feel like I keep spending more and more money on food. But I always buy lots of fruits and vegetables, so maybe that helps make it expensive, instead of living off of Ramen. Or maybe I'm just not accustomed to the (expensive) real world.

Also, I just wrote my historiography paper on food and the 19th-century westward migration.

Thirdly, I'm craving my mother's burritos and guacamole.

Finally, here is a list of some foods that I love:
pistachios
(New) Mexican food
juicy black plums
edamame
macaroni and cheese
Thai curry
Indian cuisine
warm flour tortillas
scones (bet you didn't see that coming)
thin French fries
good beer (that counts, right?)
bran muffins
shrimp cocktail
and of course, my chocolate milk.

homework shmomework

I did homework all weekend. My breaks usually revolved around eating. I cooked the cauliflower soup (which I just finished off), the next day I made a grilled chicken salad (and set the smoke alarm off when I burned my croutons), and on Sunday I made that macaroni and cheese with squash and corn dish (adding thyme was a mistake, even though the recipe calls for it).

This morning I read more secondary sources, then sorted electronic files at the records center, then went to my TA class and led discussion. Only there wasn't much discussion. Nobody read the material, so I mostly just talked, and my voice started to get horse. And a guy fell asleep.

Tomorrow I have to spend the whole day writing a historiography paper. I'm a little nervous I won't be able to write "at least eight pages," since it's sort of a limited topic. Well, maybe I'm more nervous about how I haven't planned out the paper well enough yet (or at all) and how I know I will end up spending hours doing that tomorrow, leaving less time to actually write. Which means I'll have to be up really late, and I will be sad.

As soon as the paper is done and turned in I have to start researching the Pueblo Revolt, and I have to start (finally) reading primary sources for my big research paper (which will turn into my thesis). Plus next week I will have tons more papers to grade, and the weekend after that I'm in Williamsburg the whole time, and then after that drafts start coming due, and shortly after that the whole semester is over. Thinking about that stresses me out because I have tons and tons of work to do before the semester can be over. Ugh.

when the lights go out

It rained rained rained all day long. Then around 7:30 the power went out, and it got very dark. I found my one and only combined flashlight-and-radio and started looking for candles, in case the lights were going to be off forever. I managed to find two tea lights (from jack-o-lanterns sophomore year) and a little box full of tiny incense candles (a hand-me-down Christmas gift from my mother that will most likely never be used). You see, I don't really like candles. But when the lights go out, you wish you had them.

Also during this very dark period my cauliflower soup was not done cooking on the stove. Yes, I voluntarily bought cauliflower at the store and made soup with it. Luckily cauliflower soup isn't the sort of thing that will be disastrously affected by no power.

Oh, I also found a little book-reading light. Because the one thing every girl wants to do when the lights go out is homework.

This episode reminded me of that time during high school when the power went off and I was home alone. I left and went to my friend Megan's house around the block. They were making hamburgers in the dark and her dad wore a head lamp. Now that I think of it, how were they cooking hamburgers? Anyway, they let me have one. It was like a fun indoor camp out.

Back to tonight, the power came back on, my soup finished cooking, and I didn't have to read with an itty-bitty book light. Whew.

today's miscellany

Today in the car I realized I can get the NPR station from Richmond (as well as the country station in Richmond I listen to) down here in Raleigh. Not that I would want to though- it's better here. We have a separate classical music station, so the WUNC/NPR station has room for extra goodness.
*I am an idiot and this is a lie. I was fooled by static-y coincidences.

I met with the director of the history program today, and after I send an email requesting to transfer, I'm officially a Public History student. And I will write a thesis. Scary.

My Doritos got stuck in the machine when I tried to buy them during a break in class. But a classmate came by and tilted the machine for me. I don't believe I've ever bought Doritos from a machine, or pretty much ever. I wanted to get Peanut M&Ms, but they only had king sized, which cost 25 cents more than I had to spend.

Things are looking up for a Richmond summer internship. I'm going to talk to the guy tomorrow I think.

When I came out of class tonight at 7pm it was still light out! And warm! Hurray!

My Weekend

Friday: Didn't go to The Center (the gym) with Grandma when she woke me up at 6:45, but eventually went by myself around 10; ate lunch with grandparents; read, then tried to keep reading but was distracted by cartoons; went to dinner at Starlite with Allison, Sam, and Sam's amazingly ridiculous friend, then out for wine at Can Can.

Saturday: Read in bed, went out for Mexican Saturday with grandparents, read some more, aunt came over for tea, read again, went to Commercial Taphouse for a beer with Jennifer.

Sunday: Went for a run around the neighborhood next to ours (my first run not around my lake), ate Sunday dinner with the family, hung out with Sunni and endured her trying to make me touch my toes (which I still can't do), went to church at FSC, went to aunt's house for dinner, watched Memoirs of a Geisha, got home after 11 and put laundry on (why do I always wait until the last minute?), quickly researched Chinese printing for the discussion I have to lead tomorrow, soon off to bed after I move the laundry around.

lists

I like to make lists. Lists of groceries, lists of readings for class, lists of things to get at Target, lists of music I want, etc.

Mostly lists help me remember things. But sometimes lists are nice just so I can enjoy a brief moment of accomplishment as I cross items off. Lists are also helpful in pros and cons situations.

