Empty. Well, almost.

I'm sitting on the floor because all of the furniture is out of my apartment. I still have to tackle my closet and bathroom, but other than that most things are outa here. And tomorrow I will say goodbye to my first solo apartment and to Raleigh as I head back to Richmond for the summer.

Big Sky Country

Growing up in the West I didn't appreciate it nearly enough. And now that I've been to Montana I heart the West even more.

First things first. My dear friend Amy from college is getting married in July. As the maid of honor I figured it would be a good idea to visit her and actually meet the lucky man before the big day. So that explains why I went to Missoula. It was great to see her and hang out, and as relationships like this usually go, it was just like old times and you wouldn't really guess we hadn't seen each other in almost two years.

I won't give you the play by play of my six days, just the highlights and some pictures.

I drank lots of delicious local beer. The Big Sky Brewing Company is in Missoula, so not only did we drink their beer in local restaurants, but we visited the brewery where they have free tasting. I also bought a Moose Drool pint glass.

We walked through three markets on Saturday morning, full of vegetables and crafts and flowers.

I looked around a lot just to enjoy the big sky and the surrounding mountains. One section of mountains reminded me of home.














Look at those mountains! Amazing.

Saturday night there was a surprise bridal shower, so I spent the day listening to Amy talk about what she wanted to do later that night- rent a movie? drink more beer? listen to music? She had no idea the "barbecue" we were scheduled to attend was really a party in her honor with chocolate fondue and a make-a-wedding-gown-out-of-toilet-paper activity.














There is a giant "M" on the side of the mountain next to the University of Montana, so we climbed up to that Sunday. We rewarded ourselves with ice cream when we got back down. (See the M?)


At the top!











Monday was my favorite. First we bought some buffalo jerky on the side of the road. Then we visited the National Bison Range and Wildlife Refuge, just like I had planned.













We drove slowly up a mountain and along a ridge and through a valley, constantly peering our eyes for exciting wildlife. We saw birds, and deer, and antelope, and squirrels, and even turtles. The best part, of course, was the bison. The herd was hanging out toward the end of the long loop, and they were super close and big and exciting.

















After the drive we stopped by a pond with loud birds and ate sandwiches at a picnic table. It had rained or drizzled the entire weekend I was there, but Monday we didn't get a drop of rain and it was relatively warm and I was so happy to be out in the sun in the mountains. Looking at real live buffalo.

Teaser

Keep your eyes on the tail.

I head off for Missoula tomorrow, so I'm using the ol' internet to quickly learn about the place and see what there is to do there. Other than hang out with Amy, of course. And you know what they have less than one hour away from Missoula? Can you guess?

The National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge! A whole range for bison! I'm already planning to talk Amy into taking me there. It sounds sweet.

Have you figured out by now that I like buffalo? (Bison is the correct term but nowadays they're pretty much interchangeable; and let's be honest, "buffalo" sounds awesomer. Yes, awesomer.) I have pictures of them hanging in my apartment and a buffalo-head magnet on my fridge. There's a little bison farm or something in Virginia off of highway 15 and when I told some friends I saw buffalo there they thought I was crazy and didn't know a buffalo from a fat horse. But I do. Also, there is this great little joint in Tacoma, Washington, that serves buffalo food- burgers, burritos, steaks, you name it. I miss that place.

Bison trivia: How do you know if a bison isn't feeling so amused and is about to charge? If its tale is sticking straight up. I'll look out for that.

Joke: What did the daddy buffalo say to his kid when he left for work? "Bison." Hahahaha.

The Change Train is coming through again...

I'm currently moping around my apartment attempting to organize things in preparation to move out. It's not very fun. I like my apartment. I don't want to take it apart. Right now I'm filling a large box with papers to take to the recycling center. I don't want to lug all these articles and things around that I read for classes, but I also worry I will wish I had them someday when I'm maybe back in school or remembering something pertinent to a project. You should have seen how nervous I was taking all my billions of colored tabs out of the thirty library books I returned after I finished my thesis. What if I work on this again? What if I've just lost a lot of information by tearing out the tabs? Honestly I probably won't look at any of this stuff again. But I like to be prepared.

So I'm going to get back to fretting over whether or not I should throw out the spiral notebook with notes I took from the classes I TA'd. Then maybe I'll move on to finally getting rid of a bunch of clothes I've moved around since college but never wear.

P.S. This cartoon accurately depicts every discussion I ever led in Harrelson Hall.

Do I see a fire? No, wrong again.

To celebrate the end of the semester Elizabeth and I headed west to Lake Lure for four nights. Our first night there we ate at a restaurant right by the lake and I pointed out some smoke to Elizabeth, thinking there was a fire. She looked where I pointed but then laughed. "That's not a fire, Andi. There's a reason these are called the Smokey Mountains." I felt sheepish.

Wednesday we visited the Biltmore in Asheville.

