YPMB 2009

Happy times

2011-08-27T16:18:00.001-04:00

Hi team!
I'm holed up at home today, basically waiting to see what Hurricane Irene is packing. It's barely raining, but we don't have anywhere to go anyway. So AJ and I are just bumming around my apartment with candles, flashlights, and water at the ready.
As I know most of you already heard, AJ proposed last week! (And I said yes.) We were out in Oregon visiting his family, which was lovely. It was a great spot too-- we were on a hike when we saw a great little stony ledge with a view. So AJ pulled me over to take some photos, and then, bam! Little black velvet box.
I thought I'd include my favorite picture-- a panorama that AJ took right after. (click on it to see the whole thing.)

Anyway, I am super excited to see y'all next weekend, assuming Irene doesn't completely wipe out Manhattan! Andrew, is our hotel-place going to be flooded out? And anyone interested in a celebratory squeal, I'm in!
Love,
Katie

hey team

2011-03-21T18:18:00.001-04:00

what's up? The seniors (i.e. '11) are starting to plan their senior week plans and i wondered if we were thinking more about our reunion plans. let's do it!

The City of Brotherly Love

2010-11-07T20:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend, AJ and I made a little whirlwind trek up to Philly to see the Cleopatra show at the Franklin Institute (which was ok, but maybe not worth the money) and Erin Coffey, who is always worth it. :-)
In the style common to both Baltimore and Philadelphia, it was something of a "drive-by visit", but we got two museums, awesome Ethiopian food, and to sleep on Erin's absurdly comfy air mattress + plush egg crate. We hypothesized that the Ethiopian food gave us strange dreams, since Erin vacationed on a tropical island with us before going back (late!) to concert band, and I dreamed I was a pirate who came home to find mice, rabbits and pigeons taking over my house. Hooray.
Next weekend, off to spectate at Yale v. Doesn't Matter. Hopefully pictures, assuming that the 80% chance of precipitation and 40 degree high called for in today's forecast do not come true.

Visit to a Hollywood Set...

2010-09-25T11:27:00.004-04:00

Chris and I visited an ancient village in rural Anhui called Hongcun. It is famous for its picturesque scenery and young artists. It was also a site for filming "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The village itself was rather small. We walked around it in about one or two hours. Hello from China!

Btw, I'm coming to New York in just a few days. If anyone's around this next weekend, let me know!

Annie

My parents would be so proud...

2010-09-12T15:51:00.003-04:00

Some of y'all may know that, a couple of months ago, I got hired to sub as a Turbo Kick (cardio kickboxing) instructor at my gym.

Well, now I have my own class! Actually, my own two classes! I'm teaching Turbo Kick and then a total body conditioning (aka lifting) class on Wednesdays. I'm a little nervous (a regular class is pressure! If people don't come, it's because they hate you) but also excited! And I'm going to be so buff by the end of the season.

Being a group exercise instructor doesn't pay much (especially when you work less than 2 hours a week), and there was a lot of overhead cost associated with getting certified and paying for music and choreography DVDs. BUT now I get to be on a microphone in front of people and yell at them and tell them what to do. Again!

Better late than never...

2010-09-06T21:06:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone!
I just got back from a delicious Labor Day BBQ at Katie's (awesome, spacious) house, where we finally took care of the fact that I had not joined this blog. The next step is me figuring out how to email the 09 list (because when I tried to email the list to ask, it wouldn't let me, duh). Anyway, Marina was there too and we had a great time! Katie made an amazing apricot pork roast, homemade veggie burgers, fruit salsa, homemade baba ganoush (sp?) and much more, and her roommate made some awesome strawberries and cake thing (didn't catch the name of it). It was the best I've eaten in a while- well done, Katie! I guess I should add that I'm in Baltimore doing post-bac pre-med at Hopkins... I'll be here for about 14 months! So far it has been hot, and orgo is hard.
I'm excited to be joining the blogging community- hoping to see you guys at one of the big games!
-Lauren

Road Trip

2010-08-24T22:50:00.000-04:00

Wheeee.

Botanical gardens in Montreal

AJ and I just returned from a 2200 mile roadtrip, mostly through the province of Quebec.

The car (and AJ) at mile 1002.

I'm not going to turn this into an epic travelogue, but I will tell you that we:

met many Canadians who spoke no English
ate poutine
ate elk, bison and moose
saw a moose along the side of the road
learned the French word for moose
saw three species of whales and grey seals
saw the most Canadian sign ever:

We also stopped into Rochester to visit Rosa for a night! Hurray for a mini-management reunion. Rosa made a great ratatouille and we took a sweet field trip to the Mega-Wegmans. Oh man, best grocery store ever. I could live on only the cheese cases (I counted 7, not counting the deli) or the bagged shredded stuff.

Anyway, we're home now and I have to return AJ to New Haven soon, which is good for him but sad for me. Funny to think that oh-lev are seniors now and oh-ten is dispersed. But Baltimore is gaining another YPMB alum in Marina, who's going to be working for a Hopkins lab. One more reason you should totally come visit me.

Where even the earth can't sit still...

2010-08-20T00:50:00.005-04:00

Howdy everyone…hope it’s been a good summer! Here’s my update on the never-ending party that is Cali (well that’s what I want you to think anyway…mwahaha). Aside from working like crazy for a few months, I survived my first earthquake!! And my second, and my third, and my 10th, 20th…what can I say? Maybe my coming to this state got the earth all excited. It was kind of amazing that our quake—technically Mexico’s quake—was larger than the one in Haiti, yet only two people were killed. I suppose Mexico’s building codes are a lot better than they appear.

But just as earth-shattering, our state was just graced (alas too briefly) with the presence of Christopher Michael Young. During his 24-hour layover before heading back to China, it was Monica's and my job (with the help and chauffeuring of Monica's bf Jonathan) to sell the Golden State, and give him a sensational sendoff.

This included of course the Cali essentials: In-N-Out, Yogurtland, the beach. But the highlight of this time was the visit to the gay country bar. Yes, you read that right. Thanks to the brilliant suggestion of Kate Kraft (who met us there), we found ourselves plunged into Chris Young heaven. It seems safe to say that the state of California (and possibly a few of its male dancers) seduced him that night.

This is the dance floor, where there was line dancing and couples dancing (with some REALLY good dancers)…

And our 一起 picture (“yiqi”, meaning together)—by the way, that is Monica’s sweet pool in the background:

I would like to note that as far as recent posts are concerned—here is the tally:
California: 2
The rest of the world: 0

Get cracking, world!

PS--The fortune from my Chinese dinner tonight, from a place with a tendency for unusual fortunes:

"Remember three months from this date! Your lucky star is shining."

What happens three months from this date (east coast time), on November 20, 2010? The Chinese are always right. Always*.

*Knock on wood

Disneyland!

2010-08-10T17:18:00.005-04:00

Steve came to visit and of course we drove down to Anaheim for some Disney fun! We also met up with two of my coworkers in China, Michael and Zoe...

This is us getting breakfast at La Brea Bakery... (Michael on the left)

For Rita!!!

We went on Star Tours on its very last day!!! It will be closed for a year for renovations, and they're putting in a new Episode 1-3 themed version.

Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin... hilarious shot of Steve. On this ride you can spin your own car.

Tower of Terror!!!!

Sleeping Beauty Castle

And of course, on the drive back up to Morro Bay, we stopped at In-N-Out! mmmmm!!!

Miss you all and hope we can see each other soon! Heading out to Xiuning, China in one week. See ya real soon!

--Annie

Oh, I almost forgot... we went to San Francisco for a day. Met up with James and Susan, Ben Somers, and other peeps.

Graduation

2010-05-09T21:24:00.002-04:00

Who's going? Where are you staying? I just made an impulse buy of a plane ticket up for graduation, and I cannot wait to see everyone who's coming!

ADDENDUM

Jae just informed me that we may need tickets for Class Day on Sunday. So, if you want to go see Bill, let me know and I'll let Jae know how many tickets '09 needs. Gracias!

I have not in fact disappeared from the face of the planet.

2010-05-07T19:24:00.002-04:00

I've just been in graduate school. Just wanted to let you know that no, I am not dead; b, a life update is coming, probably this weekend, and 3, I'll be in the Have for Commencement weekend.

Stay tuned. Love you all, miss you more.

Baltimore is awesome

2010-05-05T21:04:00.000-04:00

So, as some of you know, I just moved from a marginal neighborhood to a nice one. (If you need my new address or phone number let me know!)

I went back to the old place today to collect a few stray items, and while I was there, I caught the latest gossip from the block. Apparently someone living on the block has enemies, because last night, about 4:30 am, someone lit her car on fire. As in, from the gas tank. They were attempting to make it explode, but they failed. Instead, the gas tank lit on fire, and melted the entire back end of the car.

Yes. It is still on the street, mangled and charred and everything. I love this city.

I'll try to update again from Egypt (I leave Sunday).
Love from Charm City!

Spring Break! (finally...)

2010-04-24T01:45:00.003-04:00

Woo, my spring break is finally here! Now, I need to apologize before I start this post because I know I only talk about school on here, but considering that teaching and taking classes about teaching are pretty much the only things I do nowadays, you'll have to forgive me.

First off, my school has been all over the news, both international and local! That's right, we heard tell of someone seeing this clip, featuring my two principals recruiting in the Iberville Projects next to my school, in Japan:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8604181.stm

The second clip comes from the local news. Last week was state testing in Louisiana, which basically meant that K-2 were kicked out of the building all week so as not to risk disturbing the testing environment. Throughout the week we fed exotic animals, visited two colleges (Tulane and Dillard), and completed 10 hours of service learning. The latter is what we made the news for. We had an anti-litter campaign where we teamed up with a local community center and service organization. We picked up trash around the school, placed trashcans in the neighborhood, and on the last day held an anti-litter parade (you know how New Orleans loves its parades) complete with handmade cardboard signs. Here's the clip from the news segment:

http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/bb75e563-8152-4cf6-aae6-f0474ed36994/News/160-Kindergarten-first-and-second-graders-teamed-up-with-the-Phoenix-of-New-Orleans-to-clean-up-lower-Mid-City

Makes me smile :)

Also making me smile is my long awaited spring break! I'm super excited about my plans - I'm going to New York City baby! My principal and a couple other teachers and I are going on an all-expenses paid trip to observe three of the best charter schools in the city. I love doing this sort of thing because I get such great ideas for my classroom. I observed some schools after The Game and ended up bringing back a behavior management plan that has since been implemented school-wide (not to brag or anything). Also, while in New York, my entire suite has decided to use me coming as an excuse for a reunion, so all of us will be converging there next weekend! I could use me some Yale loving, let me tell you.

Well, that's the update from my front. What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Shameless plug

2010-03-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hey friends! I've been cooking up a storm in Baltimore, in part inspired by the insane winter.
Anyway, if you're starved for ideas, maybe my cooking blog experiment will help you?
<3
Katie

Snowmageddon

2010-02-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

Hi '09!
I guess I'm jumping on the bandwagon here-- three posts in 24 hours! The madness!
As you've all seen on the news, or my twitter or facebook, that the mid-Atlantic has gotten more snow in a single storm than it usually sees all year. We've got more snow right now than Rochester (hi, Rosa!). We're about to break through the record for all-time snowiest winter in Baltimore. And, tomorrow is the third consecutive snow day.
Hitler, of course, is not pleased about this:

(Monica and others sent that to me, and it's pretty great.)
The roads here are essentially impassible. There is a solid foot of ice on most minor roads, and all major (and minor) roads are basically one lane, possibly one lane each direction. That is not at all given, though.... I've already spent many hours digging out my car, but my driving adventure today made me wish I hadn't bothered. It's amazing chaos here.

In other news, grad school is hard, and I keep failing my damn German exam. I'm going to be in Egypt most of May, working on the artifacts from my professor's dig at Karnak temple. This is old, but the same expedition. Yale still functions-- I was up there a few weeks ago, and got to see Elliot and Tasia being super cute and got to celebrate AJ and my first anniversary.

Yale/Harvard Hockey

2010-02-09T19:57:00.010-05:00

I was in New Haven last weekend to visit Henry/catch a home hockey weekend that included a Yale/Harvard game. New DM Elliott brought the big guns. And a battle axe. The Whale's got some new accoutrements - video screens near the entrances, new flags, fancy lettering on the bathrooms, and ticket scalpers.

I sat in the student section. Actually, first I tried to stand. Then I got bitched out for standing because then the person behind me couldn't see, and if she stood too, then everyone would have to stand, and then - HORRORS! - everyone would be standing at a hockey game.

To be fair, I was the one not playing by the rules, but her dude friend running off to tell on me to the 60+ year old usher, as I was sitting down (while sputtering, "But it's a hockey game!") - not cool. Also I got weird looks for bellowing at the goalie.

On the plus side, there is a student section! And they joined in on the "It's all your fault!"s. Still, sitting at a hockey game was weird. It was hard to yell while sitting down. We left at the first period break to join the band, and the band section's usher recognized me!

Anywho, Yale pulled off a win with Billy in goal. They even managed to turn a 6 on 3 (two penalties and pulling the goalie, which, as I recently learned, is also a euphemism for going off birth control/having unprotected sex) into an empty net goal.

Final score:

California knows how to partay

2010-02-09T18:55:00.007-05:00

Hello folks! This blog has been quiet too long. Look, I know that we're all buried in insane amounts of work that make undergrad look like a vacation in the Bahamas, but it's the month of February for goodness sakes! And you know what that means...FEB CLUB!! Hopefully you all are managing to find your way to these shindigs through Day after Tomorrow-like blizzards and such. Somehow I managed to haul my work-beleaguered butt up to LA (while I had no epic snowstorms to contend with, I did have SoCal drivers, a scary enough prospect in itself) to partay like old times with Monica and Co. And PARTAY we did.

First, a note to those attending Feb Clubs: MAKE SURE PEOPLE DON'T SET THE MORY'S CUPS DOWN ON THE TABLE!! Some alumni (or party-crashers) may in fact not be aware of the most sacred rules and traditions of our alma mater. A few of us more recent graduates had to run guard duty to ensure that this travesty was not repeated.