Last week the world was rosy, and this week it's still mostly rosy but I'm starting to get that mid-semester nervous-ness that comes with lots of extra research and reading to do, plus important plans to make for the future. I realized today that I need to register for class next week, so this switch from public history to regular/traditional/academic/whatever-else-you-want-to-call-it history is real and immediate. I thought I could hold off for another semester on making the decision final, but I think I need to register for both thesis research and Spanish. Also, I need a summer internship. I'm working on trying to get one in particular in Richmond, but I also think it might be fun to do one in Tacoma, so maybe I'll even do two. Then again, maybe both of my leads will fall through and I will have nothing. Nervousness.

Then there is the question of where to live next year. This is not an immediate concern (at least I don't think it is, but I need to go read the fine print on my lease), but it's still something more to feel nervousness about. The "to move or not to move" question is a good occasion to make a list. Pros to moving include: live closer to school (which means walking more, saving on gas, and maybe not paying $270 to park on campus); save on rent during the summer when I'm not in Raleigh; maybe live in a fun neighborhood with stores and coffee shops in walking distance, which is a lifestyle I love. But cons include: moving is a pain (change of address for everything important, new start-up fees, general frustration); I would need to pay to store my stuff over the summer; I would miss my lake; I will most likely move again the next year, meaning I will have moved every year from 2001-2008, and moving is a pain. Also, there's a good chance I can't actually afford a decent apartment where I want it.

But let's end with a happy list:

• Spring is coming.
• I'm going to start recycling again.
• Between Raleigh, Tacoma, and Richmond, I will have seen many of the people I love within two weeks time.
• I'm excited about history.

Weekend Review: good times in the City of Destiny

This is Tacoma, Washington. I love Tacoma.


Friday I woke up at 3:15 in the morning to fly out of Raleigh at 6:30. I arrived at Sea-Tac airport at 11:15am and Andrew picked me up and drove me to Tacoma. We picked up Katie (Andrew's wife, and one of my best friends from college) and went out for fish and chips. After that I was very sleepy, so I took a nap. When I woke up we had tea and played Scrabble (I lost), and then another couple came over and we played Settlers of Catan.


This is Andrew and Katie. They are cute and married. I love them.


Saturday we slept in, then made a nice big breakfast. We drove up to Seattle and after a stop at Crate and Barrel we went to a fun neighborhood called Fremont. We ate lunch at a nice Thai place, then walked around visiting little shops. We also stopped by the organic chocolate factory for free samples. Then we drove over to Capitol Hill (another neighborhood), picked up Katie's sister and her boyfriend, and went to get coffee. Afterwards we dropped those two back off and drove back to Tacoma. Katie made dinner (she cooked a lot, and it was always good), then she and I walked to a fun little bar, where I got a fancy champagne and honey drink.

Sunday we went to church, and it was nice to see a few old friends. We ate lunch at home, then went for a walk down along the waterfront (that picture at the top is a view from our walk). I used to walk down there all the time, and I miss it. Next we went to the Metropolitan Market, a fun fancy grocery store with lots of free samples. In the evening I went over to my old Bible study leader's house for dinner with her and her husband. Later that night Katie and Andrew and I walked to the Parkway, my favorite place in Tacoma for drinks, and had delicious beer. We talked and laughed and had a great bonding time, which we continued back at their apartment until 1:30 in the morning.

Here I am with Katie on our walk.


Monday I stopped by my old workplace and visited with the boss for a few minutes, which was fun. I then went over to UPS to visit two professors. It felt a little funny because I drove straight to the sub parking lot, walked across to Wyatt to see them, then walked straight back and left, just as if it was two and a half years ago and I'd gone to class. I then met back up with Katie for lunch, and we stopped by the UW-Tacoma store downtown so I could get a Tacoma sweatshirt (thanks to my Grandpa who told me to buy a sweatshirt while I was there so I don't forget my heritage). While Katie went back to work I went to a coffee shop to do some history reading. It was fun to still feel slightly connected to Tacoma, because I knew the owner, and I overheard the kids next to me mention my ex-boyfriend. From the coffee shop I walked over to Wright Park to check out a manuscript library museum, but it was closed. I then walked back to Katie's apartment. After Andrew got off work we went out for a happy hour dinner, which was really good. We then drove to Seattle and picked up her sister to take her out for dessert for her birthday. I got the bread pudding. Around 9pm we left Seattle and they dropped me off at the airport for my overnight flight back to Raleigh (via Chicago).

In conclusion, I had a great weekend. I didn't go with big plans or an agenda, I just wanted to hang out with Katie and Andrew and enjoy Tacoma. We had a fun and relaxing time, and the weather was beautiful. I'm already trying to figure out how and when I can get back to the City of Destiny.

it's a small (history) world

I just stopped by my alma mater to visit two of my former professors. It was nice to see them and catch up briefly. One professor is currently using the book of a professor from NCSU in his course, and the NCSU guy happens to be someone I will need to talk to eventually if I want to write a thesis on some aspect of western history, so it's fun I now have a random connection to talk to him about. I also told him I'm writing a paper on the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and he copied an article for me that will be helpful. While I was there another professor came through who left a year or two ago and was stopping by to visit, just like me. I never had him or knew him, but a guy in my archives class knows him from when they were getting doctorates at Minnesota, so I said I know so-and-so and now when I go back and see him in class I'll have a message for him. These little connections are exciting to me. I'm really liking school and this whole academic world of history.

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.

little brother in the paper

Ryan tried to leave a comment for my last post, but his comment was really a pasted copy of a newspaper article from January 3 that mentioned him. I rejected his comment, because it was long and awkward, but I'll give him a shout-out about it anyway. It was in the Santa Fe Reporter, which is a free weekly paper sort of like Style Weekly in Richmond. The article is about all the snow Santa Fe got and whether or not the city was doing a good job taking care of the streets. The best part is the very end:

But more resources won’t necessarily mean better results. At least according to Ryan Gray, a native Santa Fean who works as a valet at the Inn of the Anasazi and remains skeptical about the city’s efforts.