After touring the ginormous house we went to the farm and pet lambs and a calf and watched a blind chicken eat some egg yolk, which freaked me out. Then we visited the winery for a wine tasting. After leaving we headed toward Asheville and walked around a little before eating dinner and heading back to our condo at the lake.

Thursday it was cloudy and rainy all day, so we stayed in reading and napping. We were going to eat out but we realized we'd miss The Office, so we bought some groceries at the store and made dinner instead.

Friday we went to Chimney Rock Park and climbed a billion stairs and hiked all over the side of a mountain and saw some amazing views.

This was where Last of the Mohicans was filmed. Speaking of film sites, parts of Dirty Dancing were filmed at our resort. After leaving the park we headed back to the condo, where I took a nap. Then we went down to the lake and I wandered around while Elizabeth read. We ate dinner at another restaurant by the water but a cold front came through so I shivered through most of the meal since we were outside on the patio.

Today we checked out of the resort and went horseback riding. It was fun but not super exciting.

Once I went horseback riding in Red River, New Mexico, with my dad and brother, and our guide let us gallop and jump over rivers and do pretty much whatever we wanted, which was awesome. Now when I go on tours where the horses just follow each other and you don't have to do anything (they even park themselves back at the barn) I always feel disappointed. Anyway, after that we hopped in the car and drove back to Raleigh.

Now I have a few days to kill before I head off for another adventure in Missoula, Montana.

Graduation

Here I am, still wearing my cap, with Jenny and Elizabeth.


















And with Leslie and Alex.

Master Me

It's over. Yesterday I successfully defended my thesis. I enjoyed getting to sit there with three professors and talk about my work and where it could go, and it was rewarding to have them sign my title page and shake my hand. But as soon as I left and was walking across campus to my car the depression set it. I might have to get a PhD some day. Or at least make sure whatever archives/library job I eventually get actually lets me do history. I loved graduate school. Library school just won't be the same. Sigh.

On a brighter note, today was graduation and I had a great day. My cousin Leslie and her boyfriend Alex came down from Richmond to celebrate with me. We had a nice lunch, then headed to the history department's graduation ceremony. I might have pictures later. I almost cried with the undergraduate's speech, not because it was really great but, again, because I already miss history school. I am such a nerd.

After the ceremony and pictures we went for a drive- Alex wanted to see the Research Triangle and then we walked around UNC while drinking bubble tea. Eventually we drove back to Raleigh and gorged ourselves on delicious sushi. Now we're recovering and we might go out later tonight with some friends of mine.

So that's that. I'm a master now. Time flies.

My Wednesdays usually aren't this fun.

Sorry I've been away from the blogosphere for a while. I finished school, my mom has been visiting, and I've been hanging out in Richmond. But I'm back in Raleigh, at least until next week when I'm off to hang out at a lake in the mountains.

Now, back to my Wednesday.

I woke up to the smells of Grandma's cooking. Well, that might be a lie. I probably would have woken to the smells of Grandma's cooking eventually but I had my mother with me to tell me to get up. So I did, but slowly. We had a lovely brrrrrunch with a crazy egg dish and bagels and lox, then Grandpa and Mom and I headed out to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for a stroll through the flowers and some cucumber soup. We returned home and I took a much too short nap, then my mom and I hit the road for Raleigh. We arrived in time for shwarma sandwiches at Neomonde and then raced downtown to see Avenue Q. If you A)know anything about the show or B)know my mother or especially C)know both, you can imagine that I was a little nervous going to see it with her and I gave her fair warning about what to expect. I'm not sure she heeded my warning, but I enjoyed the show and I think she had a good time, too. The actors were pretty impressive with their singing and acting and puppeteering all at once.

So that was my Wednesday. Hope yours was great as well!

Greatest night ever.

Tonight in celebration of finishing all of my papers and projects (except for grading exams tomorrow and defending my thesis next Friday) I went to hear my favorite guy ever play a concert in Chapel Hill. Who is my favorite? you ask.

Josh Ritter. I love him. I saw him play once in Seattle my senior year of college, and I have three of his albums. The last time I flew on a plane I tried to do work while listening to my iPod, but my iPod was playing a recording of a Josh Ritter concert I got off of All Songs Considered and it was so wonderful and distracting that I couldn't get any work done and instead just sat there in my seat with the silliest grin on my face because, as I said, Josh Ritter is my favorite.

So the fact that he was playing near me on the exact day I would finish school work was pretty excellent.

He had his band with him and they were great, too. You could tell they were all having a good time. It was also nice to be among a large crowd of people who also love Josh Ritter and know the words to his songs, because usually people have no clue who he is when I tell them he's my favorite.

So hooray for a really great Josh Ritter concert and an extra big hurray for the semester being over!

last-weekend-o-homework-for-a-while review

Friday: Met with advisor to talk about his final edits on my thesis, went to the library school at Chapel Hill to find out what I'm supposed to be doing to get ready for next semester, did a little research at the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, drove back to Raleigh and went to the grocery store, then came home to work on my documentary editing project.