Anyways...this is how it went down. The event was at a chic Beverly Hills hotel where they apparently thought that educated people such as Yale alumni would be able to have a civilized party without breaking glasses or nearly setting themselves on fire by leaning on lit candles. This was, of course, a slight miscalculation. In other words, it was basically like a Yale party, with a slightly older (and in some cases even sketchier) demographic. You might think that the best part of the night would have been

A) The middle-aged man who leans over us on the couch to remind the gentleman in back of us that, in case he didn't notice, his shirt was almost directly in contact with a lit candle, then mutters at us under his breath "I just saved that motherf***ers life"

B) "Dr. Suzy", the 55-year old Yale alumna wearing a witches' hat who has apparently obtained a Ph.D. in the Erotic Arts and Sciences, and was demonstrating her expertise by indiscreetly groping and being groped by a different guy every time I looked in her direction (including at least one member of the class of '09).

But neither of these was the highlight...for after we left this event, we wound up at a house party in Hollywood. Or rather, we entered through a tiny hobbit-sized gate between ten-foot-tall hedges, and found a little paradise therein where the inhabitants were bathed in a haze of medicinally-useful hemp-leaf aromas and '80s and '90s music. As one of our company remarked, it was just like the Shire, if the hobbits had been smoking weed and dancing freaky...so basically, exactly like the Shire. And all I could think about was the fact that we were in the same neighborhood where the most glamorous celebrations in American pop culture are held--yet maybe these people (whoever they were) are the real Hollywood elite. After all, it was so exclusive the papparazzi couldn't even find the place...

This photo pretty well captures the ambiance of this elite gathering:

and this is of the assembled LA posse:

So it was a good time, all in all, and Monica was a most gracious host. The whole experience may have even been worth being royally screwed by my two midterms today--one given by my crazy math professor who says that we are all "children in need of a spanking". Well, we got spanked today. But that's all for me. Hope to see some posts about your Feb Club experiences as well!

PS--In response to certain inquiries, NO, I do not have a hot surfer girlfriend. Yet. I've had little time in the past few months to entertain anything hot, surfer, or girl in nature. Frankly, I'd settle for one of the three, although I guess with slight preference for the "girl" part. If I do in fact have a hot surfer girlfriend by the time I see y'all next, I owe you all a case's worth of San Diego's finest local brews (little known fact: SD has one of the largest microbrewery industries in the country!).

Yale Recruiting Video

2010-01-16T03:17:00.002-05:00

Some of you may have already seen this, but Yale's got a new recruiting video that's totally worth watching:

That's Why I Chose Yale

This is what happened to me today

2010-01-05T18:52:00.002-05:00

In one of my third grade classes, one of my kids asked (out of blue) "Ms. Alway! You ever eaten pigs' feet?"

"No," I responded, "I never have." (I have seen them at the grocery store--giant jars of shockingly pink things that look alarmingly like, well, pigs' feet).

They were SHOCKED by this, and this led to a long discussion of other weird things we've (mostly they've) eaten, culminating in this:

"How about raccoon? Ms. Alway, you ever eat grilled raccoon?"

"...no, no I haven't. What does it taste like?"

(look of incredulity, like he can't believe I'm asking such an idiotic question) "You know...like raccoon."

Well, duh.

2010

2010-01-04T02:07:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! Anyone else find it odd that it's no longer our graduation year?

Hope you all had excellent NYE's. I was in Vegas amongst the crazy and while fun, I think I can just go ahead and check that off the life list and... never do it again. Maybe a little too much crazy (and definitely too many drunk people who were larger than me in a huge crowd).

And right now, I have the supreme honor of being hostess to a certain Erin E. (W?) Coffey for a few days! We went here today:

(The Getty Villa) and then when watched this at the beach:

(My life is hard.) But tomorrow is back to school for me. Hope this year is a wonderful one for you all!

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-12-14T22:54:00.002-05:00

Apparently the rainy season is upon us in New Orleans. However, I live close to the levee, so it shouldn't flood there, right? I am, after all, a whole foot above sea level. Not the case. I left for a party on Saturday night and got four blocks from my house when I got stuck in flood waters. I had to pull my car up onto the neutral ground (translation: median) and call for help. Luckily one of my friends came and saved me in her boyfriend's truck and took me to the party.

It's raining again right now, and I can see that there's water up to the bottom rim of my tire. At least now I know not to go driving in this business. Here's crossing my fingers I can drive to work tomorrow!

Exams

2009-12-11T22:24:00.000-05:00

Oh man.
I am really officially a graduate student. I know this for two reasons.
1. I had a dream wherein a professor came to visit me and chastized me for being a shame to the department and that I had better not do anything else to associate myself with the department and make their reputation even worse.
2. I took the hardest exam ever. We're all convinced that we actually failed, despite studying for a million bajillion hours, and memorizing the heights of practically every obelisk erected in Egypt before the 20th dynasty.

This was our photo ID. It makes so little sense...

SNOW DAY/Damn, I live in the Midwest Now

2009-12-09T09:46:00.005-05:00

So, I thought I was through with Snow Days when I went to Yale and classes stopped for almost nothing, even a couple inches of snow. But, I woke up this morning with the image to the left outside my window, and blizzard warnings. Consequently, the Chancellor cancelled all UW Madison classes. Yay!

So, I'm psyched, no classes, I can maybe catch up on reading, maybe even research related stuff? Hehe, sure. And it looks all nice and wintry, BUT, we're gonna have to shovel all that white crap...damn.

They don't make snow days like they used to back home in Memphis, when you could just stay at home play in the snow, and then it melts or more likely freezes over during night. No shoveling, no worries...

On a completely unrelated note, I totally had a dream about being with you guys somewhere (not Vegas, but maybe Vegas on New Years/Memorial Day/Flag Day/Columbus Day/Boxing Day/i dunno one year...if we plan far in advance?). Anyway I remember most prominently Alex, who was being inappropriate. I called him on it saying we only have a few more years until that sort of stuff is frowned upon. And then, listening to what I was saying, I promptly began being inappropriate myself. Ah, the brevity of youth.

Yikes!

2009-12-07T22:19:00.002-05:00

I just assigned an alumni interview. I'm kind of excited, but also nervous - it's a lot of pressure!

Did y'all sign up to do alumni interviews in your area?

Season's Greetings

2009-12-07T18:38:00.002-05:00

People wait for it the whole year. No one believes it will actually happen. But when the winter arrives and it finally starts falling from the sky, everything comes to a standstill. Kids go out and play in it. Complete chaos takes over on the roads, because no one knows how to drive in it. And the view from my office window is completely transformed into a wonderland...

...of water. Yes, it's raining in San Diego. It only happens about five days a year, but when it rains it POURS. Not to mention the wind that makes the whole building shake...a storm that would do any native Northeasterner proud.

But ignore everything I just said. To echo Monica, it really is warm and sunny ALL the time in SoCal--so come visit!

In other news, it's finals week, which means I should be studying right now instead of typing this. Oh well. There are certain aspects of Yale's academic calendar that you can't quite fully appreciate (such as shopping period and reading week) until you have to register for courses a month before they even start, and are studying for finals before your classes have even ended. Grrr. At least there's the consolation of being out of finals a week earlier! :-)

Over the next month I will be hitting up (at various times) San Fran, NJ, NYC (and maybe CT?), and Florida. Maybe I will see some of you (particularly if anyone's near NYC the week before Christmas...'09 does NYC?) In any event happy holidays, and stay warm!

December

2009-12-01T23:41:00.002-05:00

So far, I find myself glancing at my MOB calendar more than usual this month...

This is mostly just to say: wtf, it's December! Also, I'd like to point out that Los Angeles is still:

a) warm

b) sunny

so you should all come visit.

Love,

Monica

Turkey day, etc

2009-11-29T17:01:00.000-05:00

I brought AJ home with me for Thanksgiving, and he was such a trooper! He had to deal with my whole clan-- four nights of family, meeting people, and answering questions (like, how did you get that name? and are you treating her right? You know, all the fun stuff...)

It was pretty great. We had a good week-- saw lots of family, some of Chicago (including the Bean, of course!) and ate a lot. Aside from AJ's being allergic to my house, it was great fun.
I got all sad, because I realized how much I miss both my biological family and my college surrogate family-- you! I know that I didn't appreciate my family much when I was at Yale, because I didn't need to. I had friends as close as family, whom I could rely upon for pretty much everything. And here, it's not quite the same. Grad school is decidedly less fun than college. But having you folks spread out over the whole country/world does make me appreciate my family. At least they're all in the same city, and I can visit them all at the same time!
Yesterday, Rita talked me into driving down to DC to meet her, Ben and Marcus for dinner. Dinner was lovely (my first fender bender was less lovely-- nothing to worry about, though). I got this fantastic picture of Ben and Rita on the ride back: stay classy, kids!

Oh! And, since I got a camera for my birthday, the photoblog is back online. Check it out.

2009-11-28T02:14:00.004-05:00

My First Field Trip

2009-11-15T22:52:00.002-05:00

So the New Orleans Hornets had a promotion on Friday night - for every adult ticket purchased you could get a child's ticket for free. The school decided to take advantage of this opportunity to take our babies to the game! About half of the students we took (the best behaved ones) got to stand courtside to watch the team warm-up, and two second grade students got to be the ball boy/girl for warm-up. We had about 50 students there in all, and they had a blast. They got tattoos, balloon swords, pizza, coke, cotton candy, and popcorn and got to cheer and dance and watch some b-ball (too bad the Hornets aren't as good as the Saints, though). All in all it was a really positive night that everyone enjoyed a lot.

After the game I got to take two of my students home, which was quite an adventure. They had an interesting discussion in the backseat on the merits of staying on green on our behavior board and how they just don't understand why some kids choose not to follow directions the first time. I told them I don't understand either.

It was also very interesting to see where my babies live. One of them lives out in the eastern part of New Orleans, near the 9th ward. Her section of town is about four feet below sea level and has made very little progress since Katrina. Nearly all of the houses are abandoned and still have the X's on the door from when they were searched for bodies after the storm. The other kid lives in the Iberville Projects, located very near my school. I knew the projects were not safe, especially at night, but I had to get this kid home. So, I put on my big girl boots and hoped that no one would attack a five year old kid and a teacher wearing her school's t-shirt. I made it through the projects to my kid's door where the grandmother promptly told me I was crazy. She said it was way too dangerous for anyone, much less a young white girl, to walk through there at night. She walked me back to my car, saying that people know not to mess with her and her family and that she was going to strut back home like a proud peacock. I gave her a hug when I safely made it back to my car and thanked my lucky stars nothing happened to me. This is one of the most dangerous places in New Orleans, and I made it out alive! I now have major street cred and a better understanding of where my kids come from. It was an intense night from start to finish.

Btdubs, I would still love donations for my classroom to be named the Yale classroom! I know a couple of y'all have already donated and thank you thank you thank you! You're helping to create the Yale class of 2026 and develop college-bound students for leadership and life long learning. If you too want to help develop college-bound scholars starting in kindergarten, please visit www.successpreparatory.org and click on the donate button on the left. Then, be sure to tell me that you donated so that I can a) thank you and b) tell the office manager to allocate the money to my room. Thank you for the support!

Back in the South

2009-11-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope y'all are doing well. Just wanted to report on the awesome football and music trip that I took last weekend riding shotgun to Rita. As y'all know, I love my summer camp in Mississippi and was there at the beginning of the summer. Well, my friends said they wanted me to come visit them at an Ole Miss game this fall, so without much convincing, I booked a flight a few weeks ago, and headed down for the game versus Arkansas on October 24th. I flew into Memphis, where I got to see the ducks at the Peabody hotel and Beale Street (just want y'all to know that it looks like a lame imitation of Bourbon Street), then Rita picked me up and we drove to Oxford, where Ole Miss is. We stayed with my friend and wandered around the gorgeous downtown square, and spent a while at the famous Square Books, an awesome bookstore. (However, I did not need to buy a book as I had brought Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, which I am still reading.) We went to bed early, since we knew we had a big day on Saturday.

Let's just say that Rita was in a dress and I was wearing a sportcoat at 9:30 in the morning - and we were both drinking Bloody Maries. Then we went over to the Grove, which is where the tailgating for the games takes place. It's a huge tree-shaded quad filled with tents overflowing with people eating good food and enjoying good drinks. As Rita aptly said, "I've never seen so many well-dressed white people in one place before in my life." I think I agree. So we spent time with my friends there, chatting, people watching, and soaking up a tailgating experience a little more elaborate than ever happens at Yale. Plenty of pretty girls to look at, but not all of them are great conversationalists, or well read, either. Unsurprising, but still unfortunate. Rita had a great time telling my camp friends and some folks I didn't know about my streaking activities and general nekkidnes. They were bemused, but not really shocked, I think. Then we headed into the game for an 11:30 kickoff, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching good football live in person. Rita and I were both intrigued by the halftime show put on by the Ole Miss band. There was no script and there appeared to be a large number of straight lines and complicated movements while playing. Very odd. And the band seemed to play maybe six songs during the game. I think we should sell Junta arrangements on the cheap to non-scatter bands, 'cuz Lord knows Ole Miss needed to be playing a greater variety of music. After the game, which Ole Miss won, we went back to the Grove for more food and drink.

Then, after dinner, we drove an hour and change (to the sounds of an awesome CD of blues rock music) to meet the one and only Dave DeAngelis in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta. It's a pretty rugged town where Dave and his band of fellow Delta TFAers practice on Saturdays. We met him and his friends at an epic hole in the wall called Red's Juke Joint. You have to see it to believe it. I don't think there's anything '09 has collectively seen that can compare, but I guess I can try by saying that it makes Rudy's look like the Ritz. Really. So at Red's the bar consists of a beat up old fridge behind the counter, from which you can get a 24 oz. Bud or Bud Light in a can for something like $3. And with a $5 cover, you are treated to seriously legit finger pickin blues. Rita and I were both blown away. So that was awesome. Afterwards Rita and I spent the night at the huge mansion in which Dave's Clarksdale friends live, which a big TFA supporter in town rents to them crazy cheap because he lives in his hunting lodge. No joke. So imagine six 24 year old young men living in an ornate 4,500 square foot house with a few Keystone cans and Nerf bullets in the grand hall. Rather surreal place to sleep after a long 18 hour day. And I was just a passenger to all of the driving Rita did on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Thanks again, Rita!). My only jobs during the trip were to clean up nice and drink, both of which I did with aplomb. And then on Sunday morning, we drove back to Memphis, where Rita dropped me off at the airport.

