As I send out my internship applications, I feel compelled to take a vote. Not that I really have much control over the final outcome (it's a match process), but where do you think I should go?
Possible cities include:
Gainesville, FL
Miami, FL
New York, NY
Houston, TX
Cincinnati, OH
Baltimore, MD
Atlanta, GA
Columbus, OH
Poughkeepsie/Rhinebeck, NY
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Louisville, KY
Tampa, FL
Birmingham, AL
Tallahassee, FL
Orlando, FL
Quincy, MA
Canton, OH
Omaha, NE
Tell me all the wonderful reasons I should live in your favorite city on the list... or why I should run screaming from your least favorite. Whatever. :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Hot Enough to Melt Pumpkins
Want to know how hot it is in Florida in October? Pretty blazing hot.
It's fall, which means pumpkins and apples and all of that. We hosted a pumpkin-carving party so that I could at least pretend that it actually felt like fall here in the hottest place on Earth. Our pumpkins turned out pretty cute:
Want to know how long these fabulous creations lasted?
They lasted from Sunday until Wednesday. Yes, that's right. 72 hours. By Wednesday night, they were disgusting, moldy, mushy, gnat-ridden messes. The relentless Florida sun had massacred them in under a week. So much for recreating fall, huh?
(To be fair, a friend had informed us in advance that our venture would be unsuccessful and that we should buy faux pumpkins from the craft store to carve instead. Next year, we'll listen.)
It's fall, which means pumpkins and apples and all of that. We hosted a pumpkin-carving party so that I could at least pretend that it actually felt like fall here in the hottest place on Earth. Our pumpkins turned out pretty cute:
Want to know how long these fabulous creations lasted?
They lasted from Sunday until Wednesday. Yes, that's right. 72 hours. By Wednesday night, they were disgusting, moldy, mushy, gnat-ridden messes. The relentless Florida sun had massacred them in under a week. So much for recreating fall, huh?
(To be fair, a friend had informed us in advance that our venture would be unsuccessful and that we should buy faux pumpkins from the craft store to carve instead. Next year, we'll listen.)
Friday, August 26, 2011
What Are You Waiting For?
A lot of people are excited about the beginning of college football season. Not in my happy little world, where football season is just sort of a lull between basketball seasons. In my happy little world, fall has nothing to do with sports. It used to be about beautiful leaves and new jeans, but that will be different this year as I learn to adjust to being a resident of the land of eternal summer. (I'm not sure how to process the sudden realization I had the other day that my mid-September birthday will hereafter be a "summer birthday.")
Nope, in my world, fall continues to be exciting for a completely different reason. For me, the countdown is in effect because it's almost time for the fall season premieres on television! One of my favorite technological developments of the past decade absolutely has to be the DVR. I have a significant relationship with pop culture, and I can't deny my love for TV and movies, but I don't want to be the kind of girl who turns down real life just to catch certain shows. The DVR and I bonded during grad school, because I almost always left home before 9am and came home after 10pm, which made normal TV viewing an impossibility. DVR meant that prime time at my house could be 2am if I wanted! GENIUS!!!
Anyway, once I got used to the whole set-it-and-forget-it thing (yep, late-night TV reference), I could never go back. I still like to have a TV night every now and then, but I prefer to record and watch on a delay because I find that fast-forwarding through the commercials keeps me from wanting a snack six times. (Have you ever noticed how many food commercials there are?!? It makes me hungry even when I'm not.) Since the premieres are coming up, I had to spend some time deciding what I would deem DVR-worthy. These are critical decisions, people. Precious recording space must be allotted, and time conflicts must be considered. Charts and graphs must be made. Okay, okay... so maybe not. Anyway, these are the shows that have made my cut so far, in no particular order:
How I Met Your Mother
Big Bang Theory
Bones
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
New Girl
2 Broke Girls
I also plan to record the season premiere of 2 and 1/2 Men, mostly to see how the show explains Charlie Sheen's departure and Ashton Kutcher's arrival. I've heard rumors, but I HATE spoilers so I won't share them. I like to be surprised. Entertainment is not nearly as entertaining if you already know the punchlines to all of the jokes and the outcome of all of the cliffhangers. Incidentally, learning to avoid spoilers is a key to enjoying DVR use. If you record a season finale or an NCAA tournament game and you want a chance to enjoy it from beginning to end, I have two words for you: Facebook blackout. Your 500 closest friends will ruin it for you every time.