“I don’t think the city is doing a very good job,” Gray says, peering across Washington Avenue. “I shoveled this sidewalk in less time than it took four city workers to do the sidewalk on the other side of the street.”



This is what Ryan looks like at work. He has to wear all black, a cowboy hat, and a bolo tie. That's what I look like visiting Ryan at work. The hotel is across the street behind us. It's fancy shmancy, and there are famous people there all the time. Also, as you can see there is snow on the ground but this picture was taken before the storm the article was written about.

Miscellaneous Updates

Yesterday my carpet was damp again, and I thought the refrigerator might be leaking (which has happened at least twice), so I called the apartment office and they sent my friend Jim over, who seems to come a lot because something's always leaking. He said the fridge wasn't the culprit, and felt under the carpet in my room and thinks there's red mud/clay under there, so he looked outside and thinks there might be a little leak in the foundation that is allowing rain and mud to seep into my apartment. Sweet.

Last night I led my first TA discussion of the semester. The topic was "How did China become Chinese?" It was awkward as usual, and when they didn't have much to say and I couldn't think of any more questions (by the way, I can never think of questions on the spot. I have to have them written out ahead of time) I let them go ten minutes early. Don't tell anyone.

Also, before the discussion we were all in class together and instead of sitting in the front row like I did last semester, where you can concentrate on the lecture and not be distracted by the hundred kids behind you, I sat in the back. It really is distracting to see them all IM-ing each other on their laptops and doing crossword puzzles and sleeping, not to mention the room started to smell like a bunch of boys who need to shower.

Today I tried to listen to my iPod for the second time ever as I ran around the lake, but it totally froze and I couldn't make it do anything. Is this a common problem? I had to leave it all day and wait for the drained battery to finally turn the thing off. I think it's working now. And in case you were wondering, with the windchill it was something like 27 degrees outside, but I ran anyway. I'm hard core like that.

In case you thought I was kidding about my interest in the Oregon Trail and westward migration, I'm not. Right now I'm reading a 400 page book by John Unruh titled The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-60, and I will write a book review of it next week for my historical writing class.

Weekend Recap

Friday: Hung out around the apartment and did a lot of reading. Made scones.

Saturday: More reading. After lunch went to a coffee shop and read again. Stopped by the library for some books, then went to Target. Made butternut squash soup for dinner. Went to a small party where I won two games of darts and rocked out with Guitar Hero.

Sunday: Church at 11:15. Read all afternoon and into the evening with some internet breaks.

I'm eligible.

I learned today that I'm eligible for the Daughters of the Revolution. I must also be eligible for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, what with being related to Stonewall Jackson and all. You should check out the UDC web site. The whole idea is kinda crazy to me. Read the main page with "Why I am a Daughter of the Confederacy." It says things like "I came into this world with the blood of a soldier in my veins," and "Like the man in the Bible, I was given a talent and it is my duty to do something about it." Also, for UDC membership you have to be descended by blood from someone who served honorably in bold.

Anyway, I don't think I will be joining either, and especially not the UDC. And here's another thing-- these days about 95% of the people who visit and use archives are genealogists. This doesn't sound exciting to me at all, which could be a problem because archives are where I'm currently headed with my career.

Exciting happenings in the Kitchen

Way back in May my parents visited me in Richmond and we hit the clearance sales at Hechts for tons of kitchen things for my new apartment. It was exciting.

When I moved into my apartment in August I went to the grocery store and bought lots of stuff, including "staples."

Until last night, that was the end of the story. Then I decided to make scones. I love scones.

I opened a box and used my cookie sheet for the first time. I took down a mixing bowl from the cabinet and used it for the first time. I opened the flour for the first time, and the oatmeal for the first time, and the baking powder for the first time. Also, I turned on my oven for the first time. Ever.

I'm not gonna pretend they were the best scones ever (oatmeal, with no heavy cream, and slightly burned on the bottom), but they were decent and it was a pretty exciting evening. I made coffee to go with them. But I've done that before.

Not sleeping on the wrong side of the bed, just sleeping during the wrong hours of the morning.

This is my weekly schedule so far:

Monday- TA class at 6pm.
Tuesday- Class at 6pm.
Wednesday- Class at 3pm and 6pm.
Thursday- The Office and Grey's Anatomy at 8:30pm.
Friday- Whatever the heck I want.
Saturday- More of whatever I want.
Sunday- Church at 9:30am OR 11:15am.

That's it. Do you notice how Sundays are the only days I have to get up "early"? Can you begin to imagine the problem this is becoming for me? I can sleep in every day. Now yes, of course I'm grateful, but my body is contorting itself into this twisted thing that must sleep in every day. I can't wake up early, unless I have to be somewhere, and we've already covered how I never have to be anywhere. In addition, because I never have to wake up early I can never get myself to go to sleep early. In fact, the last few nights I've tried to go to bed around midnight but I just lay there and don't actually fall asleep until after 1am. Then the alarm goes off at 8am but I can't open my eyelids or move my arms, so I sleep another hour and a half through NPR on my radio alarm. Last night was the worst. I was out later than usual, and finally got in bed around 12:45 but decided to do a tiny bit of history reading, and then I tried to work on a crossword puzzle, and then it was 1:30 or so and I tried to sleep, but I can remember looking at the clock at 2:58, still awake (obviously). Which means there's no way I'll wake up with my alarm at 8. I didn't even bother listening to the radio, I just turned the thing off this morning and slept until 10:30. This is no good people. Maybe it would be ok if I were really diligent about getting all my reading and work done, but I wake up and get on the internet, and eat some breakfast, and maybe go for a run, and shower, and get on the internet again, and then it's time to eat some more, and before you know it it's 3 in the afternoon and I feel like I've shot the day. I'm in a terrible cycle. Oh, the other problem is that I get home from class at 9 but feel like it's almost bed time so I don't do much homework, and then it's 1:30am and I think back on all those hours I could have read if only I'd realized I'd be awake for so long. UGH.