So that was the trip I took back down South with Rita as my Mississippian fellow-traveler. It was really awesome, and also an interesting cultural endeavor for us. I had never done anything quite so over-the-top Deep South, and I had never been to the Delta, either. The ghosts of the Old South are still there in Mississippi, and that's definitely not always a good thing (Case in point: hearing current Ole Miss students shout "The South will rise again!" at the end of a school song. I mean, where do you go from there? At least there weren't too many rebel flags.) But seeing the bulletholes in the main Ole Miss administration building dating from the siege which happened when James Meredith integrated the school in 1962 is compelling. They didn't fill the holes in. Still there. Undoubtedly I'm forgetting some good stories, but I'm sure Rita will post them or tell them soon enough. I look forward to seeing all of y'all at the Game in two and a half weeks! Take care everybody!
Ned
PS Big kid life is still treating me well in DC. Work is good, and Steve and I remain a happy domestic couple.

being a grownup, kinda

2009-11-02T13:26:00.002-05:00

This weekend, AJ and I took a little trip out to "wild and wonderful" West Virginia. We visited Harper's Ferry, which is currently celebrating the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid. This is us standing in front of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah, which was really pretty, all decked out in fall foliage and hilly prettiness.
We had a great time, but felt pretty off the generational average-- the youngest folks were infants and toddlers, and the oldest were grandparents. But the next oldest set (aside from us) was that 28-35 set of couples, of which we are decidedly not a part. It reminded me how young we still are, really.... sometimes I feel old, and then real life pokes me and reminds me that is really quite absurd.

Anyway, I'm really missing you all, and can't wait for The Game! I can't be there until late evening on Friday, but better late than never!!

It's been a while

2009-10-28T23:18:00.002-04:00

Hi guys!

It's been a while since I posted. Apparently I've been busy with work. I miss you all, and having you all around, and automatically seeing/talking to y'all every weekend at football games!

I actually was back in New Haven this weekend (it was a YPU Alumni Reunion) and it was great, but also totally weird. I don't know if other people who have been back for a weekend feel the same way, but it's kinda like it's frozen in time -- it feels exactly as if I were still there, and I'm still more familiar with campus and New Haven than I am with DC, yet, I don't know anyone and I don't really belong. But, y'all will be happy to know that New Haven hasn't changed -- still rainy and damp all the time, but still really beautiful.

Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing well.

Homer

Funny Story

2009-10-25T21:48:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we had "Sports Day" which is a schoolwide competition for track and field events at our school. Since there are over 2,000 students, only a limited number of students gets to actually compete. Everyone else, surprise surprise, gets to write essays! Whichever class writes the most and best essays wins. Almost all the essays were about Sports Day and the athletes.

Now we all know that students like to copy... here's one essay we got: "The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later."

Is it sad that this is the highlight of my day?

--Annie
P.S. Halloweeeeeeeeeen!

Cute kid stories

2009-10-25T18:09:00.005-04:00

We've got a kid-friendly movie up on our lab website about what it's like to have an MRI. The movie tells kids that we play the statue game when they come in, so that they stay really, really still. We had an adorable 5 year-old come in on Friday, and she came in chattering about how excited she was to be a statue, just like grandma (I didn't ask...).

When she was practicing in our mock scanner, I complimented her on how good she was at being a statue. Then I tried to guess what kind of statue she was.

"Are you a soldier statue?"
"No."
"Are you the Statue of Liberty?"
"No."
"Are you a pony statue?"
"No."
"I guess you could be a grandma statue. Nah, that's silly... Are you a grandma statue?"
"No."

No? I thought that's what she said she was going to be!

"Okay, I give up. What kind of statue are you?"
"Baby Jesus!"

And we preceded to compliment her on what a great baby Jesus she was throughout her scan.

Her 3 year-old brother was adorable too. He saw our giraffe and asked if he could wide it. We said no, just a hug, but he climbed on anyway.

I'm in DC!

2009-10-14T08:14:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I have a week off from school this week, so I'm spending it wandering around the East Coast visiting people. I went to Yale for band alumni weekend this weekend, and it was glorious! Beautiful weather on Saturday, and the team beat Dartmouth (thank god), and the band looked and sounded great. Also, T-Duff says hi.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am now at the Waller-Lao Residence in Washington DC. There are two items of interest in this apartment:

1) A 50-lb bag of rice
2) A shelf full of liquor

Guess what belongs to whom. I'm not telling you. You have to guess.

My parents' weekend, much further north.

2009-10-11T13:12:00.006-04:00

If y'all didn't know already, I joined the U of R Wind Symphony (aka band) and Symphony Orchestra (self-explanatory). Each had a concert this weekend for Meliora Weekend (aka parents' weekend), which I why I missed out on band alumni weekend.

The Symphony Orchestra concert went especially well - we played Firebird Suite, and we sounded pretty damn good from where I was sitting in the very back row. My bosses and co-worker came, which was super sweet of them, and my boss even tagged a blurry iPhone photo of us with me and the caption, "I think that's where you were...?"

I didn't have parents to bring to our parents' weekend concert, but I had PIs!

I Waited Twenty Minutes To See Obama Drive By And All I Got Was To Be Twenty Minutes Late To Work

2009-10-07T22:09:00.004-04:00

So, President Obama came to visit the NIH last week. Of course, we didn't get any notification until the night before when an e-mail was sent out saying that there was going to be increased security, road closures, and that we should all make sure to display our ID badges, due to a 'special visitor.' Of course, I didn't get to see him speak as the auditorium was filled with people who had gotten super-secret special tickets beforehand (and a few lucky people that got in line ass-early for first-come lotto tickets), which kinda sucked because it was such a pain to get inside the very building I work in. Apparently, he choppered into the Navy Medical Center across the street and drove in via motorcade and it was a bit amusing seeing so many grown individuals lining the street jumping and cheering like teenage girls at a Backstreet Boys concert (or whoever the equivalent is nowadays - the Jonas Brothers? Miley Fuckin' Cyrus?).

Also, today the new director of the NIH, Francis Collins (Yalie! And head of the Human Genome Project), was awarded the National Medal of Science at the White House. Fun fact: he rides a Harley to work. He also plays guitar and jammed with Joe Perry (of Aerosmith) in a free concert at the Capitol last week.

Today I...

2009-10-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

...failed a german exam
...had to go to class
...failed at class
...talked to the police who were not helpful
...went to go look at an apartment
...got my car towed
...thought it was stolen when the towing place denied having it, then figured it out and had to bum a ride to the impound lot which is in a terrible neighborhood even for baltimore where I had to be escorted to my car in an impound lot so i could get my wallet (in the car) so complete strangers could drive me to the sketchiest gas station i've even been in so i could get $260 out of the skeeziest atm ever where a young black man came up to me and said "you picked a hell of a neighborhood to come use a bank machine, lady" and then go get my car and figure out where the fuck i was (somewhere on baltimore's west side which is indeed as bad as it sounds like it might be), all of which triggered a total relapse of self doubt, angst, hating this fucking shit hole of a city, frustration, etc.
...oh yes and i still haven't done any fucking work

sorry. just venting.
i miss the safety of new haven, and the safety net of having you all around.

Being Ms. Cooper

2009-10-03T21:36:00.005-04:00

What is being Ms. Cooper like, you ask? Well let me share a few stories from the past week, just to give you an idea.

1) The other day, kid number one walked by kid number two, and just licked him on the head. No idea why.

2) I got to hear my principal give the boys in my class a bathroom lesson, in which he compared peeing to a video game and encouraged them all to "go to the next level." He then had them all take aim and make peeing noises. This all was prompted because some kid keeps peeing in a corner, and all of them pee on the seat. It's quite gross.

3) Speaking of gross pee, one kid peed herself like three times on Friday (I think she's scared of the pee-covered bathroom), and she didn't have a change of clothes and I couldn't get a hold of her parents. Not a good situation.

4) During writing time, one kid wrote that he loved recess and illustrated his story with my co-teacher watching the happy kids play and me watching the kids who didn't bring their homework cry. Sadly, this is a pretty accurate representation of kindergarten recess.

5) On a more positive note, our lowest kid who came in only able to scribble on the page this week wrote the number six and colored within the lines! These small victories are what make it all worthwhile.

6) Some of my kids absolutely love me. When asked to draw and write about their families, one girl drew a picture of me. She told me that she was going to draw her family around me.

7) This week in our morning meeting we danced to the hokey-pokey. None of them know which is their right or left hand, but they're putting them in there anyway (and looking incredibly adorable while doing so).

I love my job. It's a bit like Yale in that I'm working between 11 and 12 hours a day, do nothing outside of schoolwork, and is very challenging but rewarding. I have to admit that this post isn't just to update y'all on my new life; I also have a favor to ask of each and every one of you.

My school, Success Preparatory Academy, is a brand spanking new charter school in New Orleans, and we're looking to have universities sponsor each classroom. If you've ever visited Amistad Academy in New Haven, they have much the same system. Rather than being Ms. Cooper's and Ms. Oliver's kindergarten class, my class would instead be the Yale class. Before this can happen, however, I have to raise enough money to buy t-shirts for every child, along with other paraphernalia, roughly in the range of $500. This is where you come in.

I realize that this is very spammy of me, but it would do a lot to help us on our mission of creating college-bound students for leadership and lifelong learning if you could contribute to my school, no matter the amount.

If you're interested in donating, visit www.successpreparatory.org, and click on the Donate button on the left. Also let me know if you choose to donate so that the school knows to channel that money to my classroom.

This is of course tax-deductible, and you will receive updates from my cute little kids if you choose to contribute!

Ok, spam done. Almost...donate plzthxbai!!!1

Birthday adventures

2009-09-27T17:08:00.012-04:00

I made the drive down to Yale last weekend to see Henry for my birthday. I left work early on Friday and took Monday off (I'd worked Labor Day in exchange). I managed to nab a room at the Courtyard at Yale for $50/night on Priceline, way better than their advertised rate of $150/night (yes, staying in Henry's dorm would've been free, but that would've been pretty awkward for his roommate). It was weird being back on campus - I felt like I didn't belong there (because I don't anymore), and I didn't like it. Yale had always felt like home before.

I had brunch in new Calhoun and got to see some of the young'uns (Dan baked me a bazillion of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had), and Dr. J. took me and my friend Mark (Calhoun '09) on a tour of the renovated basement and Master's house. Dr. J's son must've grown a foot over the summer! I remember when that kid was knee high to a grasshopper and didn't say a word. Way back when we were freshmen. Sigh.

Other birthday weekend adventures included finding an AWESOME hole-in-the-wall Mexican food place, running out to Costco so I could buy more calcium chews (very important, ladies!), peach and pear picking at Bishop's Orchards, and a lovely birthday dinner at La Taberna in Bridgeport with a $25 off "gift certificate" from Restaurant.com.

All in all, I think it was my favorite birthday so far. Not that last year wasn't great - first football game as DM, followed by drinking and Toad's-ing with y'all was epic. But this year, I never felt like throwing up, and last year, I wanted to throw up lots, from first football game nerves and from y'all buying me too many drinks.

I miss you all! And I vote we all go to Mexican Taqueria Market #2 on the Sunday after The Game, if y'all will still be in town.

Oh, and PS: when I arrived on Friday night, as I was pulling up to the back gate of Pierson, a bunch of the men's hockey team walked past, all dressed up in suits. I miss them too.

my life these days

2009-09-25T14:00:00.002-04:00

1) I got a haircut on Tuesday afternoon. It is pretty short, and so kind of sticks up all over. When I arrived at school on Wednesday morning, this is what one of my first-graders had to say: "Miss Alway! You got shaved!"

2) I am starting to adapt Delta dialect, most particularly "fittin' to." This is Delta-speak for "fixing to," i.e. "Jaquirrious if you don't get a move on you're fittin' to miss that bus."

3) I am possibly starting a fifth and sixth grade band? This is exciting and also terrifying. We really need one; right now the high school band is pretty small and pretty bad because there's no feeder program at all. My kids are ALL super excited. And they ALL want to play drums.

4) I also joined the Greenwood community band! It consists mostly of the extremely elderly, plus a few high school students and me and Will (another TFA teacher, the choir director at the high school. He went to UConn and played trumpet in the marching band!) We play lots and lots of marches, but I like it.

5) I am also taking guitar lessons. My teacher is old, crotchety, mustached, and chain-smokes throughout each lesson. It's awesome.

6) It has been raining for about ten days straight now, and as a result the local mosquito population is greatly increased and has been FEASTING on my blood. Kids: "Miss Alway, you got red bumps all over your arms!" Me: "I KNOW."

7) I miss you all! And I can't wait for the Game.

Things I have learned

2009-09-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

Hey friends,
Most of you probably already know that I had an unscheduled visitor in the wee hours of Monday morning. It was very not fun. Not only did I wake up to find a strange guy in my room taking (and getting away with!) tons of my stuff, but he also invaded my private space and peace of mind and fledgling acceptance of Baltimore. It also meant a veritable parade of police and such, and now insurance and the DMV (again!) and and and...
Fortunately, no one was hurt, and I did have renters insurance.
Anyway, if you don't yet-- I have some tips.
1) Get renter's insurance. Seriously. It's not expensive, and if you were to wake up in the middle of the night with a strange man in your room/house/apartment, stealing lots of your stuff, you'll be very glad you have it.

2) back up your files. I didn't lose much, luckily. Also, backing up your files doesn't do you any good if thieves take the backup too. So store your external elsewhere. Or let me refer you to dropbox (which is a handy dandy internet backup service! If I reccomend you, then we both get more space! It's awesome.)

3) save receipts for big purchases. Computers, camera, phones, etc. They come in handy when you have to prove you own things that were stolen from you. Or take photos. You can also add specific things to your insurance policy-- like your computer, or other especially valuable things.

Speaking of the Swine...

2009-09-13T15:12:00.002-04:00

I may have it. Let's just say I have some form of the flu. Damn kindergarteners and their snotty noses. Also damn working in a charter school with no subs. It makes you feel so much more guilty when you have to miss school.

In other (late) news, I visited Rita last weekend for Labor Day! I love getting holidays off! We had an exciting weekend of stripping wallpaper, replastering her walls, and painting her kitchen a beautiful sunny yellow. Even though Rita did make me refinish her kitchen, it was a great weekend and was so nice to relax with a real friend who actually knows me. One downer of the weekend - I got my first speeding ticket on the way home. Mississippi Goddamn.

H1N1

2009-09-13T02:48:00.002-04:00

Yay!! No school on Monday!

Swine flu has sadly (?) come to Xiuning, so our school has shut down classes for seven days. Yay seven-day vacation, but let's all hope the student that got swine flu lives!

Some of us are thinking of going to visit Chris and his crew at Changsha, but we probably won't (sorry Chris) because who knows what we have right now, it's a 12-hour bus ride, and we still have stuff to do here. We're writing a newspaper!! Yay!

