This truly is the calm before the storm. Relaxing night tonight, after spending the day with a couple of friends. Tomorrow afternoon I head to the parents' place for the evening; we'll be going to the neighbor's farm, which is decked out with Christmas lights and winter wonderland-ness galore. Then a calm Sunday before...the whirlwind.
Monday afternoon: office hours
Monday evening: final exam #1
Tuesday mid-morning: final exam #2
Wednesday evening: good friend comes into town
Sunday m
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
So, at 8:04pm PDT, there was about a 5.0 earthquake centered approximately 6 miles from my place. It were funnnn!!!
Ok, it wasn't fun...well, not 'not fun'...kinda thrilling. See, if you're born in 'earthquake country,' you know what to do in an instant: find a place to take cover (under a desk, in a doorway), make sure you have something on your feet, and ride it out...it doesn't last long. But this was the first one in my life that I really, real
Another local headline, another news item about education, but yet this one strikes me as almost humorous. It has been reported that parents in the East Bay are suing the state. Why, you may ask? Because the state has not addressed the "broken" way that the education system is funded in the state, and these parents (as well as several school districts in the state, who filed a prior lawsuit in May) want to force the Governor and the Legislature to change and amend this.
So our society i
Yes, folks, I am now reunited with the virtual world and the television world, and damn does it feel good. Even better, I got my couches today. So in all honesty, I can actually start having people over. What a concept!
In all seriousness, I haven't had a place that I could entertain in since I left Austin in 2005. Living with my parents didn't exactly espouse positive feelings in that aspect. In theory the last apartment could have been wonderful, what with the unit leading to the back
Well, one massive undertaking has been finished. I just went through all of the pictures I took in Rome. 3 days (well, 2 1/2 really), and over 500 pictures. Yikes. Ya think I was camera happy?
In all honesty, I did a lot in those 3 days. And, yes, I do wish I had more time to truly explore the museums, the hidden gems and the real essence of the Eternal City, I know that I made the most of my time there. (And, yes, I'm jealous of my parents, who tomorrow return home after a full week i
I love me some Foo Fighters. Seriously...my one fantasy revolves around Dave Grohl...I won't provide other details, as it's not necessary.
How much to I love me some Foos? Everlong is my general ringtone on my Blackberry. Yeah, I said it. Everlong...the most Nirvana-like song they have.
And here comes the paradox...I hate Nirvana. Well, to be fair, it's not the entire band that makes me change the station on the radio...it's only the lead singer. Kurt Cobain has (had?) a voice tha
Today I printed off the dissertation. All 150 pages of it. Oh, there's plenty left, since this is the first time that my committee will have the entire work at their disposal. And I've done quite a bit of re-arranging of previous work, to go along with more editing than I care to do. This is all in anticipation of a 'meeting of the minds' for the first week of November, when I must fly back to Austin. I'm mentally exhausted.
But, oh, wait! In the last month, I've put off so many chores
What's a girl to do? I've got leftovers of a seasoned long-grain and wild rice mix (which is excellent), and I don't really want a ton to eat. Well, you create new culinary delights!
Ok, that's going overboard...but somehow I got in my head that a Mediterranean Fried Rice was in order.
I've been making fried rice for years...it's actually really easy, but requires regular rice, either white or brown. Wild rice does not make for good fried rice, at all...it's too chewy, and doesn't abs
Well, it's official. I just sent off my first paper, with the hopes that it will get published.
Ok, let's not get our egos pumped up hugely here. It's a working paper, meaning that it's not posing a 'novel' idea per se, rather it's going to lead to a bigger, better paper. Also, the chances of it getting published are slim...you just can't expect everything you send off to be published. But still...there's a sense of accomplishment associated with this. I have officially taken the next
Some people read the daily comics in the morning to start their day. I read the horoscopes. 4 of them, mind you...the fact that 4 different 'readers of the stars' have 4 wildly different 'interpretations' of the same stars is hilarious to me. Not to mention what they mention will happen to me today.
The last 4 days one in particular has been predicting that a 'windfall of money' is coming my way. Um, it's been 4 days now, and I haven't exactly seen an extra red cent come my way. Sure,
If you are a baseball fan, you are about to be immediately jealous of my vacation trip this year. If you're any kind of sports fan, you also might turn a bit green. For the rest of you, I will explain. My mother, my brother Matt and I are about to embark on a trip to the Shrine and two of the Temples of Major League Baseball.
Tuesday night: we take the red-eye to New York, get in Wednesday morning.
Wednesday: afternoon game at Yankee Stadium (vs. the Baltimore Orioles)
Thursday: night g
I decided last night to go see "No Country For Old Men," seeing as how it was about to be in a double feature with "There Will Be Blood" (which I don't care to see right now). So, 9:35pm showing...and it was so worth it.