I hate seagulls.

Seagulls and pigeons are the rats of the air. Just so you know.

Weekend: nice and relaxing.

Friday: Ran almost all the way around the lake (I hadn't been running since the middle of December), went to Foster's Market in Chapel Hill to read and eat one of their delicious monster scones, watched a couple As Time Goes By episodes.

Saturday: Ran all the way around the lake, read, played The Oregon Trail, read some more, watched more As Time Goes By.

Sunday: Went to church (and actually dragged myself out of bed to get to the 9:30 service), saw Stomp the Yard (I admitted to the girls I was with that I didn't even know about stepping before I saw previews for the movie, which they couldn't believe, but then I learned they have never had Indian food, which I couldn't believe.), ate at a place that looked like a cross between Paneras and Caribou Coffee, went grocery shopping, did more reading, watched more As Time Goes By.

The Oregon Trail

You all remember the old "edutainment" computer game right? Well I don't. I missed the whole thing apparently. It wasn't until I got to college and heard people talking about The Oregon Trail game that I even had a clue it existed. But I was sure interested in learning about it. Just the other day I was talking to a friend who teaches seventh grade history. She said she liked getting to teach the more exciting twentieth century history because, as she said, "that westward migration stuff is boring." Ahem. I happen to be quite interested in that westward migration stuff. I might even elect to switch programs and write a thesis about some aspect of it. I'm also a fan of old school computer games, so this Oregon Trail thing is right up my alley.

Before today I could only listen to the stories about how great the game was and imagine myself fording rivers and hunting for deer to feed my typhoidal family. But now I get to play it for real! I finally see what all the excitement is about! A friend sent it to me and I've played two games so far. First we all died near Boise, and I got to write my own epitaph, but in my second game I made it to Oregon City with only one death! We didn't really need that fifth person anyway. I do, however, need to get better at hunting. So I won by reaching the West weak and half starved, but I didn't have nearly enough points to make it into the top ten. It seems the number one player will remain, for a while, Sambo Flojo.

I'm pretty tempted

I've never had a dog before. I mean, Ryan has Jackson but got him after I left for college, and the grandparents have Danny, but I never had one as a kid. Maybe I should get one? I think I want a Boston Terrier. How could anyone not want one of these? But now is maybe not a good time? I have a lot of work to do, but I'm home a lot. I do go away a lot though, so it would have to be welcome in Richmond. And if I'm in Richmond for the summer, maybe that won't work? Or maybe Danny wants a friend? Or maybe I should wait until after the summer? Or maybe I should forget the whole idea? Some of you are dog people- how much does having a dog even cost? BTs aren't big, so they probably don't eat too much. And how much are average vet visits? I've never been to a vet. Ok, maybe I went on a field trip to the vet's office with my Girl Scout troop in the third grade. And I already have the perfect lake to take a dog to. Hmmm. I'm open for advice and/or suggestions. I mean, I probably won't get one any time soon. I'm just daydreaming.

Weekend Review

Wednesday: Drove from Richmond to Raleigh after breakfast in time for two classes.

Thursday: Walked around the lake, cleaned my apartment, ran some errands, and had my first non-relative guests over to watch Grey's Anatomy.

Friday: Drove back to Richmond in time for lunch, hung out with my brother Ryan, ate dinner, drove (well, Ryan drove) back to Raleigh.

Saturday: Drove thirty miles to Deep River something or another to watch Ryan shoot clay pigeons, kept score, ate hamburgers there, gave Ryan a short driving tour of Raleigh that he didn't appreciate nearly enough, drove back to Richmond in time to drink tea and play Rook with the grandparents.

Sunday: Took Danny on a walk along the James River, ate a big lunch, watched tv and wrestled, went to church at Franklin Street with Ryan, dinner with grandparents, over to aunt's house to hang out with cousins.

Monday: Ate big breakfast, watched Little Miss Sunshine again, ate crabcakes for lunch, took Ryan to Carytown, played more Rook with grandparents, went to different aunt's house for delicious Indian dinner, back to hang out with cousins and dominate at Wii boxing.

Tuesday: Up early for Grandpa's pancakes, drove with Ryan back to Raleigh, ate gyros for lunch, took Ryan to airport, back to apartment to read two articles, and then off to class.

Just like young George...

...I cannot tell a lie. So in the Rook game tonight when Grandpa miscounted the score in Grandma's and my favor, I spoke up.

"Er, uh, we didn't make seventy [the minimum we needed], we made sixty."

Sixty means we didn't make our bid. Sixty means we're actually seventy in the hole. Sixty means we're still losing this bloody game.

"Andi! Why do you have to be so blamed honest?!" yelled Grandma.

"Sorry," I said, "but that would have weighed too heavily on my conscience."