Saturday: Worked more on documentary editing project, edited my thesis, went for a run, planned out my early republic paper and consulted with my Oregon Trail map maker.

Sunday: Slept in, more map consultation, and worked on early republic paper on and off all day.

shortcuts

I just inadvertently discovered how to insert a footnote using shortcuts and my keyboard alone without having to mess with the mouse. That is exactly the kind of thing I wish I'd discovered, oh I don't know, say four years ago? Or at least before grad school. Sigh.

Just ignore the talon marks.

Once way back when (Maybe 1841? I don't have my notes with me...) this guy was traveling to California. Somewhere around the Sierra Nevada he ran out of food and was pretty hungry. Maybe even starving. But lo and behold, a hawk flew overhead! And he thought "hey, hawks probably taste like chicken, right?"* So he shot it.

Only he missed.

But all was not lost because "Look! What is that falling from the sky? Not a hawk, but..."*

...the hawk's lunch! The shot startled the bird and he dropped a squirrel! Like manna from heaven. And the hungry man cooked up that squirrel for supper.


*I totally made these quotes up, even though this is based on a true story. A pretty awesome story if you ask me.

Home stretch.

This is the last week of classes. Unless I one day get a PhD- which is not a plan right now but hey, the future is wide open- unless that happens this is my last week of history classes ever. Am I excited about a summer break? Definitely. Am I excited about graduating and being done with (history) school? Not at all.

But right now I don't have too much time to think about that. Today I scheduled my thesis defense for May 9. If you're wondering, that is exactly one day before graduation. I need to have the thesis finished to turn into my committee by Monday. I'm tired of working on the darned thing. Next week I also have a 15-page historiography paper due, as well as my big documentary editing project. Sigh.

So if you're asking yourself, "Hey, what exciting stuff is Andi up to down there in North Carolina?" the disappointing truth is that I'm holed up in my apartment slaving away. Or kicking myself in the shins for procrastinating and not slaving away enough.

weekend review

Friday: Worked on my thesis all day, went for a run, and went to a show downtown with the video store gang.

Saturday: Enjoyed coffee and a walk with Allison in Durham, bought groceries, and returned home to work on my thesis.

Sunday: Worked on the thesis, went for a run, went to church, made a disappointing dinner, and worked on thesis more.

Wait, you don't want this whole wheat bread?

Today I went to the grocery store and bought a lot of food. While shopping I briefly parked my cart next to a wine display and went to pick out my sandwich bread. When I returned and reached down to put the bread in my cart the other things in there didn't look familiar. After adopting a puzzled look I realized my mistake and looked up, only to see a woman staring wide-eyed at me.

"Whoops!" I said with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders. "Not my cart! Sorry about that. Haha...uh...this is awkward."

And I quickly found my own cart and walked away.

It's always weird when this happens.

Last semester in my Environmental History class we read Mike Davis's Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster. He has a whole chapter on fires in Southern California, and a week after we discussed the Malibu mansions that stubbornly keep reappearing, fires went raging through the region. But I guess that's sort of a yearly occurrence.

Yesterday in my Early American Republic class we talked about the New Madrid earthquake of 1812. It shook about half the continent. And my professor mentioned something about how no one ever talks about the New Madrid fault line in the Midwest, but that surely it will move again. And what happened early this morning? There was an earthquake.

I would like to make a complaint.

My new loud neighbor has a puppy she never puts on a leash and she's leaving its poo all over the ground right in front of my apartment. I've never been one to complain about other people in official ways, but I feel like I might need to say something. Not to her, of course, because I tend to avoid confrontation like the plague, but maybe to the office. Because it's getting warm, and who wants a bunch of cooking poo right outside the window? Not me.

I turned 25!

This past weekend was my birthday weekend. It was pretty great.

As you may recall from last year, Tess and I share the exact same birthday. So this year, in honor of turning 25, we threw a birthday party! It was a fancy birthday party, which basically means we made everyone dress up. And they did!

















While everyone sang us "Happy Birthday" we held mini cupcakes with improvised candles (also called matches).














There was eating and chatting and drinking and dancing and an overall good birthday celebratin' time.

That was Saturday night. Sunday, my actual birthday, the fun only continued. Josh and I went to Historic Yates Mill, which includes a nature preserve so we walked around a marsh and mill pond and checked out nature. We couldn't go in the actual mill, but we still walked around it. This was a fun combination of history and being outside on a beautiful day.















While driving away from Yates Mill we just happened to pass a Putt-Putt place, so we obviously stopped. I beat Josh pretty badly, because I have some mini-golf skillz. We also played some sweet arcade games, including one I'd never seen before that is like whack-a-mole only you stomp on spiders with your feet and here the squish sound. A game with stomping on spiders is right up my alley.


















And we finished off the day with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (thanks Uncle Richard!), where I had birthday cheesecake for dessert!

Another RVA summer, coming at me!

Today I learned it's official- starting in June I'll be back at the same internship I did last summer. I wonder if it will be like a time warp. Like I was never even gone...