Admittedly, I'm a big Coen Bros. fan. I love their work--"The Big Lebowski" is in permanent residence in my DVD collection, and "Fargo" is about to join it. I love how they can work the dark side of humanity into a central question of society: what is justice? At least,
Originally I was set to teach a course in the summer, one which was meant to include local high school students. It was a great program--the thought is to include them on certain popular courses so that their transition to college (be it community college or a 4-year college) would be better. 6 weeks, and a collegiate course. It was going to be tough, but hell, I was up for the challenge!
News just came down the pipe...the high school district just now realized that the high school studen
First, an eye-opener for all you men out there: we women talk a ton of trash. About our significant others (both temporary and permanent). About others. And honestly, I can't tell you who's worse, men or women.
The scene:
I'm in the changing room of my gym, getting dressed to go home, and I overhear a conversation in the next row of benches. It's two women, both lesbians, talking about their conquests from the previous night, and the hopes for the weekend. On and on for quite a few min
I love it when my friends say that California doesn't have winter weather. Of course it does...it's just not as extreme as it is in most places in the world. What they don't understand are the geography, the climate and the population spread in this great Golden State o'mine.
California is long...very long...with at least 3 mountain ranges running along it. In fact, it's so big and long that, according to Wikipedia, if it were a country it'd be the 59th largest country in the world (for what
Dreams can be funny things. Personally, the vivid dreams that I remember are all very linear--they make out like a normal story, just with some interesting elements. But not last night...or was it this morning?
The other odd thing is that I can't remember much of it, most assuredly because of the fact that it was so random. What I do remember is that I was arguing with a guy about something (I can't even tell you what about), while in the background Andrew Dice Clay is doing his "Hickor
I'm in a right bouncy mood. It's the fact that I'm half Tigger, half Roo, to be sure. There are just certain days that I wake up and feel the need to bounce around all day, playing gaily and freely.
What to do today...what to do today...
Well, there's a pile of work to be done...but seeing as I have an aversion to work on my birthday, well, that's not exactly an option today.
The apartment does need to be cleaned and the laundry done, but that's not much work, so I'll do that. It
Yes, it's time to say...seeyas later. Yes, of course, I'm flying out here on the 24th, but I won't be back for sightseeing purposes for a while. The extremely small taste of this Eternal City has forever changed me...I'm in awe of the mix of modern, slightly modern, kinda old, really old, and ancient.
Yesterday's giratina saw me start at the Pantheon. When outside, I marvelled at how it has stood up over time, especially compared to the Area Sacra--where my bus dropped me off. The Area
Every year at Christmas, once school got out, my mom used to take us up to San Francisco. We'd park at the Stonestown Galleria, which is in the outskirts/Park Merced district, and take the street car into Union Square. We'd go to FAO Schwartz to play with the toys and dream of what we'd really love Santa to bring us; we'd have lunch somewhere in some cafe; we'd watch all the ice skaters fall down and look silly on the rink on top of Union Square. We'd gawk at all of the glorious displays in a
What a feeling...I would have slept in, save for the 10 pound roaring lioness sitting on my chest at 7:05am, wanting to know why I hadn't gotten up 5 minutes earlier like usual (I swear, I need to train Bella on the concept of sleeping in...). But I really had nothing to do today. I finished all of the planning for my Tues/Thurs course, and the other set of courses is all planned--now I just need the contract and other paperwork to get into the system, which would allow me to upload everything
Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the return to waking up at the butt-crack of dawn after 5 days to the contrary, but today I'm beat. I can't seem to stay awake. When driving up to work this morning, I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Once I pulled into the parking lot, I had an extra 20 minutes, so I took a quick nap in the car. It did me well for quite a while, but now I'm in office hours having the same problem. However, unlike earlier, I don't have time for a nap, as
In the figurative sense:
Tuesdays are my long days at one campus: 11am class, follwed by office hours in the afternoon, followed by a 6pm class...get home about 9:30ish. Anyway, I usually eat at the school canteen for lunch, since it's easier to bring one meal instead of two, and after 3pm the pickings are rather slim. Anyway, I'm at a table in the common area, really only paying attention to my Turkey Ciabatta sandwich, when I hear the following conversation:
Dude: Wow, I could murder
To all the Europeans who frequent the board and who occasionally read this blog, I ask for an explanation.
What the bloody hell is all the fuss about Eurovision?
First, there are countries in the contest that are not even part of Europe (Armenia? Azerbaijan? Georgia?). Now, I realize that there are many out there who would consider Europe and Asia as one continent, but even if we accept the fact that the word 'Europe' has a geographical connotation to it, much like the words 'Centra
Imagine this: you're a kitty, one who loves to play and spazz out while chasing anything, including your own tail. The first year or so of your life you have a big house in which you can run around, not to mention free reign of the gardens and the wild field behind the house. It's fun! (Well, when you're not being chased by the big bad bruiser Peanut, the older female feline who runs the place.) Life's pretty good. Then your owners decide to move, and they can't take you with them. But the