Of course I may be honest, but that doesn't mean I don't give the evil eye and punch Ryan for being on the winning team. I can't be entirely good.

The Cutest Dog Ever.

Back in Home # 3

Today I drove back to Raleigh. It was kind of nice coming back to my own apartment. They re-patched my ceiling and it looks much better.

I had two classes today. First was Colonial and Revolutionary US History, which will involve mountains of reading every week but sounds like it should be good. And we're going on a field trip!!! An alumnus is paying for the whole class to go to Jamestown and Williamsburg for two nights, including the hotel, admission, dinner at one of those taverns, and who knows what else. I'm so excited!

My second class was Archives again, only this time we're going to be sent around to work actual collections and create finding aids. I had a hilarious and awkward experience trying to tell the professor what sort of a collection I would like to work.

I downloaded iTunes to go with my new iPod Nano, so now I get to see what all the excitement is about. Do they automatically give you random music and pretend they found it on your computer? Or did Dell automatically give me random music I don't know about? I already have a list of 64 songs but have no idea where they came from.

After class I went to the grocery store, because my refrigerator was empty. A few people will be happy to hear that I bought four little pork chops, and ate one tonight. I used my grill pan, and grilled some apple slices to go with it, just for fun.

books for fun

A long time ago I posted that I was finally reading again. That was back in April. Well, I read that book that Katie had given me, and then I read Franny and Zooey (though I didn't actually remember that until I re-read my old post), and then I started but never finished The Luck of the Bodkins by P.G. Wodehouse. The only other book I recall reading was another one Katie gave me in July, and that was The Bowl is Already Broken, by Mary Kay Zuravleff, which I enjoyed. I may have read something else, but I don't remember it. Then school started, and though I read thousands of pages and wrote dozens, for-fun reading definitely stopped. But now I am proud to announce that I read three whole books during my break. Count them: one. two. three. First I read Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn. I really liked it, though it's quite strange and has to do with a circus family that tries to breed unique "freaks" for their traveling show. Next I read Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. Hornby is always fun, and I love British books that remind me of London. Then I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, and learned more than I ever wanted to know about the Appalachian Trail, but of course Bryson makes things like that interesting and humorous.

I'm not sure if much more fun reading will happen any time soon. Part of me wants to start another book, but I fear I won't finish it because of school. Then again, I used to do a Sudoku puzzle almost every night before bed, and I ran out of those, so either way I need something to fill my winding-down time before I sleep. New book or Sudoku...if only all life's choices were this trivial.

Gma and Gpa

I know you all know this already, but I lived with my grandparents for over a year, and I still visit them often and pretend I'm still living with them. Now, since the few people who actually read this thing already know me, and are used to the fact that I live(d) with my grandparents, this is nothing exciting to think about. But come on, how many of you would volunteer to live with your grandparents? Once when I was in a bar being hit on by some guy in a baseball cap the fact that I lived with them came up, and he gave me a strange look and said, "I'm not gonna lie, that doesn't sound too fun." But that just shows what he knows.

Last night Grandma and I stayed up to watch six episodes of As Time Goes By, the old British comedy with Dame Judi Dench. Grandma loves that show, and she got the whole series on DVD for Christmas. I enjoy it quite a bit myself, and laughed out loud several times. Maybe watching old British tv shows with your grandmother on a Friday night sounds lame, and maybe it even is lame, but I had a great time.

Today the fun only continued. Generally Saturdays are Mexican lunch days, but I am a little Mexican-ed out, (while at home in Santa Fe I had posole, tamales, multiple burritos, enchiladas, a quesadilla, and an Indian taco) especially when the Mexican here in Richmond isn't that great. So instead we decided to try out a new restaurant in the City. The first place we attempted is only open for dinner, so we drove on to Tarrants, at 1 West Broad. It was a fun place, kind of like Perly's. First we had nachos as an appetizer, in honor of Mexican Saturday, and then I had a delicious Tarragon chicken salad sandwich. And the waiter was really nice. Grandpa especially liked it because it used to be a pharmacy and right next to our table was a prescription written in the 1930s for a gallon of beer, and above that was a black and white picture of students around a cadaver. Of course that means I was looking at a shriveled dead guy while eating.

Next we headed over to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. My grandparents started to act a little silly, probably because it was supposed to be nap time and we were all tired, but it made the excursion fun. For example, while looking at the renaissance art with all the Madonnas and icons Grandpa was inspired by a particular painting to sing the original song (to the tune of "Oh my Darlin") "Lost his head, lost his head, John the Baptist lost his head..." And later when looking at a statue of a naked woman dancing with her small child Grandpa said to Grandma, "I never saw you do that when our kids were young." "Oh?" she replied. "You must have been at work." I wasn't the only person in the room who thought this was funny; I saw others listening in, too.

In conclusion, I would like to say that living with my grandparents and having the opportunity to hang out with them so much is pretty darn awesome.

The Secret Art Project, Finally Revealed

Here is what I did over my Christmas break. I made tile mosaics in wooden tea trays. That means I cut tons of glass tiles with my "nippers" (wearing latex gloves and eye protection, of course), I painstakingly glued every piece of glass down and tried to make all the little shapes fit, I grouted the tiles at least twice for each tray, I polished them, and I painted or stained the trays themselves.

And now for my portfolio:

This is the first mosaic I did. That means the first ever in my whole life. I gave it to my grandparents in Richmond.



This is the second one. I gave it to my grandparents in Santa Fe.