So, that's how I'll be distracting myself from academic pursuits as of late September. What are YOU waiting for?
Nope, in my world, fall continues to be exciting for a completely different reason. For me, the countdown is in effect because it's almost time for the fall season premieres on television! One of my favorite technological developments of the past decade absolutely has to be the DVR. I have a significant relationship with pop culture, and I can't deny my love for TV and movies, but I don't want to be the kind of girl who turns down real life just to catch certain shows. The DVR and I bonded during grad school, because I almost always left home before 9am and came home after 10pm, which made normal TV viewing an impossibility. DVR meant that prime time at my house could be 2am if I wanted! GENIUS!!!
Anyway, once I got used to the whole set-it-and-forget-it thing (yep, late-night TV reference), I could never go back. I still like to have a TV night every now and then, but I prefer to record and watch on a delay because I find that fast-forwarding through the commercials keeps me from wanting a snack six times. (Have you ever noticed how many food commercials there are?!? It makes me hungry even when I'm not.) Since the premieres are coming up, I had to spend some time deciding what I would deem DVR-worthy. These are critical decisions, people. Precious recording space must be allotted, and time conflicts must be considered. Charts and graphs must be made. Okay, okay... so maybe not. Anyway, these are the shows that have made my cut so far, in no particular order:
How I Met Your Mother
Big Bang Theory
Bones
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
New Girl
2 Broke Girls
I also plan to record the season premiere of 2 and 1/2 Men, mostly to see how the show explains Charlie Sheen's departure and Ashton Kutcher's arrival. I've heard rumors, but I HATE spoilers so I won't share them. I like to be surprised. Entertainment is not nearly as entertaining if you already know the punchlines to all of the jokes and the outcome of all of the cliffhangers. Incidentally, learning to avoid spoilers is a key to enjoying DVR use. If you record a season finale or an NCAA tournament game and you want a chance to enjoy it from beginning to end, I have two words for you: Facebook blackout. Your 500 closest friends will ruin it for you every time.
So, that's how I'll be distracting myself from academic pursuits as of late September. What are YOU waiting for?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
A Girl's Gotta Eat... AND Get Her Hair Done
I don't know about other people, but I cannot possibly feel at home in a city until I know a few particular things about it. For example, I need to know where the good coffee is. I need to know which Target location has a better clothing selection than the others. I have to know which restaurants are good (of course) but, specifically, I really want to know which ones have half-price wine night and which ones have 2-for-1 appetizer night and what sorts of special deal-of-the-night offers there are and all of that. I mean, who really wants to pay full restaurant mark-up for wine???
I knew these things about Louisville. 60 West alternated half-price bottles of wine on Wednesdays and Fridays with half-price martinis on Thursdays and Fridays. Avalon had an entire Girls' Night Out menu if you sat inside instead of on the patio... and that menu was just as yummy, at nearly 60% off the cost of ordering dinner from the standard menu. These are the bits of wisdom that separate the locals from the visitors, and I just can't have that "I really live here" feeling until I know stuff.
Discovering which salons are safe to go to and which ones you should run screaming from are definitely key pieces of information for any girl who doesn't love the troll doll look, and these things unfortunately must be learned from other women's mistakes. If you don't actually know very many other women yet, you pretty much can't get a haircut without risking months of Fraggle-hair. If the inevitable phase of new-girl-in-town-friendlessness doesn't knock one's self-esteem down a notch or two, Fraggle-hair will, and scaring people with an accidental K$sha impression isn't going to be conducive to meaningful socialization anyway.