Ok miss you all. Stay safe, as crazy things seem to be happening at Yale. Byezors.

From sea to shining sea

2009-09-12T03:36:00.002-04:00

4,056.6 miles of road, 1,969 photos, and 13 days of bonding time with dear old Mom and Dad after leaving the Atlantic Seaboard, I am back on the Left Coast (and this time with a car!)

I won’t bore you with all the gory details of my trip, but at the end of it all the U.S. of A. actually seems a lot smaller. Paradoxical, maybe, that a land that takes 13 days (at least with all our detours) to cross by car would seem smaller than a country you can cross in 5-6 hours by plane. But before this trip, the middle of the U.S. always seemed like a mysterious, impossibly large expanse. I’d get on a plane on one coast, and get plopped down on the other, without seeing anything in between except for the very little you can make out from a plane window. I might as well have been traveling through a wormhole between two different universes. But now that I can draw a line (or more like a zig zag) across the country along which I’ve experienced the landscape, culture, people, etc., the country seems more manageable and more familiar. I’ve connected the two universes, without having to resort to post-Newtonian physics!

I learned a few things along the way. Things like places of incredible natural beauty are often in close proximity to places of shameless and absurd (and amusing) human development. And that 99% of the time, a sign welcoming you to an Indian reservation is shortly followed by a much larger and glitzy sign for a casino. And that it is actually possible to get heat stroke even long after the sun has gone down (I found this out after attempting to walk two blocks at a street fair in Palm Springs, where it was well over 100 degrees at 8:00 in the evening, and nearly passing out).

And I gained some favorite new places that I will have to get back to some day. Here are some of them, if you ever happen to be looking for awesome places to stop/vacation/etc.:
-Harpers Ferry, WV – quaint and only slightly touristy village in very scenic setting, preserved more or less as it was in the Civil War era. Close to Baltimore and D.C., and a great spot methinks for a romantic getaway (wink, wink)
-Great Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg, TN – The most visited national park is fittingly right next to an extremely touristy, kitschy, Southern country vacation town—think Myrtle Beach in the mountains.
-Graceland and Beale St. in Memphis – Well, at least some of you have been here. The King’s wonderfully decorated abode and airplanes must not be missed, nor the music and street performers on Beale St. (and the Johnny Cash impersonator who, according to my dad, sings better than Johnny Cash).
-Sweet tea – OK, not a place, but my beverage of choice from Virginia to Arkansas. It made me so sad when we got to Texas and they didn’t serve it anymore:-(
-The many cafes, motels, and other business along historic Route 66 that have shamelessly huge signs advertising their associations with the highway and the whole road trip theme. My favorite place perhaps was the Roadkill Café, with a miniature recreation of an Old West town and their slogan: “If You Kill It, We Grill It”.
-Arroyo Seco – A tiny village near Taos, NM, that we discovered more or less by accident, that has more hippies and brightly colored things on display than I’ve seen anywhere east of the Sierra Nevada. And they have a hostel called the Abominable Snowmansion. Amazing.
-Mesa Verde National Park – Out in the middle of nowhere Colorado, but with amazing cliff dwellings that you can hike and climb into. Those of you who took Scully’s class, I’m pretty sure a couple of those buildings we memorized were here.
-Grand Canyon – No explanation necessary, I think.
-Las Vegas – The mother and father of all shamelessness and human excess, conveniently located within a few hours of the Grand Canyon and other sublimely beautiful national parks.

That’s all—now I can relax, because all I have to do is buy furniture/kitchenware, get officially orientated even after already working here for 2 months, meet other new grad students, audition for symphony orchestra in one week (I haven’t played any of the audition materials yet), take classes that last only 10 weeks before you take finals on them (thank you very much, quarter system), take 3 quarters worth of those classes, then take massive uber-final on all 12 of those classes. But one thing at a time.

Peace and <3 and happy alumni-dom to all,
Andrew

Limboooo

2009-09-11T14:01:00.002-04:00

So I know I had a lot of time to do kick-ass stuff this summer, but GOOD LORD I am ready for the next step. This is what I do with my time:

-clean my room
-cook
-facebook/putz around on the internet, mostly on whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com (thanks, Rita!)
-hide from the smoke (though not as much anymore, yay)

Basically my life for the past month has been a kind of haze of not doing anything substantial. It is okay, though, right? Since I have the rest of my life to do things? I just feel super lazy because almost everyone I know has a job/started school/leaves the house before noon every day.

Also I just spent about an hour on ydn.com looking at what's going on at Yale. Misogynistic emails, missing people, and a rooftop terrace at Toads! It is as interesting as ever and of course people started talking about recruited athletes again. So I guess nothing has changed too drastically...

In exciting news: I move into my apartment/dorm Tuesday! And I heard from my roommate yesterday (finally)! And then class doesn't start till the 24th. The quarter system is weeeird. And this afternoon, I'm going shopping for wedding dresses with my friend who got engaged like a month ago. WE ARE OLD.

to all of you working stiffs

2009-09-01T17:20:00.002-04:00

And for that matter, all of you grad students too.

Think your job is rough? Boss getting on your nerves? Or maybe all the grad/law school work is getting to you? Well, the next time you're feeling frustrated with work, ask yourself this:

Did anyone throw up at your workplace today? Did they just up and expell partially-digested sloppy joes* all over the floor, right in the middle of your lesson on eighth notes? WELL? DID THEY?

That's what I thought.

*I know that is gross. Sorry.

You remember...

2009-09-01T15:45:00.002-04:00

...that story about the naked dude that Ken found passed out in his bed and refused to leave...while butt-ass naked?

On an unrelated note, Ken (and Erica) came to visit last weekend while Erica apartment hunted in D.C. and they stayed in my bedroom while I was away in Philly.

Also, Ned seriously called Ken 'Steve' no less than two times without realizing what he was doing.

The Wire

2009-08-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

So, I started to do one of the things I promised myself I wouldn't do: watch The Wire.
I wasn't going to watch, because I didn't want it to color my perceptions of Baltimore before I even got here. Like New Haven, Baltimore has a reputation. More so than New Haven, Baltimore's seems deserved. It's something of a standing joke, apparently, that New Haven talks a good game (of having a seedy reputation) but it's really a walk in the park compared to Baltimore. So far, my observations line up with that theory. There is a ton of theft, lots of muggings, car thefts, everything. It seems like a solid 60-75% of students have been the victim of a crime while they've been here. Like Yale, JHU takes security seriously, and we have a huge security force of mostly former BPD officers, as well as a hired security company and the BPD. It's pretty intense; my landlady keeps talking about how the slumlords who live two blocks away bring in riff-raff to the area (and she's not kidding or exaggerating). Almost every night, you see BPD helicopters. I thought they were news or traffic helicopters, or maybe taking people to the hospital. Turns out they use searchlights and go street by street looking for the bad guys.
Anyway, maybe watching The Wire still isn't a good idea. I think it's making me jumpy!

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed

2009-08-26T21:19:00.005-04:00

My gym just wrapped up a summer fitness auction promotion. Basically, for the past month or so, you could rack up gym dollars by doing gym-related things, like going to the gym and group fitness classes, or by buying gym-related products, like personal training sessions, tanning, massages, memberships, etc. Being a practical marketing promotion, you got a lot more "money" from buying stuff than from working out.

The big auction is tomorrow night, so they released the money totals today. Guess who came in third place, just $4 behind second place? And without buying a single gym-related product?

Yup. Me! I have so much free time, thanks to lack of take home work and other extracurriculars to keep me busy, that I'm hitting up TurboKick, Ab Lab, Pilates, and Cardio Kickbox several times a week. It's kind of sad that I have nothing better to do, but my guns are near what they were at my DM-ing peak, and if I stretch and flex and kinda squint, I almost have abs!

I was gonna skip tomorrow's auction, but now I'm going because I feel like I stand a chance to win a prize. There's a casino night beforehand. Should I sit on my winnings in hopes of winning a small prize, or should I try to multiply/risk my winnings on the blackjack tables and go for the grand prize trip to Vegas?

China

2009-08-24T01:25:00.007-04:00

Hello World, from Hong Kong!

3 things:

1. We are in Hong Kong for just a couple more days, and then we all split to our respective schools. Chris is going to Changsha, spicy-food central! Annie is going to Xiuning, rural rural rural (and poor).

2. There are apparently shops that sell bread in the shape of different types of butts.

3. Last night we ate pigeon heads.

For realsies...
Chris and I both teach middle schoolers (American high school freshmen), and last week, we taught a practice lesson together. Let's just say... it was a learning experience. Things didn't exactly go the way we planned. We asked our "students" (aka our fellow Fellows) to act like 14-year-old, beginning English speakers. As a result, we had to work with unexpected discipline issues or timely questions. For example, when we asked the "students" to read their sentences aloud, a girl raised her hand and asked, "uh-lowed, like permission?" So we had to stop our lesson to explain the difference between aloud and allowed--an important distinction, but multiplied by 20... not so good for productivity.

We received pretty good feedback for our intentions and what we did accomplish. We showed "Lifted," the Pixar short (which preceded Wall-e) about two aliens trying to abduct a farmer. Our lesson was about the effectiveness of non-verbal communication. I talked a little about sign language, and Chris talked about Paul Eckman's finding of the six universal emotions (Psych 110 flashback!). Our last activity was supposed to be basically scenes from a hat, and the students had to act out the scenes without dialogue. It would have been fun, but we ran out of time! C'est la vie.

We send our love! Expect posts about our new lives after we get settled into the next two years!

Love,
Chris and Annie

Homeward bound...and pics of me as a surfer dude!

2009-08-21T01:46:00.006-04:00

Well, sort of. Still no action shots of me catching a sick open-face wave, then cruising down the barrel while flippin' under the lip like there's no tomorrow as it breaks right on my tail. That would be gnarly, dude. But I did get my (really cute and chill and I-totally-developed-a-crush-on-her-in-the-hour-she-was-there*) substitute surfing instructor to snap some glamor shots of me with the board.

*Note to the teachers: unless you're teaching surfing, it's probably not best to show up to class in a bikini. Your students will love you, but not necessarily for the right reasons...

Also note the length of the surfboard...they call it a LONGboard for a reason.
Hope that (temporarily) satisfies the requests for surfer pics, and I'll keep working on the sick nasty stunt surfer photos:-)

In other news, I'm flying back to the East Coast on Saturday! I spend one week at home, then begins the two-week epic road trip from NJ to Cali. (OK, maybe not as EPIC with all caps as Carly and Monica's, but still far more epic than any road trip I've done.) And I just booked plane tickets for The Game! I won't be getting to the Have until after midnight that Friday night though, so you all better plan on merrily carousing well into the night...

Much '09 <3 all around,
Andrew

Annie and I are Yiqi

2009-08-20T13:18:00.002-04:00

"Yiqi" means together.

It is fun times.

We also taught together today. It was special. I'll tell more after a night of sleep and an Annie by my side.

Also, we move to my schools in less than a week. Psyched!

-cy

I'm Pretty Sure...

2009-08-19T21:04:00.002-04:00

...that Ned and I live a block from a gay black biker bar. It's hard to tell since it's in a crappy building with boarded up windows and a unassuming black door with a very faded "Open after 4pm, ID required" once printed on it. I mean, who would put a gay black biker bar sandwiched between an auto repair garage and a black dance club called "Lux Lounge?"

I guess there's really only one way to find out (*finger on nose*).

Names

2009-08-18T22:49:00.002-04:00

My students do not know my name, and I am not doing much better. Top contenders of the last few days:
"Miss Always" (OK, fair)
"Miss Hallway" (never heard that before)
"Hey music teacher lady!" (hey now.)
"Mr. Alway" (my personal favorite)

Meanwhile, I have 450 names to learn and I'm not making much progress. 450 is a lot of kids! I think I pretty much win the "oooh I have soooo many students" game, all the time. The sheer number of sweet (ish) innocent (ish) little (ish) children is complicated by the fact that they have extremely unusual names, Mississippi accents, and squeaky little voices. Also sometimes they lisp. And they mumble. Is it any wonder, then, that I can't tell Quadarrius from Quintarrius?

Still, though, life is good. I have been, variously:

amazed that at least 60% of my fifth and sixth graders could identify a recording as B.B. King (who was born right down the road in Indianola, you see)
appalled that no one in a fourth grade class could recognize the national anthem
quite pleased when those same fourth graders COULD in fact recognize it today, retaining the knowledge that I taught them last week
surprised that, when I put on the recording I was going to use to work with my fifth graders on clapping a steady beat, they spontaneously began clapping on beats 2 and 4, with no prompting from me. Seeing my surprised look: "Oh, Miss, we be clappin' like that in church!" Aaaaah. Awesome!

Also, today was an especially good day because I did not have to mop up urine (which I did yesterday, with my foot and some paper towels, whilst continuing to explain what a composer was AND comforting the crying source of said urine, all at the same time. Let no one say that teachers don't have to multitask). My life is silly.

220 miles later

2009-08-18T02:55:00.002-04:00

Hi!

I am out of the woods!

I walked 220 miles in 22 days and completed the John Muir Trail by being the tallest person in the contiguous 48 states (climbing Mt Whitney)!

More later! But hi!

Love,
Monica

Two photos

2009-08-16T22:26:00.006-04:00

1:
Last weekend, I drove to Boston and back to visit Henry. That's over 12 hours of driving without incident. When I got back to Rochester on Sunday night, I drove to the grocery store to pick up food for tomorrow's lunch, and then this happened, two blocks from home.

A building on the street corner had collapsed, and the city put up a barricade to close off the street, and the city did not put up any signs or lights or barrels or anything reflective so that the barricade could be seen in the dark. And I drove through it.

The bartender at the bar that I crashed in front of told me that I was the third person to hit the barricade that night, and the firefighters who showed up after the bartender called 911 assured me that the barricade shouldn't have been left up the way it was.

But the cop who showed up told me that he wasn't going to ticket me for damaging city property and that it would be better for my insurance premiums if he didn't have to file an accident report for my "inattentive" driving. He made me mad and frustrated, and I cried, which made me feel stupid and helpless and weak and not as grown-up as I'd like to think I am.

In the end, I was fine, though my car got a bit scratched up, and I had to replace the driver's side mirror, but it wasn't a very fun end to my otherwise lovely weekend. And it made me feel lonely. I could've really used a hug that night.

2.

Henry came up to visit this weekend. We went to his aunt's husband's ex-wife's family reunion in Victor, NY, which is about half an hour away from here. Surprisingly not too awkward, considering that Henry was barely related to the people there, and I was related to no one.