This is the last one, and my best work I think. I gave it to Aunt Caryn. Also, she made me sign the back "AB 2006," so some day when I'm famous and people are spending the big bucks to get their hands on one of my tile mosaics, hers will be extra special because it was signed "AB" and no one will realize that is me, but it is.

Happy Birthday Shades of Gray

I just realized there are only eighteen minutes left in the one year birthday of this here blog. Everyone say "Happy Birthday Andi's Blog." Thanks.

Homes Sweet Homes

I have three homes right now.

I just left what we will call Home Number One. That's the home I grew up in, where my family still lives, and where I can show up and still find old pants that fit buried in the dresser. Not a lot has changed inside that home. It's outside the home that things are different. I don't have any friends in Santa Fe anymore, and I don't have a school or a job. So Home Number One is all about my parents and brother. I had a great time with them over Christmas. It was good to be home.

Now I am back in Home Number Two. It's in Richmond. Every once in a while when I'm in Raleigh and I haven't been up here for a few weeks Grandpa will email me and tell me to "come home." I lived here for over a year, and when I come back things are mostly the same, except my room isn't decorated with my art postcards anymore. I usually have all the clothes I need though, because every time I come up here I bring all my laundry to clean. Home is where you want to do your laundry, right? Of course it's also home because my grandparents and Danny live here. Last night Grandma and I watched TV for a while, and then I fell asleep at 7. Home is a place where you can do that- feel comfortable falling asleep at 7 in front of your family.

Lastly, and quite frankly leastly, is Home Number Three, aka my apartment in Raleigh. Sometimes it's less "home" and more "my place." That's where I can make messes and no one will ever know, or where I can stay out as late as I want and no one cares when I get in. It's where I sleep, and do homework, and listen to NPR. But it's not really "home."

One of the nice things about having two real homes where you don't actually live is that you get spoiled when you're there. When I'm in Santa Fe my parents want to make me whatever food I want, or take me out to concerts, or have special movie and game nights (well, that was just New Years Eve). And in Richmond my grandparents always make sure they have skim milk for me (to go with my chocolate milk for breakfast, which they also have for me), and that my bathroom has my clean yellow towels hanging before I get home. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty nice.

Update

It snowed a lot more. Santa Fe has over 25 inches. I think the New Mexico governor (Bill Richardson) declared a state of disaster. And you know it's serious when all the churches cancel their Sunday morning services. I don't feel like I'm in a disaster though, don't worry. However, the snow and ice are messing up interstate travel, which means I can't get to Albuquerque in the morning to get to the airport for my flight back to Richmond. So I'm here a little longer I guess. I think we're going to try to get me out on Monday before the next snow storm comes on Tuesday.

In the meantime I'm still slaving away over this art project I started. The whole thing is taking more time and energy than I initially bargained for. It's fun though. Ryan told me it was probably my calling and I should give up on history and libraries. We'll see.

Dad: Oh the weather outside is...

Me: Frightful.
Dad: But oh, it's so...
Me: Delightful.
Dad: Let it...
Me: Snow
Dad: Let it...
Me: Snow
Dad: Let it...
Me: Snooooww!

This is the walkway to my house today.



And these are the mailboxes.

Some Pictures

Here are some pictures I took tonight with my new camera while wandering around downtown in the freezing cold.

This is the plaza. I'm sorry it's a little fuzzy. I'm still working on the whole flash/no flash/hold still thing.


This is a drinking fountain near the corner of the plaza. It's also fuzzy, but look how cool the fountain is.


These were some of the farolitos outside my house on Christmas Eve. So actually this was not taken tonight, or downtown, or even with my own camera, but at least you can see what I was talking about in that previous post.


This is St. Francis Cathedral. Except it's not a cathedral anymore because several months ago the Pope made it a basilica. Popes can do that you know.


This is the back of a cute angel sculpture outside the basilica.


That's all for now.

My Christmas

Christmas Eve:

Played the piano for the church service, since the other pianists were out of town. It has been a while since I've had to actually practice for something, but I did a little and it went fine.

Came home to do some last-minute work on one of my craft projects, help clean the house, spoon out divinity and fudge onto trays, and shape rolls.

Set up some farolitos in the front yard with dad. They are candles in brown paper bags, and are traditional New Mexican Christmas decorations.

Grandparents and Cynthia came over, and we ate posole and tamales. My mom always makes posole and tamales for Christmas Eve.

Learned that when my grandparents were newly married (about sixty years ago) my granddad said "dear, I sure wish you'd learn some of my sister's pie recipes and make me a pie," to which my grandmother responded by never making a pie for him ever again.

Also learned that the day I was born my dad went to the waiting room to tell my grandmother I had finally arrived (I was about three weeks late). She asked what my name was, and apparently he spent a long time mulling it over before deciding he wasn't really sure and would have to get back to her. He says the problem was that he couldn't remember which pronunciation they'd picked, since there are at least three common ways to say Andrea.

After the guests left I helped wrap gifts (we have a habit of wrapping everything at the very last minute) and stayed up until after 1 in the a.m. doing more last-minute work on my craft project.

Christmas Day:

Woke up, got ready, and grandparents came back over for Christmas morning. Ate a nice breakfast and drank Mexican hot chocolate.

Opened presents. Ryan gave me an ipod, and my parents gave me a digital camera. I'm pretty hi-tech now.

Drove to my aunt and uncle's house in Tesuque for Christmas Dinner (at lunch time). Delicious as always.

Tried to hang out with my cousins. They are 15 and 11-year-old girls who are beautiful, smart, and talented. I've never been close to them, and we never have much to say to each other. Ryan and I sort of invited ourselves into Meredith's room to try and chat. It was a little awkward.