In other words, don't judge me for googling restaurant deals and asking strangers for the names of the hair stylists while I should be writing some deep dissertationy thoughts. Research is research, and a girl's gotta eat... AND get her hair done. ;)
I knew these things about Louisville. 60 West alternated half-price bottles of wine on Wednesdays and Fridays with half-price martinis on Thursdays and Fridays. Avalon had an entire Girls' Night Out menu if you sat inside instead of on the patio... and that menu was just as yummy, at nearly 60% off the cost of ordering dinner from the standard menu. These are the bits of wisdom that separate the locals from the visitors, and I just can't have that "I really live here" feeling until I know stuff.
Discovering which salons are safe to go to and which ones you should run screaming from are definitely key pieces of information for any girl who doesn't love the troll doll look, and these things unfortunately must be learned from other women's mistakes. If you don't actually know very many other women yet, you pretty much can't get a haircut without risking months of Fraggle-hair. If the inevitable phase of new-girl-in-town-friendlessness doesn't knock one's self-esteem down a notch or two, Fraggle-hair will, and scaring people with an accidental K$sha impression isn't going to be conducive to meaningful socialization anyway.
In other words, don't judge me for googling restaurant deals and asking strangers for the names of the hair stylists while I should be writing some deep dissertationy thoughts. Research is research, and a girl's gotta eat... AND get her hair done. ;)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Library Cards Are No Laughing Matter
On Friday evening, I had my first "all new things" meltdown. Changing your driver's license and Social Security card are more trouble than you might think, especially since my new state won't just accept my previous state's driver's license as ID. The circuitous way that each agency's page links to the next and then links back to the last is also super-frustrating and the opposite of helpful. Trying to figure out what sort of documentation is necessary for each step and in which order the changes should be made was making my head hurt, and Chase walked in to this:
"I don't know my name and I don't even know my phone number and I just barely know where I live. I knew more than THIS about my life on the first day of kindergarten!!!"
The outburst was followed by a loooong, tangential rant about name changes and bureaucratic red tape, during which many government agencies' names were taken in vain. Looking slightly as if he might sneak away and page himself back to work just to escape this conversation, Chase tried to de-escalate the meltdown. In response to his attempt to console me by pointing out that no one will actually notice if I don't get a new driver's license right away, I exclaimed (in tones of desperation): "But... I DO HAVE TO! They won't let me have a LIBRARY CARD if I don't have a local driver's license!!!!!!"
Shaking his head, laughing, Chase replied, "... and the truth comes out."
"I don't know my name and I don't even know my phone number and I just barely know where I live. I knew more than THIS about my life on the first day of kindergarten!!!"
The outburst was followed by a loooong, tangential rant about name changes and bureaucratic red tape, during which many government agencies' names were taken in vain. Looking slightly as if he might sneak away and page himself back to work just to escape this conversation, Chase tried to de-escalate the meltdown. In response to his attempt to console me by pointing out that no one will actually notice if I don't get a new driver's license right away, I exclaimed (in tones of desperation): "But... I DO HAVE TO! They won't let me have a LIBRARY CARD if I don't have a local driver's license!!!!!!"
Shaking his head, laughing, Chase replied, "... and the truth comes out."
Friday, July 22, 2011
New Kid on the Block
So, welcome to my new life as the new girl! I am newly-married, newly-moved, and not-quite-so-newly-disoriented. I haven't decided what my new last name is, so this means that when I meet new people, I mostly stutter and look confused while I try to introduce myself. Fabulous for the first impression, I'm sure. I have to work on that, because I desperately need some new friends so I can get out a little more. I know my new address, but haven't learned my new phone number and can't find much of anything in my new city... other than my new grocery store. If this doesn't change soon, I will inevitably gain 15 new pounds.
I have a dissertation to avoid, so I obviously need a new hobby. Turns out, blogging is free and you don't actually need to know where you are to do it. Okay, sure... I'm in.
I have a dissertation to avoid, so I obviously need a new hobby. Turns out, blogging is free and you don't actually need to know where you are to do it. Okay, sure... I'm in.
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