While we were there, Henry's aunt's husband, grandfather to two adorable twin girls, snapped the above photo of Henry staring at my boobs (you may have to click on the photo to see the larger version to get the full effect). I can't tell if his aunt was trying to be funny when she emailed it to us because she thought we'd like it or if she didn't notice and really just thought we'd like it.

I bet my dad would really like it...

OOHNINE

2009-08-15T23:36:00.002-04:00

Since I just pulled OOHNINE as my first set of letters in a game of Scrabble (in that order), I thought that tonight would be an appropriate time to make my first post to this blog. Actually, unless you consider Facebook a blog, I really haven't posted to a blog before.

Anyway, I recently came back from a month-long trip to Israel (2.5 wk), London (1 wk), and Boston (3 days) with Amy. I met tons of her relatives and we took some pretty cool trips in our tiny rental car (look up Hyundai Getz--I'm surprised I even fit in it), including to the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. We also went up to the Galilee and Golan Heights with one of Amy's grandma's cousins, who is a former Israeli military bigshot and knows pretty much everyone in the North. Fun stuff. Other highlights included an outdoor, free, concert for Tel Aviv's centennial featuring La Scala from Milan and a shelter for 700 cats and a few dogs.

London was also excellent and included a 5-foot-tall green rabbit holding a trash can whose ears lit up when you throw something in, as well as the Great British Beer Festival, featuring over 450 ales, mostly from Great Britain. In Boston we did some shopping for furniture and lamps and stuff for my new apartment in Back Bay, went on the Swan Boats, took a Duck Tour, and generally hung out as well.

I'm starting work the day after Labor Day, which is coming up fast, and I'm very excited. I may post some pictures of the apartment once I'm moved in and it's pretty much set up, but I'm currently in Chicago until 9/1. Anyone who's in town and wants to see a movie or a baseball game or something, let me know!

Feeling Good..

2009-08-10T19:06:00.002-04:00

So, I just got to my new home in Madison, and despite a 3 hour delay cause some b*tch of storm decided to roll through Cinncinati, I'm feeling really good. As I walked around the house, I can tell I'm in the right place. Star Wars collection, all Matrices, all Lord of the Rings, Guitar Hero, and Rockband, plus an electric piano. I was really nervous at first, cause you never really know what you're gonna get from housmates. But if any of these things is an indication. It's gonna be awesome. Pictures to come once I settle in my room.

File under: extremely obvious

2009-08-07T20:56:00.002-04:00

OK, here is the thing about little kids: they are SO. DAMN. CUTE. I mean, I'm probably just saying that because I've only been a teacher for two days, but seriously. Yesterday, when they were all dressed up for the first day of school, in their uniforms (khaki pants and red, white, or navy polos), with their new school haircuts and the little girls with their little beads and bows in their hair, to match their uniforms--seriously, they just melt my heart.

Possibly the best part of yesterday was trying to take roll in a kindergarten class (I don't teach until Monday, so I was just floating around helping wherever I could):

"Sweetie, what's your name?"
"Jamarcus."
"Well Jamarcus, what's your last name?"
"Don't have one."
"Really."
(eventually we figured out his last name was Jay; this was deduced from the fact that it was shaved into the side of his head.)

Kids are great. Now I just hope I can teach them some music!

The Man in the Stovepipe Hat

2009-08-07T10:20:00.006-04:00

This post is not about moving to Philadelphia.

This post is not about pre-graduate school anxiety, nor frustration at the cost of things in the real world.

It is not about hopes, dreams, credit cards, ponies, new activities, rainbows, small children, or even witty prose [we have Andrew for that].

It is a post, in fact, about Abraham Lincoln.

I don't know what made me pick up my old book from when I took Civil War, that "selected writings and speeches" collection--essentially Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Hits. Maybe my dad mentioned a great Lincoln book that he was reading at the time (he's read lots of them), and I recommended this one to him as a great portrait of our 16th president. But then I saw all my neon Post-It Notes, peeking defiantly out from between the pages, and the near-constant underlining of a scratchy blue pen on EVERY PAGE, shouting out that this was no ordinary textbook. I enjoyed it. And so, as I prepare for my move (next week!), I've decided to read it again.

I guess it's appropriate that I should be reading the work of one of our country's greatest patriots as I head off to a city so steeped in history. Civil War (the class) really drove home how possessed Lincoln was of a unique and powerful vision. Despite the historical displacement of over a hundred and fifty years, his writings, in many ways, retain their relevance. It's really amazing. And it makes me wonder why, with such eloquent and insightful guidelines for political discourse available, with such a conceptual model of well-applied canniness in government... I don't know. Perhaps more men and women involved in politics should study history in addition to law and the modern political process, and at that, history beyond the immediate fifty- to one-hundred year timeframe, beyond that which can be integrated into slash-and-burn politics. It seems short-sighted to me to do otherwise.

There's one particular passage that stands out in my mind (on page 58, those of you who still have this book), excerpted from Lincoln's speech about the Dred Scott decision. It reads as follows:

"I think the authors of that noble instrument [the Declaration] intended to include all men, but they did not intend to declare all men equal in all respects... They defined with tolerable distinctness, in what respects they did consider all men created equal--equal in 'certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' This they said, and this they meant. They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth, that all were then actually enjoying that equality, nor yet, that they were bout to confer it immediately upon them. In fact they had no power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit. They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all; constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere."

Ah, the American ideal, and so well put. To subscribe to this ideal, to believe in it and to strive for it even while falling short because we are human and fallible... it is a beautiful thing. And I can't wait to be in a city where the legacy of history and ideal breathes through the essence of the place. Not perfect, not by far... but trying.

Get ready, Philly... here I come.

First day of school!

2009-08-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

...well, sort of. First day of school for the kiddos, but not for Ms. Alway. See, "activities" (i.e. music, art, and PE) won't start until the schedules for the regular classroom teachers are all set--so while the kidlets will be in school tomorrow, I won't start teaching until Monday. So tomorrow, I'm going to put on my best grown-up jacket (in a most-likely-vain attempt to look older than 22), and go to school in order to...something. Everyone I've asked has been most unclear on exactly what I'm supposed to do tomorrow. Or where I'm supposed to be. Or what students I will have, at what time, starting Monday.

I am excited to start teaching, though! Even more excited because today my principal told me that she has a good lead on getting me a trailer where I can have my very own classroom. Did I tell you guys about that? This year they're combining two elementary schools into one, so on account of the crowding there's no room for a music room. That's right, Ms. Alway is the traveling music cart lady, going from class to class! For now, at least. I never thought I would be SO VERY EXCITED about the prospect of a hand-me-down trailer.

Anyway, organizational issues and homelessness aside, life is pretty good. More settled than it was (I have a house! With pictures of your smiling faces on the walls!), but still sort of chaotic. I think things will settle down soon, though. And oh! I miss you guys a lot!

(also: good luck tomorrow, Coop!!!)

Holy Shit

2009-08-05T22:30:00.000-04:00

First day of school for 3rd graders is tomorrow. My kindergarten babies don't come until the 17th, but this will be my first real test as a teacher. Wish me luck!

Welcome to Baltimore

2009-08-05T16:39:00.002-04:00

So, I'm in Baltimore, getting settled. I've hit a number of key milestones already:
~got my JHU ID
~checked out my first library book
~entered (but did not use) the gym
~took an undergrad tour, which made me miss the good 'ol days
~seen a game at Camden Yards
~had a Yuengling
but most Baltimore of all...
~got groped by a random dude on my way home from the library. Oh boy! (I'm fine-- he didn't try anything more involved than a little grab, but grossed out and really irritated.)

Other than that, everything is as expected. My German class is going well, even if it's hard to make myself do homework right now. Campus is pretty, and starting to make more sense now. My room is coming along nicely, though is not fully furnished just yet. My photo of us on the ice at the Whale is sitting right on my dresser, making me miss having friends (and especially y'all!) but that will come in good time.

Two Short Stories, etc.

2009-08-05T01:10:00.003-04:00

1: Last week, I printed out some tax papers and promptly lost them within about 2 minutes. NO IDEA where they could have gone, panicked. Mom decided to work her magic- "Go upstairs, I'll find them." I agree, thinking to myself that I will be a bad mom someday, because do not have magic powers.

Turns out, I printed out the papers and made a sandwich. The tax forms were neatly laid on the tuna fish shelf of the kitchen cabinet. Take out tuna, insert W2s. Perfectly reasonable.

It's pathological.

2: Lots of rain recently, as you know if you're anywhere on the East Coast. Result- water in basement! Result of that- water in all of my boxes that I hadn't unpacked yet! Result- water on most of my nice and winter clothes! Many are salvageable but a bunch somehow got bad rust stains. So after trying every home remedy in the world today (Vinegar and salt paste) and every stain removal product in our house, I have concluded that a lot of my favorite clothes are dead. So I need a lot of new clothes. Which is especially sad because I don't get my student loans until September 1st, and am too broke for significant back to school shopping until then. But orientation starts the 25th. SIGH. I am justifying this complaining post with the previous story, which I hope will entertain you enough to forgive this story.

Etc.: I'm (almost certainly) going camping in the Smokey Mountains this weekend! With my sis. And then next weekend, I move to New Haven. Like, whoa. And I saw lots of Ned, Rachel, and Steve in DC this week, as well as some 06ers! Fun. Also, my sister got kittens. Two. Kittens are the best things in the world.

"to Beijing to Hong Kong"...

2009-08-03T09:19:00.001-04:00

Hmmm...prepositions...right...

Also, intensive language programs tend to really fuck with your abilities to use your native language. This could be an issue, considering I'm teaching said language...alternatively, it could make things much, much more fun...teeheehee...

-cy

School

2009-08-03T09:15:00.003-04:00

Dear Reader,

Intensive language programs are a lot of work. I would recommend only doing them after you graduate, when your diploma is on the wall and the grade really doesn't matter. This is a good thing where I am concerned. Very, very good.

T-minus 10 days until I move to Beijing to Hong Kong for about 10 days of teacher training and Yale-China orientation. Then, I move Yali Middle School, my home for the next two years, and assume my place at the head of Mr. Young's classroom :-)

-cy

Things I've learned about my new home

2009-08-02T01:51:00.002-04:00

Here's a list of what I've learned about SD and Cali in my short time here...the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just kidding, there's really no ugly, and not that much that's bad either, although (warning) I do have a couple of long-winded rants coming up. But mostly, things are pretty awesome here.

1) San Diego is a massive city, even if it doesn't quite measure up population-wise to NYC, LA, etc. From end-to-end, i.e. from where I live near the northern city limit to the southern city limit (which is at the Mexican border) it is over 35 miles. I don't even think NYC is 35 miles end-to-end. But unlike most Northeastern cities, it isn't continuous skyscrapers and rowhouses from one side to the other. Many parts of the city feel quite suburban (including where I live). Basically SD is not so much one big city as a loose combination of countless neighborhoods, separated by steep hills, canyons, freeways and bodies of water, and each with its own very distinct feel. Some are very suburban, some are very cosmopolitan, some are completely dominated by "beach culture", and some are all of the above. It makes exploring very interesting!

2) But on the flipside, it's a pain to get around...or at least a pain to get around if you don't have a car out here, which I don't have yet (though I will in September!) Getting to downtown from where I live, for instance, would be a 15 minute drive on the freeway, but it takes over an hour by bus. Yeah, so basically public transportation here is as bad or worse than in New Haven. Several weeks ago I bought a new bike though, which has made things somewhat easier (it's actually quicker to bike most places than take the bus). Consequently, I've been biking a lot...I just set a new record today by biking 55 miles! Woohoo...by the end of this summer I'm going to be almost as ripped as our Governator! Well...at least I can dream.

3) On that theme, just about everyone here looks perfect. Or at least 90% of the people between the ages of 18 and 30. Heck, even the 70-year old guys I see running on the beach have perfect abs and biceps. That can be awesome and terrifying at the same time...I've never been too self-conscious about my appearance, but being here makes me a lot more so. I'm not sure that's good for me psychologically, but I have established a pretty regular work-out routine for the first time in my life, so at least it may be good for me health-wise.

4) In the vein of confirming stereotypes, at least 50% of the girls in Southern California talk EXACTLY like Elle Woods. Pre-law school. I always thought that was a caricature of people in the region...like when I watched The Real Housewives of New Jersey and they found the most type-A, gossipy, overprotective women in the entire state to be on the show. But in this case, it's true. Case in point: the conversation I overheard today between two such young women in a cafe. After going on for about ten minutes about how nasty some mutual acquaintance's complexion was, and how gross she was without make-up, they changed the subject and said something like this:
Girl 1: "So my sister just signed a lease for an apartment."
Girl 2: "Oh my god. With who?"
Girl 1: "With Gil [her sister's new boyfriend] and his friend."
Girl 2: "Gil? His name is Gil? OH MY GOD. I can't believe his name is Gil. How could she live with him...I could never live with someone like that...I mean, what am I gonna call him for the rest of his life. Seriously...Gil?"

Not to say all SoCal girls talk like that...only the ones who talk the loudest...and therefore most of the conversations I overhear. Except for the grad students in my program, with whom my interactions always consist of high-minded discourse. Always.

5) The weather in San Diego isn't always perfect. Some days the sun isn't out all day, and it actually gets kind of overcast, which gets people around here pretty depressed. One night it actually rained! It was a pretty light rain that lasted all of like 15 minutes, but native SDans called it a downpour. Also, we do have heat waves (when it gets up to 80 along the coast) and cold spells (when it gets below 70 along the coast). What'll I do when January comes, and the highs are only, like, 65??? Better bring out the winter parka!

6) Drivers here are (generally) really polite. Like, pathologically so. This can actually get annoying for a native Northeasterner--as a pedestrian and cyclist, I have had drivers stop suddenly right in the middle of my path, and wave for me to go ahead of them, even though it would just be easier if they went first and got the hell out of my way. Oh well, things could be worse...

7) (Warning: RANT) One of my dearest true loves is good, quality, homemade ice cream from a cute, independent, mom-n-pop ice cream shop. NOT fro-yo, and NOT gelato, though there's a time and a place for both of those...I'm talking about real buttery, creamy, fatty authentic ice cream. In New Jersey (Princeton especially, and to a lesser extent the Jersey Shore) there are an abundance of places that provide this goodness, and though these places don't seem as abundant in Connecticut, Ashley's helped fill this void in my life the last 4 years. But now I figured that, moving to a place near the beach where the climate was warm year-round, I would be moving to an ice cream lovers' paradise.