Sat by the fire and opened more presents. Then we ate dessert. More deliciousness.

Came home. Very tired. Will probably watch a little tv and then go to bed.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Sports Talk...Andi Style

Today I went with my dad to the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, where San Jose State University beat the University of New Mexico 20-12. I know some of you like to take notes at games and post your thoughts. I will do the same in my own special way.

First of all, I have a problem with all these bowl games. Half of the teams get to go, which means it isn't really that big of a deal. UNM lost this game, which gave them a losing season overall, and I feel like it's ridiculous that they were in a bowl period.

Next, this was the first New Mexico Bowl, and they sure hyped up the New Mexico part. I used to go to UNM football games all the time (my dad has had the same season tickets way up high on the fifty yard line for around thirty years), but I hadn't been to one in over five years, so there were new things to see, like the fancy bathrooms near the entrance and the big video screens. Big video screens are nice, but they also make it possible to show commercials, and I hate having loud speakers blare commercials at me at a football game. A whole bunch of the commercials were advertisements for this here Land of Enchantment, with stupid lines that went something like "who knew there was golfing in New Mexico?" or "I used to think turquoise was just a color, until I visited New Mexico," or "I used to think all Native American pottery looked the same until I visited nineteen pueblos in New Mexico." Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about New Mexico pride and I think you all should come visit, because it really is a unique state, but these advertisements from the tourism people made me want to puke. Plus, almost everyone there was from New Mexico anyway, since only two sections actually had San Jose fans and half of them were with the band or the dance squad. And one other thing- the trophy for this bowl was a big Native American pottery bowl mounted on a wooden base. Maybe that's cool? Or maybe San Jose was disappointed they didn't get a real trophy like everyone else?

Next let me tell you about our seats. This was a special game, so we weren't in the usual seats. We were eleven rows up from the field, but on the ten yard line. I'd never been that close to the field before, so it was neat to actually see stuff down there without binoculars. For example, I always knew where the ESPN camera guy was. Maybe you saw me on TV? I was wearing a red hat. I also could see with my own bad eyesight two of the sports guys from the local news stations. And the cheerleaders looked much younger than they used to... Speaking of which, the cheerleaders and band were way down on the other end of our side, so we couldn't hear them at all, and instead we had the San Jose band blaring straight at us from across the field. I mean, they were pretty good I guess, but not as fun as hearing our own band with our own cheers. Twice some cheerleaders came down to our side to do the two part "Go" - "Lobos" - "Go" - "Lobos" but both parts were on the same side of the field, so we couldn't ever hear the "Lobos." "Go...Go...Go" isn't that fun of a cheer.

Well, if you've made it this far in my long post, you're probably wondering about the game itself. We (UNM) didn't do very well. We only made one touch down and that was in the last two minutes. We ran with the ball a lot, but never made it into the end zone. We also fumbled a lot. It was a big disappointment, considering this was in UNM's home stadium and everyone was making such a big deal out of the whole New Mexico thing. Plus, as I already mentioned, there weren't really that many San Jose fans (but they were sure loud and enthusiastic), which made the celebration at the end look pathetic since most of the stadium was empty except for those few blue and yellow fans down on the field.

So that's about it. Any questions?

some things

Last night for dinner my mom made chili (the beans and meat and red sauce kind, like Texas chili, not like New Mexico chili) with some of the sausage from the deer my brother killed a few weeks ago. It was pretty good, but I think it was the sauce that made it good, not necessarily the deer meat. Also, the deer skull is sitting right outside our front door, which is pretty gross. And my room has been overrun with Ryan's guns and hunting paraphernalia.

It snowed yesterday and all of last night, so everything is covered in white. And it's cold.

I just saw my grades for this past semester and I got all As.

I have taken up a new hobby and am being quite the crafty girl this Christmas. I will post pictures later, once I've given the gifts away. Get excited.

Five Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

(I've been tagged.)

1. I like to jog my memory and list things I've done or people I've known, sort of. Here are two (similar) examples: For a very long time after I was at Interlochen I would close my eyes (I was usually in bed trying to go to sleep anyway) and mentally go through my cabin, naming every girl in her bunk, her instrument/art/reason she was there, and where she was from. I did the same sort of thing with the students I studied abroad with in London- name, university, and where they were from.

2. Once when I was a kid my babysitter's daughter (she was a year older than me) and I were in her parents bedroom and she pulled out a handgun from under the bed. We looked at it, and then she put it back. I don't think I ever told anyone about that.

3. My dream car is a charcoal Jaguar.

4. The only time I ever wanted to throw up because of disgusting food was once when my parents forced me to eat canned oyster stew. I'll pretty much eat anything, and I'll even eat more canned oyster stew, but I was super angry at my parents for forcing me to eat it the one time in my life that I was trying to refuse.

5. I ditched my honors English class several times my freshman year of high school to go hang out with Becca and Erin. I still got an A. I also hated living with the constant stressful fear of my parents finding out. Now I'm letting them know.

Four Months in Review

My first semester of grad school is officially over. Here's a review of stuff that happened during those four months of my life.

I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. Before January of this year I had never even been to North Carolina, even though I'd been to all of its border states more than once. I got an apartment, and I lived all by myself for the first time. I also had to furnish that apartment. The Love of Jesus thrift store in Richmond is pretty great. It's especially great if you have a grandpa to refinish a $25 wooden desk and make it look like a $250 desk. I also got a very comfy couch from Katy M., my aunt's favorite chair, and a foot stool that belonged to my great grandmother.

