Weekend Review

Friday: Worked all day at my internship, then dropped by to briefly visit Allison. Came home to hang out and ended up watching the Disney Channel's Camp Rock with Sunni, which was pretty much a new version of High School Musical. I'm glad I was available to let Sunni know how ridiculous the whole thing was.

Saturday: Helped Grandpa and Aunt Judy go pick up my new mattress and bring it home so I don't have a lumpy bed anymore. Went out for a Chinese food lunch, then spent a billion stressful hours shopping at art supply stores for my latest mosaic project. Came home to have Grandpa inspect what I'd bought, and promptly went with him to Home Depot to get wood that would last much longer than the stupid stuff I had picked up. I then tried to help Grandpa as he cut, sanded, and sealed the wood. Then I decided more of the stuff I'd bought earlier wouldn't work either, so returned it to the store. Spent the evening working on my resume.

Sunday: Up to start my mosaic, took a break for lunch, mosaiced (?) more, went to church, and came home for more mosaicing. Made lots of progress and finally getting to bed.

I never liked P.E.

My brother Ryan is four years younger than I am, so we went to the same school at the same time for only two years, during elementary school. One day I went to P.E. and apparently did something wrong that got me in trouble. I can't remember what exactly I did, which is too bad. What I do remember is the P.E. teacher telling me my little brother had been in P.E. earlier that day and had also gotten in trouble. Ryan getting in trouble was, of course, no surprise. What shocked me, however, was that the P.E. teacher said "hmm, must run in the family."

Now unfortunately this is a terrible retelling of the story because I don't remember what I did or what Ryan did, I just remember how insanely mad I was at that teacher. And I wasn't mad for comparing me to Ryan. It was the opposite. I think I believed that what I had done wasn't all that bad and assumed what Ryan had done must not have been all that bad either, and instead a deep family pride bubbled up in me. And I regretted that I was such a good kid and didn't have the guts to kick that lady in the shins.

I survived, but with a sunburn.

Last Thursday when I arrived at the rented house on the bay I immediately started looking around for snakes. I didn't see any, and no one else looked stressed, so I just tried to relax. But then I decided I needed to use the restroom after sitting in the car for four hours, and as soon as I'd entered the bathroom and closed the door I saw a snake. I screamed and did a half-running half-jumping dash down the hall warning everyone in the house that "seriously, there's a snake in the bathroom."

Only it turns out the snake was a rubber cobra. My cousin Jay didn't think I'd fall for a cobra with the flared neck, but if you think I stopped long enough to examine the darned thing you can think again. So they got me. And then I made sure to hide the snake so I wouldn't have to deal with replays all weekend.

I did, however, see a few real snakes out in the water the first evening I was there. I was cool with it until I thought Jay was going to pick one up. That was when I made a running beeline for the house. He didn't pick it up.

Other than the snake scares, the weekend was great. Friday we all played in the water and floated around. I floated for several hours after forgetting to put sunscreen on my "porcelain" white legs and now my knees are still pink. My nose has lots of freckles, too. Friday night we played games.

Saturday I rode Josh's bike and towed him around while he rode roller blades. Then we went kayaking.




























Josh and I had a kayak and my cousin Leslie had a kayak with her boyfriend Alex. I had a good time, except for the part where we were practically in a swamp and we came upon a floating dead raccoon. Leslie and Alex did not have as good of a time because they flipped their boat and when that happened Alex lost his glasses and remained blind for the rest of the weekend. Big bummer. Saturday night we had a seafood dinner on the patio of a restaurant by the water.

Sunday we had to leave the rental house and everyone else headed back to Richmond (needed to get back in time to get a new pair of glasses made), but Josh and I hung out in St. Michaels. We had a breakfast sandwich and coffee, walked around the shops, then ate dessert at noon. Next we visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum which was also hosting the 21st Annual Classic and Antique Boat Festival. The boats were fun to look at and the museum is fun. It has stuff to climb on and play with. Look, I caught an oyster!

























After the museum we stuffed ourselves on an all-you-can-eat blue crab dinner, and then we headed home.

Oh dear.

This weekend I'm headed to the Eastern Shore in Maryland to hang out at a house on the bay my aunt has rented. I was thinking it would be pretty fun. Hang out by the water, eat, nap, play around outside, play games inside, maybe ride a bike, maybe catch a crab. You know, an all-around good time.

However. My grandparents are currently at the house and I just heard the report that last night there was a SNAKE wrapped around the bed post next to my Grandma's head. A snake. On the bed. Inside the house. I am freaked out.

Remember a few weeks ago when I went to the mountains in North Carolina with my friend Elizabeth and we climbed around Chimney Rock Park? I spent about 45% of my walking time there looking for snakes. I tripped and almost fell down stairs because I was looking for snakes instead of looking where I was going on the side of a cliff. If I hear snakes are around me I can think of little else besides snakes.

That means this will be a long and red-eyed weekend as I sleep little but fear a lot. I'll be sure to update you when I return. That is, if I return...

The Weekend Review, comin' back atcha.

Friday: Worked at my internship. Normally I wouldn't work on Fridays but I'm already making up for the days I'll miss when I go back to Montana for Amy's wedding. After work I came home for Sunni's 11th birthday party. My favorite part was dancing the "Macarena" with all the kids- they were much better than I. After the party I hung out with the "big kids" (i.e. older cousins and their spouses/significant others) for a while, then watched Charlie Wilson's War with Aunt Judy.

Saturday: Slept in a little and went for a run. Ran a birthday present errand before going out for my cousin Jay's birthday lunch at the Richbrau Brewing Co. Came home and took a three hour nap, waking up just in time to watch the Belmont race with the grandparents. Went by the mall and picked up some pants I can wear to work, then came home to waste time on the internet and practice the ukulele.

Sunday: Set my alarm for 10 but woke up at 7:30. Read a little, and eventually went for a run. In the 90+ weather I need to run earlier. Enjoyed a delicious dinner with the grandparents and Uncle Richard. Went to church, helped go on a Rook cards hunt in Carytown, got milkshakes at Bev's, and came home to play Hearts (the game store was closed so we couldn't find Rook) with the grandparents and Uncle Richard. Now I'll be going to bed very soon.

Broadcasting from RVA...

I'm back in Richmond. And I've already been to work at my internship for three days. It's a little creepy how things haven't changed much over there. Same people in the same places, some of them working on the same projects (like me, working on a different section of the same project). I'm back to packing lunches and taking walks every day during my break. So far I have noticed only two differences. The first is that they moved me to the other side of the huge table, and another intern has my old spot. The second is that the construction work done at the Powhite toll plaza means I pretty much have to take my life in my hands every evening when I want to cross lots of lanes of traffic very quickly to get to the Chippenham exit. I guess that has nothing to do with where I'm working, but I'm using my return to the same commute as the connection. In case you missed it.

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.