Not entirely so. You see, the general health-consciousness of Southern Californians has led to an explosion of frozen yogurt places, that will allow SoCal peoplez trying to maintain perfect figures to enjoy sweet cold treats without the guilt of consuming all that fat. I will admit these places have an allure of their own: though the flavor selection is usually pretty limited, a wide array of toppings is provided to add flavor to your sweet treats. And prices for fro-yo are generally a dollar or two cheaper than for the same amount of ice cream.

So all that would be well and good, except that these fro-yo places (which are mostly chain stores) seem to have almost entirely wiped out independent ice cream stores. And no matter how many toppings you put on it or how creamy you make it, FRO-YO IS NOT ICE CREAM. No amount of toppings or hot fudge or caramel sauce can replace the rich taste that comes from having painstakingly prepared an ice cream flavor with the ingredients that added the flavor already in it. Vanilla fro-yo with Oreos on top is NOT cookies-'n-cream ice cream. It may have been plenty good enough in Commons, but when I actually have to pay for my sweet treats, I expect a little more. Along the route of my bike ride today I found on Yelp (if you haven't discovered it already, by the way, Yelp.com is your friend for finding tasty cheap eateries in your new neighborhoods) an independent ice cream place, cutely named Surfside Creamery, which seemed like it would be able to provide just what I desired. Except I arrived there, only to find that there was no trace of it...it had been recently replaced by...you guessed it...A BIG CHAIN FRO-YO PLACE. This is David and Goliath I tell you...and the Davids are losing. Oh, how brutal capitalism can be, when combined with healthy-eating obsessions!

(Note to all the fro-yo and gelato lovers out there: I don't actually hate fro-yo, and I actually have had some here that is quite good. And gelato is often amazingly tasty, and can be as appealing to me as the best ice cream, especially when there are well-made exotic flavors. But there is something to the simplicity and richness of ice cream that can not be replaced.)

8) On the plus side of eating in SoCal: the Mexican food is pretty damn good. And double-double animal style + animal style fries and a chocolate milkshake = best fast-food creation ever. :-)

9) Surfing really is THAT big a deal here. I've been going to the beach on the east coast my entire life, and surfers always seemed like a very small subset of beachgoers that were extremely hardcore, and just a little crazy. I didn't really know anyone who surfed growing up, and while you'd occasionally see surfing competitions on the beach, I thought of surfers as the people who were chasing 20-foot waves when hurricanes were making landfall, when everyone else was sane enough to be out of the water. But out here, just about everyone surfs. People teach their little kids to surf, and (like the little kids on the slopes at Ski Trip) those little kids can really make me look bad! The beach itself is divided into "swim" and "surf" zones, where at least half of the beach is specifically designated for surfers. Good thing I'm learning now (or at least trying)...better late than never!

10) Dear State of California, Please keep the paychecks coming. I know you're broke and all, though I don't know how that's possible when you would charge me $400 to register a vehicle in your state. Or when you deduct about 15% of my paycheck for taxes. Aren't taxes supposed to be the lowest for people who make barely enough to keep them above the poverty line? Maybe it's because direct democracy doesn't always work? Now don't get me wrong...I'm a big, big believer in democracy. It just occurs to me that certain things aren't best decided by ballot initiatives. Like who can marry whom, for example. Or how to balance a budget.
It occurred to me that maybe when you ask people whether they want to pay taxes on it or not, they might not want to, even if down the line those taxes could help provide much needed social services to their fellow state residents, even themselves. And if you enact a law effectively making it almost impossible to increase taxes, even when the state is broke, really screwy things could happen. Like shutting down state parks, or eliminating social services for those who most need it, or cutting LOTS of money from the best public university system in the country.

Now, where I'm from, we do things differently, you see. Oh sure, New Jersey politics isn't perfect, you see. Oh, what's that you say? Two mayors in towns right next to where my parents live arrested? Rabbis involved with black-market kidney trading? Yeah, it happens. I mean, everyone pretty much knows NJ government is corrupt, has been corrupt for a very long time, and probably will be corrupt for a very long time. And I'd rather have an honest government any day than a government practically run by the mob. But, one thing they do seem to know in New Jersey is how to do math. And even with all the money going into politicians' and contractors' bank accounts, there still usually seems to be enough for the rest of us. I guess all I'm saying is...I need you to keep paying me for the foreseeable future. I might even be willing to give up 20% of my paycheck rather than 15% to ensure that happens.

(End quasi-political rant)

11) To end on a positive note: Californians are REALLY environmentally- and resource-conscious. San Diego isn't particularly liberal by California standards...sure there's a few long-haired hippies around, but there's also a large military presence here (the Top Gun fighter pilot school used to be 3 miles from where I live, at least it was when the movie was filmed). Yet the one respect in which nearly everyone seems to be years ahead of East Coast people is reducing, reusing, recycling, etc. Every supermarket has cheap, often pretty-looking reusable bags, and has signs reminding shoppers to bring them when they shop. Reducing your water use is highly encouraged...of course that could also be due to the fact that we live next to a desert. Fuel efficient cars are everywhere, spurred on by the toughest emissions standards in the country (and by the fact that gas here is generally at least 30 cents a gallon more expensive than the rest of the country). In any event, the rest of the U.S. of A. could learn something from the tree-huggers out here.

OK...must go to bed, since I'm really really tired. I'd like to post pictures of me surfing, but I realized that will be really difficult because: 1) I've only caught a wave like 2 or 3 times ever, and that only for a couple seconds, and 2) Because when I do catch a wave, everyone else taking lessons is also in the water, and it seems somehow wrong/risky to entrust a strange bystander with my camera. But I'll get that photo eventually!

West Coast Affection to all. <3

new home

2009-08-01T22:41:00.001-04:00

I am...
~in Baltimore
~sleeping on an air mattress
~bootlegging wireless
~really tired of moving stuff
~really tired of the amazing humidity

<3 to all

XKCD has done it again

2009-07-29T00:55:00.005-04:00

One of the favorite parts of my job so far has been picking out toys to give to our (future) kid participants as prizes. Including deciding if I should get the Lego pirate or the Lego helicopter (I got 3 of each). And instead of Batman, I went with Hannah Montana and Transformers.

Speaking of my job, the lab is nearly ready to go! After a week of working out of my PIs' apartment and another week in the newly renovated and full of windows lab with no furniture, all of our furniture was set up on Monday, so the lab is really beginning to look like a lab rather than a random assortment of half unpacked boxes and mismatched stolen/borrowed chairs.

My PIs were not stingy with their start-up funds. The lab is outfitted with 3 Mac Pros, 5 iMacs (there are only 4 of us for now), and a bunch of Mac minis with giant LCD screens for running participants. And our desk chairs are awesomely ergonomic, even if they're not as awesome as the Aeron chair one of the PIs got for his office. Yes, got some chair envy going on, but, as he joked, you need at least 20 publications for an Aeron, so I got a ways to go.

Oh, and we have a giant plush giraffe:

While picking out toys and office supplies was fun, the best part is yet to come. Our first protocol (one of the first I've ever written) has finally been approved for expedited ethics review! That means that we'll be able to run participants soon! At least, as soon as we find them. I would ask if any of y'all know any young'uns in the Rochester area willing to be research participants, but I didn't write recruiting via the YPMB Oh Nine blog into the protocol, so it's probably not allowed.

There's a thing at the Rochester public library tonight that I can't decide if I want to go to. It would mean skipping dinner (because I don't want to skip kickboxing) and showing up late. By then, the free crepes might be gone! The main draw is the subway tours. Why tour a subway, you ask? Because it's an abandoned subway!

Back when Rochester was teh shit and Kodak and Xerox were doing well, the city built a subway system. Unfortunately, Kodak's late arrival to the digital camera age eventually led them to lay off half their workforce, and Xerox wasn't doing too hot either (as my roommate put it, pdf killed Xerox), and the city's population hemorrhaged away. By the time the subway was finished, there weren't enough people left to justify actually running it, so they sealed it up and never used it.

Kind of sad, how a whole city can just die like that. There are parts of Rochester that look like the shabbiest chunks of New Haven, and then there are skyscrapers and architectural works that rival NYC or Austin or any other big city. I think it's a good Rosa-sized city.

Greetings from Washington, D.C.!

2009-07-28T22:22:00.002-04:00

Hi y'all! Hope everyone has been having a great summer so far. Things are going really well with me. As you know, I've had the pleasure of entertaining Carly, Monica, and Rebecca and her parents at my house, although I did not see any of them there. But my mom and sister say they are all lovely, which is of course true. My June was spent at my beloved summer camp, Strong River, in Pinola, Mississippi (aka totally the middle of nowhere). I had great cabins of boys aged ten to thirteen, and spent my mornings blueberry picking and working at the high ropes course, and my afternoons on the river, plus eating lots of good Southern cooking to top it off. I could write about it all night, but I'll move on.
I came up here to D.C. on July 8th, and moved into the sweet apartment Steve picked out for us. Our apartment is slowly starting to look like home, but I'm still waiting for some furniture, so it's a little sparse right now. I started work with IBM on July 13th with a week of orientation with my fellow new hires, who are smart and interesting and nice young people, which is really good. For the past week and a half I've been doing some proposal work and waiting for my security clearance to go through, which it did today. So I'll probably be getting to work for real starting next Monday on a project with the TSA. I'm pretty excited about that, and being a big kid in general.
DC has been outstanding so far. I've seen a lot of friends from school, like Homer and Carly, and friends from outside of the band. One of those friends is from camp, and I got to have lunch last week with the her and her dad, who just happens to be Obama's new Secretary of the Navy, in his private dining hall, which was one of the coolest things I've done in a real long time. I did feel that it was a slightly hilarious scene, though, because she's only seventeen and a rising high school senior. So despite now wanting to date her, and having not canoodled with her ever, it kind of felt like I was meeting one of the parents in that important first meeting. But Ray Mabus is a really cool guy, so I just laughed on the inside.
Seems from the posts like most of y'all are doing well. I miss you all, and think about fun times with the YPMB a lot. I look forward to keeping y'all in the loop about my life and seeing everyone at The Game come November. Take care!
Ned

hey guys? i'm scared.

2009-07-26T21:20:00.001-04:00

Dear '09,
I miss you all a lot. You know how, when you miss someone, you start to see them subconsciouly in the faces of strangers? Even ones that don't really look anything like the people in question? Well, I saw Alex crossing the street, Carly on the train, etc etc.
This isn't helping the fact that I've got a tremendous amount of anxiety about moving, settling into Baltimore, and going back to school. I'm really not at all sure that I want to go to school at all, or that I want a job in academia... It's kind of crushing me right now. :-(
I wondered if y'all had any thoughts for me-- what career path (aside from academic) did/do you see me in?
On a happier note, I got to see some dead folk this weekend (Hudson and Hergenhan), which was nice. And I also now own a car-- a not-thrilling but perfectly practical 2004 Chevy Malibu.
<3 to all!
Katie

PS-- sorry for being a buzzkill.

Are we there yet?

2009-07-23T10:34:00.002-04:00

First, my apologies for being relatively MIA thus far this summer; this whole planning-for-my-new-life thing while still working in lab takes quite a lot of time! That said, I am definitely starting to get antsy. I move to Philadelphia in a little over a month--my program starts after Labor Day, so I want to make sure I have time to familiarize myself with the city before it starts--and I feel both incredibly prepared and totally unready. Sure, I've done all the things that Penn asked me to do--I filled out my payroll forms, I sent in my W-4, et cetera--but every time I look at the pile of things I took home from school that I need to sort through before the end of August, I shudder. What to bring? What to leave? And of what I leave home, how much can I actually afford to replace on my grad school stipend? The next year will be a Budgeting Adventure.

One way or another, the ball is rolling, and I am anxious to get the next stage of my life started. Sitting around in lab, tying up some loose ends from my senior project... that's all well and good. But get me to the City of Brotherly Love!

I mean, come on, there are hot pretzels. And Cheese Steaks!

...and science, too, I guess.

what I did with my summer vacation

2009-07-21T03:19:00.001-04:00

Basically: went to Mississippi, went to Texas, learned how to be a teacher (ish), went back to Mississippi to find a house/etc, went to Washington, tomorrow leaving to drive back to Mississippi. Phew!

So you know (or you may not) how everyone says TFA institute is so horrible and OH MY GOD THE WORST FIVE WEEKS OF MY LIFE? Well...it really wasn't. I mean, it was hard work, sure, but somehow I managed to get through it, and it really wasn't half bad. Even though I did have to get up at 5 every morning. I took some classes, and I taught some classes, and I learned a LOT (lesson 1: you might think 6th graders could share markers without throwing them at each other; you would be wrong). I also convinced my class, who then spread the rumor throughout the entire school, that I was 51 years old and looked so good on account of all the plastic surgery. (Lesson 2: 6th graders are gullible as hell).

At the end of institute, I was chatting with my adviser and he asked me if I felt ready to teach for real now. Putting aside the question of exactly how well teaching 6th grade social studies will prepare me to teach K-6 general music (jury's still out on that one), I came up with the following analogy:
This summer, it's like I was learning to swim. I was wearing little water wings, and there were a bunch of people around me, holding me hand and making sure I didn't drown. The water was about two feet deep. No problem. And now they're THROWING ME OFF THE DEEP END INTO SHARK-INFESTED WATER.
I'm exaggerating a little. The sharks aren't that bad (how much trouble can five-year-olds cause, really?) (famous last words!) and I'll still have people holding my hand. But still.

Anyway, so I then went back to the Delta for a few days where I had a whirlwind of findaroommatefindahousemeettheschoolsuperintendantbuyfurnituremoveinopenabankaccount HOLY CRAP being a grownup entails a lot of stuff! It was crazy, but after two and a half days I am now moved into a two-bedroom townhouse in Greenwood, Mississippi with one roommate and (as of now) very very little furniture.

I did buy a bed, though, which was the highlight of last week. Partly because it meant I no longer had to sleep on a pile of blankets on the floor, but mostly because it was delivered by two muscle-bound young men (Chris: no. Good grief), both wearing grimy baseball caps, identical t-shirts with Confederate flags, BOTH NAMED CODY. Amazing.

And so now I'm back at home for a couple of days, and tomorrow, my parents and I leave to drive back to the Delta!

School starts August 3rd. Yippee!

gainful employment

2009-07-20T18:42:00.003-04:00

I got a job!!!!