Moving alone to a brand new place where I didn't know anyone, combined with leaving friends and a relationship behind in Richmond, meant I was lonely at times. The good side of this is I have talked to my mom on the phone more in the last four months than I had probably talked to her on the phone during all four years of college combined.

I fell in love with NPR and my local public radio station (WUNC). I woke up to it, drove to it, cooked (well, made sandwiches is more like it) to it, and procrastinated around the apartment to it. In addition to staying relatively current on the news, I also discovered the simple pleasures of Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on the weekends.

I found a church that I really like.

I started running (two laps this morning!), ate a little less (little money and no grandma will do it), and lost ten pounds.

I learned (gratefully) that leading discussions and grading undergraduate papers is not as hard as I feared it would be. Next semester will take more work, but I'm not as worried.

I learned a lot about public history and archives. I also learned a lot about theory and different kinds of history, which I actually really enjoyed. While some papers and projects were a pain, I had fun researching and writing my historiography paper, and it reminded me of how I enjoyed writing my senior thesis in college, which is what inspired me to go on to grad school in the first place. So that's good.

I became a regular viewer of Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights.

I got to visit with family. In college my family was at least a three days drive away, and now my Richmond family is less than three hours away. My dad also came to visit, which was great. Now it's my mom's turn.

I started to make new friends. This has been a big concern for me, but like most things, it takes time. I'm excited to see how these relationships develop next semester.

In sum, I think I grew a lot and had some valuable experiences. I guess you could say it was a pretty good four months.

Grad school is pretty fun...now that the semester is over

Monday night my public history class headed over to our professor's house for dinner, which was very nice. Afterwards some of us went out for drinks (well, one drink in my case) at a fun place I'd never been to with tons of good beer on tap. Then yesterday I had lunch with a friend (real friends in Raleigh, hooray!) and we tried to do some Christmas shopping at the mall. Looking back though, she bought a Christmas gift for herself, and I got nowhere. Last night four of us girls went out downtown to celebrate the end of the semester, which was lots of fun. We need to go out more next semester. Tonight I went to my homegroup Christmas party, where we had a "Dirty Santa" exchange. I took the bag I got from a similar party last year from Jennifer (which the girl who ended up with loved, by the way), as well as a pen that lights up. In exchange I got a disgusting old camouflaged army cap. Then four of us went out for drinks (again, just one in my case) afterwards. Now that I've had my fun, tomorrow will be a day of studying for my archives exam. And then I go home!

Drum Roll Please

I have completed all of my papers for the semester! Woohoo! Now all I have left is my archives exam on Thursday, but I'm not worried about it. For the midterm I only studied four hours right before I took it and still got a 99.

So, my weekend was mostly paper writing. I listed to The Marriage of Figaro about a million times. I would say I almost have it memorized, but that's not true because it's not in English, so I can't hear what they're singing very well. Except the parts I already knew from accompanying singers in college. Also, if anyone out there wants to take me to an opera some day, that would be fine with me.

Saturday night I went to a party with the other history students. Lots of mingling and drinking, and before I knew it the clock read 3:30 in the morning.

Sunday was church again, which I love, and then working on the paper. I also took (too long of) a break to watch the last episode of America's Next Top Model.

Now I must clean up my apartment, because it looks like a library exploded in here. Then I will take a nap before dinner at my professor's house.

Little Rounds

Has anyone else noticed how Grape Nuts (what I used to call Little Rounds as a kid) aren't staying very crunchy these days? They get soggy right after I add milk. I hate soggy cereal.

Mmmmm.....sigh

Once in Spain I had a bowl of hot chocolate soup for breakfast. It was delicious. I was just thinking about how nice a warm bowl would be right now. Alas my powdered chocolate (not to be confused with my breakfast powdered chocolate) and hot water will have to suffice.

My Weekend

I'm going to consider myself one of Val's friends, so I will do what she asked.

The thing is, my weekends in Raleigh can be very lonely and pathetic. I will work harder next semester to make things better. Anyway, I digress.

Friday, I procrastinated. I don't even remember what I did. I think my day involved sleeping way too late, and playing way too much Spider Solitaire, instead of writing my paper. Finally I dragged myself out of the house and through the rain to a coffee shop, where I worked on my paper from 4:45 until 10. Then I came back home and watched Love Actually, because it's the only movie I own that I haven't already seen a billion times.

Saturday was pretty similar. Slept in (which, by the way, is not always by choice. If I don't have to actually be somewhere in the morning, I have a hard time waking up.), and ran around the lake. Then to mix things up a little I drove to Foster's Market in Chapel Hill to work on my paper, which I could only do for three and a half hours until my battery ran out. Then I decided to go to the mall, because for some reason going to malls is like comfort food. I don't actually buy anything, I just feel like I'm back in New Mexico, thanks to the homogenization of America's malls. Anyway, this didn't actually work for me, and I left tired and depressed about how I have to start Christmas shopping but I don't have money or any clue what to get anyone.

Sunday I planned to wake up early and work on my paper more, which didn't happen. I went to the 11:15 service at church, but was 15 minutes late. Then I stayed for the ownership seminar and finally got home at 2. I put on sweats, made a pot of coffee, and worked on two papers from 4:15 until 1:30, with small bouts of procrastination on the internet in between.

It's 1:30 A.M.

But I've just completed (for the most part) two of my three final papers. Now I have an entire week to research and write about the historiography of Western history and Henry Nash Smith. Yeehaw.