I know I posted it on facebook, but since I like you guys better than most of the ppl I'm facebook friends w/, I wanted to share w/ you all.

I'll be working at the Department of Homeland Security, putting together the Secretary's daily briefing book. I start in a few weeks, and I'm super excited.

!!!

Chapter One of Life as a Real Person

2009-07-19T21:56:00.004-04:00

*UPDATE*
Scratch the whole teaching 3rd grade and Spanish thing. I will now be teaching kindergarten, which as we all know means one thing - naptime! Whew, this is like my third assignment change since Wednesday. I guess this is what they meant when people told me teachers need to be flexible.

***

Friday officially marked my one week anniversary in New Orleans. I've settled into my new sweet apartment (after my air conditioner not working for the first day and a half; I did get to sleep in Ned's bed for a night, though!). My school's professional development started on Wednesday, and I've got to say that I am so impressed with the people I'll be working with. My two principals are incredibly cool, and so focused on closing the achievement gap and making our school be a shining beacon in the dark of the New Orleans public school system. I've also found out what I'll be teaching! Ms. Cooper will be helping out with 3rd grade language arts and teaching Spanish! This is a little different from what I was originally hired to do, but I think it will work out for the best, and I'm pretty damn excited about it. I'm still a bit nervous about the whole teaching thing, but I've got a great support team, and I've already recruited a veteran teacher to be my mentor.

Hmm...I'm starting to realize this post is a bit boring. I guess I should also mention that one of my principals bought two other teachers and me a round on Bourbon Street as he was out bar hopping with four other gay principals. This amused me greatly. Meh, anyway, time to go attempt to cook dinner.

updates vaguely more relevant to my life next year

2009-07-15T22:48:00.003-04:00

I am a little bitter that this posts things at the time when you start typing, instead of when you hit "publish"- because I definitely didn't write most of the last post at 7:20. Monica did, in fact, beat me to publishing her post.

Just wanted to add that before we left, I got an apartment for next year! So you'll all have somewhere to crash for the game. It's in the 9th square, just on the other side of the tall buildings on the Green. 116 Court St, to be precise. The place is furnished and comes with a flat screen TV, desks, a stocked kitchen, and sweet views of the Green! And it was a sweet price. I'm on the 11th floor, which is also awesome, and explains the sweet views.

I'll be living with a girl named Yeney, pronounced ja-Nay. She's also an incoming 1L, right out of undergrad, from Duke/Miami/Cuba, in reverse chronological order. She seems quite nice, though very quiet- I'm a little worried that she'll be a "constantly stressed out at law school" person, but that's probably fine. She seems way more worried about school next year than I am, and I'm reasonably studious... I'm very aware that I'll be doing a ton of work, but the fact that YLS is just plain pass/fail first year means that I'm much more excited than anxious. That said, I'm excited about her, and we're looking forward to learning how to cook together.

Steve has already claimed my bed for the Game. Just FYI. Sigh.

Ok, have a great night! And I'm going to post one further picture from our trip:

Hooray! I don't know why my font just turned blue. Oh well. We thought you guys would want some representation at Graceland. Elvis lives. Rock on.

All look same

2009-07-15T22:22:00.003-04:00

Today at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, a very accomplished and world-renowned French hornist approached me. I was flattered that he would pick me out to introduce himself to me. He asked me how I was as he walked toward me. I started to reply "Good, how are you?" when he began to move in a little too close, so as to give me a hug. I instinctively backed away, and he definitely looked puzzled. He awkwardly asked, "Should I not hug you?" with the most quizzical look ever. I paused for a moment, thinking he would realize his mistake, when for a good 20 seconds he did not. So I said, "I'm sorry I don't think I am who you think I am." It took him a few seconds to figure out the situation. He profusely apologized, saying, "Oh dear! I'm so sorry! I thought you were Sarita!" Sarita, while is Asian and actually looks a little like me, is in fact 10 years older than me, taller by at least a foot, a professor at Yale, and from Australia. The French hornist told me it had been a while since his glasses had been updated and this was a clear sign he needed to get a new pair.

Thank you world.

I miss you all!
Annie
ps. i gotta figure out a way to do a digital Mickey!

(soon to be) on the road again

2009-07-15T21:53:00.006-04:00

ROAD TRIPPPPPPPPP was awesome. I am planning a more extensive post later - maybe co-written with Carly? Hmm. But it was sweet. We saw 4 bears! and 20 (ish) states! and lots of 09! Alex in Pho-town, Rosa in Austin, Rita in Houston, Greg in Memphis... it was lovely.

Here is a picture:It's at the Marfa Prada, in West Texas. It was my favorite roadside attraction by farrrrr. It's a Prada store but it doesn't actually sell stuff. I love it.

Here is another picture:

It's a bison and it's not using the camera's zoom. We were just minding our own business when he trotted our way (I locked the doors, fyi, obviously) and started rubbing himself on these wooden posts. Conclusions: all animals just want to be rubbed, and bison are adorable.

Here is yet another picture:Here we are in front of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park. It was like a different planet but definitely one of the cooler hikes we did. Look at those things! Wtf!

But alas, the great American road trip is over. Well, this leg, at least. In the (sad, sad) days since Carly left me for the East coast, I've been planning my hike of the John Muir Trail! It's been pretty good, so far - some small fighting with dad but it's no big thang. I'm mostly just getting psyched for the trip! It's my dad, my sister, Robin and me - we've all hiked together before so we know it'll work in that respect. Now I just have to keep telling myself that yes, of course I can walk 220 miles with a 40-50 lb backpack on! Of course!!

So yeah, now the people at my local outdoor store recognize me. I got an, "Oh hey, it's you again!" when I bought bug spray today. It's not so bad to be recognized there, I guess.

ps I feel old - no more facebook OR oci. ahhhh.

9000 miles what whaaat?! ETC

2009-07-15T19:21:00.005-04:00

This post is probably going to be somewhat epic, as Monica and I clearly should have been posting while we were traveling for a month. Whatevz.

In case you were unaware, we took a ROOOAAAD TRIIIIIP after graduation in a (totally failed) attempt to get our wanderlust under control before more school.

So first I'll do the trip summary- it was called the Epic Square- in numbers!!! Then, at some stupidly late hour some other night, I will write about some of the most hilarious moments.

9000: miles

21: states

2.5: Countries; we could see Mexico, like, 10 yards away once. And we went to Canada.

5: Mississippi River crossings

10: national parks

10: stories high that the spirally slide in the City Museum of St. Louis was.

4: versions of America the Beautiful we used as a soundtrack at key dramatic moments. Elvis and The Muppets were the best.

7 million: "national forests" or "scenic highways" or other things that you've never heard of that were gorgeous to drive through.

65ish: total miles hiked, not including lots of walking in the cities

8: Members Of... we saw or stayed with (Rosa, Rita, Ned (sort of), Alex, Greg, Robin, Chris, Ali)

4: bears- 3 grizzlies, and 1 light brown Black Bear. One grizzly was very near us on a trail. WE ALMOST DIED. Kind of.

3: cop cars, including some Border Patrol, it took to give me my first speeding ticket, for going not very fast on a very empty road. Grumblegrumblegrumble.

1/3: the fraction of the yearly total rainfall that fell while we were camping outside at Big Bend. In a year, it rains about 5 inches; while we were there, it rained 1.7 inches. Desert fail? We hiked in the desert and it felt like a stroll in Seattle in the fall.

1 Tornado. Yeah. The drive through West Texas, in the desert, in an unbelievable rainstorm, with a (admittedly not huge, but very real) TORNADO about 400 yards from us on a deserted road with nowhere to turn, was super exciting. w00t

2: times I left really important things in really stupid places

0 moose: great failing of the trip

There are a million stories to tell, and I'm sure we'll tell them when we see you, or, you know, next time I'm online and putzing around and want to write down stories! Everyone we met was super helpful- I think they were more protective of us because we're two girls. Lots of cowboy types telling us how we looked "too young to run around all on our lonesomes!" and other such things.

I had high expectations for the trip, but I would have assumed that at some point, something would go wrong; it seemed like it never did, except maybe the hailstorm or weather problems in the desert. It was honestly probably the best month of my life, I can't believe it's over... and I would gladly get in a car and drive another 9000 miles tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm home for a while... and Katzman is coming to visit me this weekend! Yaaaaay friends, I'm really looking forward to having him. We will do geeky things like go for a bike ride or to a state park near here. w0000t.

Sometime soon, I'm gonna head to DC to stay with my sister for probably 10 days to 2 weeks ish. Not quite sure when, but Ned Steve Rachel and whoever else, lets hang out!!! I miss you all.

~Carly

PS- anyone else just get facebook invited to Stephanie's GREEK FESTIVAL? She's my favorite person on facebook, I think.

PPS- about halfway through writing this, I called Monica and discovered that she is also writing a blog post! Dunno if she's posted yet, we'll see! Hers includes pictures. I may add more that I like later. That was a month worth more than 2 blog posts, especially since so many of you were involved.

PPPS I hope you all like Elvis. Just saying.

Cooking, Cleaning and Finding a Job

2009-07-10T10:19:00.002-04:00

I gotta say, despite Rosa's depressing post about being a real person sucking, I'm loving being a real person.

I took a page out of Rebecca's book and tried being a domestic diva -- SUCESS! A day of cooking later, I have many delicious things frozen in my freezer. Who'd have thunk? And unlike living in a dorm room, I have a real kitchen, with a real full sized fridge (!) and dishwasher and sink and al of the other things that go in a kitchen. yes! And when it came time to clean up my mess, we had real cleaning supplies -- i wasn't scrambling around trying to use paper towels and clorox wipes.

Speaking of cleaning, that was my other task in my first few days of living in DC (woo! unemployed! lots of free time!). I'm living in a house w/ 4 other people -- 3 guys, 2 gals (including me). At least 2 of the guys have lived her for almost a year, and they didn't own a vacuum/broom. Oy. So I went and bought of those and now the house is rather nice. :)

At the moment I'm still looking for a job, but things are looking up. I have 2 serious job prospects, that I'm hoping will pan out. More info in a week or so, when hopefully one will be more concrete. I'm also doing some freelance research assistant type stuff for my boss from last summer. That means lots of time over the past few days sitting at my desk and writing -- it's like college! Except with air conditioning. And getting paid.

Any of you coming through DC (CARLY? MONICA?) should drop by. We have a couch you can sleep on!

Domestic Diva

2009-07-09T11:50:00.002-04:00

So, I haven't had much to do at home; therefore, I decided that I would try my hand at being a domestic diva by learning how to cook. The problem is, entrees don't excite me enough to be worth my time cooking while I have someone else (i.e. Mom and Dad) there to cook for me. However, things like dessert we only get if I cook them. Here is a list of what I have cooked so far and their relative successes:

Snickerdoodle cookies - these may have been the best damn cookies I've ever tasted. We devoured them

Peanut butter cookies - good, but not nearly as good as the snickerdoodles

Raspberry and Thin Mint homemade ice cream - hand cranked for the 4th of July festivities in Jefferson. It didn't place, but I think it should have. Really damn good.

Peach cobbler - complete disaster but not my fault. I followed Paula Dean's recipe because it was the easiest one I could find, but you couldn't taste the peaches though all the butter.

Chocolate mousse - good (anything would have been good after the cobbler), but I think I maybe burned the chocolate a little bit or something - it wasn't completely smooth and had little bits of chocolate sprinkled grittily throughout.

Also, I broke the kitchen faucet in my house last night. Granted it was already a little broken but I gave it the final nudge it needed to completely fall apart. Oops. Guess it's a good time to move out. New Orleans here I come! God, I've got a ton of packing left to do.

Texas adventures

2009-07-05T23:43:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to lie, you guys. Houston kind of blows. It is HOT and humid and seems (at least in my experience) to be long on the faceless concrete urban wasteland and short on the character and/or charm.

Still, though, Texas has highlights!

1) Carly and Monica came to visit on their road trip!

(seen here in my oh-so-charming dorm room)

2) I went to San Antonio this weekend!

Two of the major attractions in San Antonio are pictured below; can you spot them all?

"Yeah, so then the Texans went up to Santa Ana and woke him up from his siesta with a gun in his face, and they were like 'Surprise, we win!' and he was like, 'Awww, shit.'"

--Texas history according to Ben.

Grr

2009-07-02T15:45:00.003-04:00

I take it back. Being a real person sucks. Rochester has this thing called the mobile DMV, where they have a roving DMV office that's in a different place every day of the week. So I drive to the nearest place that's open on Thursdays, see no sign of a DMV, pop into a carpet selling store, and am informed that the mobile DMV hasn't been there in about three years. Great...

Fortunately, the carpet sellers are kind enough to look up the next nearest mobile DMV that's open on Thursdays. I drive there and have to stop and ask for directions again. It turns out that it's just across the street. You mean, you can't see it? After all, there's an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper in the corner of the window that says DMV. Duh.

I go in. Hooray! No line!

Oops. Their computers are down, so they can't really do anything to help me. What was it I needed anyway?

I tell them that I need a NY license. "Oh no, we don't do drivers' licenses here. You have to go to the main branch." I resist the urge to demand to know what kind of DMV, mobile or otherwise, doesn't do drivers' licenses.

I try to register my car, which is tricky because my dad's still the owner. I pull out the paperwork that I had to foresight to have my dad print and sign back in Austin, along with a photocopy of his license.

"No, that's the wrong form. It's useless. You need this form, and this form, and we need the car owner's original signature here, and here, and here, so you're going to have to get him to mail it to you. No scans or faxes allowed. And you need 6 points of ID for the car owner. An out of state license is only worth 2 points."

I'm given a sheet of different forms of ID, from passports to utility bills, each with their own point values. A passport is worth 4 points, but after I call home, I learn that my dad's between passports right now since he just became a U.S. citizen, so we're going to have to cobble together some other plan. A work ID is 1 point, his naturalization certificate is 3 points, and his TX driver's license is 2 points. That makes 6 points!

Though it's all pointless.

The mobile DMV lady gives me (incorrect) directions to their main branch. After an unplanned detour on the Lake Ontario Parkway, I eventually find it inside a mall, stand in line for half an hour just to get a number, and am told that my estimated wait time is 4 hours and 29 minutes. It's recommended that I come back some other time, when it's not right before a holiday. I'm also told that I don't need to re-register my car because my dad's the owner, and if he's a Texas resident, the car can keep its Texas plates. If I get pulled over and a cop tries to ticket me, I can tell him that the DMV said it was okay.

Hooray! I call my dad. He points out that I still need to get the car inspected every year, and that my Texas inspection is about to expire. I tell him I'll be damned if I'm getting back in line to wait another half hour just to ask a question and head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy curtains.

So, 3 hours after I left the house, no NY license and no proper car registration. But a new green curtain!

See how being a real person sucks?

On the plus side, I've already been invited to three BCS events from people I've never met: a gathering to watch So You Think You Can Dance, a BBQ, and a roller derby match.

(Couch)-Surfin' in San Diego

2009-07-02T00:16:00.006-04:00

"Go West young man, and grow up with the country." Someone famously remarked that way back when, and though this country may be a lot more grown up than when that remark was first made (if not more mature), I am still "young", and as of the last time I checked myself in the mirror, I am also still a "man". So I followed those instructions, taking my wagon train (2 big suitcases, backpack & odds and ends) on the 21st-century equivalent of the Oregon Trail (Continental Airlines flight 1426) and found myself in the promised land, of soaring palm trees and perfectly tanned and chiseled beach bodies, and gentle yet persistent surf.

Of course, there's been a few bumps along the way too. I've been in San Diego since June 14, but I haven't blogged until now because I haven't had Internet except at work, and I haven't had Internet except at work because I've lived in four different places in the last two weeks. It all started when the septic system in the first place I was subletting backed up and flooded the bathroom and adjacent carpet, meaning that the carpet had to be ripped up and rendering the place unlivable. So the grad student I am subletting from, who was fortunately still around and extremely nice and helpful through all this, scrambled to find me places to stay. I am finally in the place where I will be staying the rest of the summer, though the place is being repainted and refinished this week, but once it is finished it will be like brand new! And it's in a beautiful neighborhood (where I hope to be living starting in the fall), 2 blocks from the beach, with shops and eateries within walking distance (even if they all close by 9pm), and grandiose Spanish street names like Paseo Dorado and Camino del Oro. The houses in this neighborhood usually sell for $3-5 million--it's one of the wealthiest in SD, but also happens to be very close to work, and there are a couple little apartment buildings that are actually affordable for impoverished grad students!

The biggest adjustment from Yale life (which many of you can probably relate to at this point) is the lack of constant bombardment with activities, extracurriculars, shows, parties, etc. The grad students I've met so far (most of the first years have yet to arrive) are amazingly chill and cool people, but mostly 25 or older--some of them are married, and most of them have established routines and things to do on the weekends. The one tradition that does seems to bring everyone at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (my subdivision of UCSD) together is the Friday evening get-together called TGIF--or TG for short, which I suppose just means "Thank God". And thank God we do, in a beachside lounge with ample amounts of free or very inexpensive beer. It is here that one faculty member about 30 years my senior told me the Governator's cuts to UC funding were like "cutting off your own dick", and where I met the director of one of the major programs here, who as it happens used to play tuba in the Dartmouth marching band. He bragged a lot to me about coming to the Yale Bowl and humiliating the Yale team...I broke the news to him that times have changed. I'm also signed up for surfing and ballroom dancing classes that begin next week, courtesy of the UCSD Recreation program (which has classes in everything from kung fu to hula hoop dance). And if I still get bored I can always go lie on the beach...yeah, it's a tough life here.

And if I haven't persuaded you to come visit me yet, here are pictures from my work area and neighborhood!

Happy summers, and keep posting about your adventures on this blog! Because, believe it or not even living in a place like this, I still miss y'all, but reading about your lives (no matter how much of a shitshow you think they might be) always makes me happy. :-)

Home sweet home

2009-07-01T23:47:00.002-04:00

I just moved into my new house in Rochester, which I'm sharing with 3 others who already live here: two girls (Celeste and Meredith) who are grad students in the BCS (Brain and Cognitive Science) department, plus Meredith's boyfriend Cameron.

They're all really nice. Celeste came to pick me up at the airport, and when we got home, Cameron was out on the porch roof washing my windows while Meredith was finishing up dinner for us all. After dinner, the three of them plus another BCS grad student helped me lug all of my crap from the first floor (where they'd let me store it for all of June) to the second!

I like my new house! It's pretty old, but in a nice way, with molding on the walls and stained glass on the landing between the first and second floors. I had a nice uh-oh moment when I realized that none of the plugs in my room were grounded, but my housemates soon dug up a bunch of converters for me. See? I told you they were nice.

Tomorrow is errand running - I need a NY license, which means handing in my Texas one (sad!) - and Rochester exploring. Hooray! On Friday, Henry's coming up to visit for the long weekend. Hooray! And then I start work on Monday. Hooray!

Being a real person is exciting, at least for the first few hours.

Dear Friends

2009-06-29T11:31:00.002-04:00

I hoped for change. I hoped for a normal existence. And peace.

But no. God said, "Chris, your life is a shitshow, and a shitshow it shall be." And it is. It really, really is.

The more time I spend in this country, the more I realize that the shitshow-tisity of my life has remained a constant...actually, no. Just no. It really is more. It's so special. My life, so special. Always and forever.

I blame it on my sexuality. It's just easier that way.

CHARACTERS. HANZI.

-cy

I'm Not Homeless!

2009-06-28T19:14:00.002-04:00

Yay! I finally found and signed for an apartment this weekend. I've moved most of my stuff in. I bought a bed. Now, I just need a paycheck...or twenty. Work has been going amazing this week, now that I sorta know what's going on. I've been averaging 10 hours a day this week (skipping lunch twice), meeting with patients, guiding them through medical/neuropsychological tests, and looking at their data. Thursday and Friday were rarities in which we had two all-day/overnight patients, so I got in before 8 and didn't leave until 8 PM. I don't mind at all...except that it took over an hour to get home. I dunno if anyone heard, but there was a terrible accident on the D.C. Metro line last week (it made national news...for like two days until Jacko died and stole the limelight). As a result, all trains are running on manuel and there are less trains running, so platforms and train cars are PACKED and further apart. I've been unable to squeeze in a few times and had to wait another 15 minutes for the next (and this is during rush hour when they normally come every 4-6). Craigslist is becoming my new best friend for used furniture and best yet: Ned is coming in just over a week.

No more sleeping alone!

Rosa worked at your farm on Farm Town

2009-06-26T04:07:00.005-04:00

I've been home in Austin for about a week now. Temperatures have been holding steady at 100+, and my car's up in Rochester, so I've been pretty much trapped in my house all week with nothing to do but eat, sleep, read for fun, lie around wasting time on teh internets, and sleep some more.

Somewhere in this house, there's a fancy-schmancy diploma signifying my graduation from one of the best colleges in the world.

I spend much of my day on Farm Town, trying to convince total strangers that they should hire me to harvest their virtual crops.

I know I'm going to miss my parents and friends and home in Austin once I move, but dear Lord I'm ready to get to Rochester and start work already.

And if you take up Farm Town, come be my neighbor! I give great gifts!

Silence of the Chris

2009-06-22T04:14:00.001-04:00

Language pledge started this morning. I don't speak the language.

Shit.

I am gainfully employed!

2009-06-18T17:47:00.003-04:00

Holy crap you guys, I got a job!!! (wait, you wonder, didn't she ALREADY get a job? And why has she been getting up at 5 a.m. for the last two weeks if not for her job?)

No, see, I'd already gotten into Teach for America, but today I found out about my actual placement, i.e. where I'll be leaving and teaching for the next two years. It was especially up in the air because I'm teaching music, so I really had no idea what subject or age I would get! For the last couple of weeks I've been waiting to find out, really wanting elementary school music and thinking "Dear god, please don't make me teach middle school choir." Aaaand today I found out:

For the next two years, I will be teaching music at Elzy Elementary in Greenwood, Mississippi: the Cotton Capital of the World! It has a population of about 18,000, which makes it a big city as far as I'm concerned. It even has a "Historic Downtown!"

Anyway, so I'm very excited that I finally have a placement (now you can all stop asking me every two days, ahem Steve and Chris) and that it sounds so great! Now, all of you are going to come visit me, right?

Rant

2009-06-18T02:12:00.002-04:00

While driving through Shreveport today, I saw a crawfish stand next to a gas station. Then I saw the sign: Don't eat the dead ones'. Why the hell would they put an apostrophe right there? Things like this are what make me interested in education reform.

Hao

2009-06-17T09:47:00.001-04:00

In China.
Blew power outlets.
Ate yummy food.
Really ass tired.
Sends love.

-cy

fake reality

2009-06-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

Checking in from BHouse... it's pretty strange to be one of the only '09ers still around. I miss you guys so much! The babies are great, but... they're all coming back.

I hope you're all tuning in to the BHouse blog, which chronicles the regular adventures of the crew here, and my project 365 (plug!) for photos from my life.

I've begun to realize that this is fake real life here-- especially since only so much has changed. I am still hanging out with band people all the time, and instead of hatin' on my senior essay, I hate on my crappy summer job. Sure, we're living in a crazy messed up house that surely has some demonic spirits in residence (and no, I don't mean my housemates). But aside from more bills, more cooking, and a hell of a lot more cleaning, it's kind of the same. Same "commute," same scenery, same bars, many of the same people. I think August is going to be the big transition time for me. I've found a couple of possible houses, and will be checking a few of them out this weekend on an impromptu stop in Baltimore to chat with my advisers about the saga of my department. (ack!! stress.) I'm trying to decide if I should buy a car, or if I can make do with a zipcar membership and patience (instead of gas+loan+insurance etc that I may or may not be able to afford). And I have to figure out how to get my vast amount of stuff down to the Charm City...

But in exciting personal news, AJ and I are taking an extended weekend on the Yucatan over July 4. I'm so excited. :-) Love you all, and miss you like crazy!

One Day Down, Five Hundred-Ish To Go

2009-06-15T20:01:00.002-04:00

So, today was my first day of work (am I the first/one of the first ones to actually start post-undergrad life?) and it was exhausting. The NIH has a huge campus and since I'm working in the largest building (the clinical research hospital), there was a helluva lot of walking to and from places. I'm really excited about the work I'll be doing (I'm initially signed up to work on two studies: an fMRI study on the effects of oxytocin on children with autism and a comprehensive diagnostic study investigating autism subtypes - the largest of its kind anywhere). It's the government so I get to work in incredible facilities with state-of-the-art equipment and resources not available to private institutions. However, it's the government and I have forms and trainings up the wa-zoo to do. And I'm still technically apartment hunting for when Ned and I will be reunited in July. It was a nine hour training day today. Oh well, time to get dinner and go to bed since I have to be there at 6:30 tomorrow morning to sign up for a fingerprinting/criminal record check to be had some late evening.

I love and miss you all!

P.S. Of the 12 research assistants, 2 of us are male.

Apartment!

2009-06-14T01:31:00.002-04:00

So after an epic day and a half of apartment hunting in New Orleans with my mom, I've found the absolute perfect apartment! It's a duplex in the Garden District (read: NICE), and it's huge and amazing and gorgeous! I've got a front and back porch, a back yard, hardwood floors, 14 foot ceilings, crown molding, living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom, plus all major appliances including washer and dryer! I'm ridiculously excited about it because I got it for a steal and is way better than all the other places I was looking at. Before I found it I was considering renting an apartment in a complex that felt remarkably like a nursing home for $150 more. And today I got my graduation present from my parents - furniture to go in my new place!

Gah, I guess it's really beginning to set it that I'll be entering the real world really soon. But I'm excited for it, if still quite a bit scared. I hope all y'all are doing well, and you have an open invitation to visit me in my sweet pad once I move in!

So I might start a blog?

2009-06-11T13:32:00.002-04:00

After talking to a bunch of my friends (including some of you!) I've maybe decided that I will just possibly start a blog. Ahh! Scary. If that does happen, it will be about food, because I love food, but not like Rosa's; I don't have a discriminating enough palate to be a reviewer. What I'm hoping to do, and what it sounds like may be useful for at least some of us just-graduated types, is to blog about easy and delicious recipes that don't take too much time. There would, of course, be many pictures.

Helpful? Hopefully. Yummy? Definitely. The one thing I need is some sort of catchy name. One person suggested füd (the blog). Any thoughts? I am oh-so-new to this great blogosphere of ours...

Bonjour and hola!

2009-06-11T09:47:00.002-04:00

Hi! This past month has been ridiculous - I've driven to Myrtle and Rochester and flown to Boston and Europe. Henry and I just got back from 11 days in France and Spain. We hit Paris, Avignon, Montpellier, Barcelona, Aranjuez, and Madrid. It was wonderful, and I'm full of stories that I wish I could tell y'all.

Like how every tortilla we had in Spain reminded me of when we had tortillas together in New Haven's Barcelona. And how the only other times in my life in which I've eaten so much bread were Deadweeks when we lived off Atticus's leavings. Or how we saw Duffito's Spanish twin in a toy store window. I took a picture of him for Andrew, and I have a picture of a yarn store for Rita and a penguin with a mug of beer for Steve. And lots of candy pictures, of course.

I had expected to fly back to Austin at the end of the week, but Henry and I ended up signing on for Duffy's movie thing, as he is currently jobless, and the $400 couldn't hurt after I emptied my savings account for Europe. So I'm in Boston until Sunday, and then I'll be in New York next week as a fake YUBer, which will be weird and logistically difficult. But I'm excited to see people. I don't suppose any of y'all are going? Or will be in New York then? I wish Duffy had sent out an actual roster. It may end up being me, Henry, Duffy, and lots of random people because all the actual YUBers around have jobs.

I'll be back in Austin at the end of the month, and I officially move to Rochester on the 1st of July and start work on the 6th.

I started to type that I'd be back home, but that didn't feel quite right. Do I still get to call Austin home? Yale isn't home anymore (by the way, I don't know how all you dorm-dwellers did it. Less than 24 hours from diploma to getting kicked out?), but Rochester isn't home yet...

I miss you all! It made me happy to see the threads about email addresses and Skype names - need to add myself to that list - and reminded me to check this out to see what y'all have been up to. Lots of love and happy travels!

road tripppppppppp

2009-06-08T19:35:00.002-04:00

So it's Monday afternoon, I'm still in pajamas, and I'm watching The Notebook. Oh yeah. It's summer break.

Carly is coming tomorrow (!!) and we're leaving for our epic road trip on Friday. If you live somewhere between LA -> New Orleans -> Chicago -> Seattle -> LA you should let us know! I'm really excited to just be out and away for a month. Leaving school was rough, and while I love it here, I want out for a while.

Then, after road trip, it's to the woods with me. I have the next 5 years to be in LA, anyways :)

Miss you all!

The Rest of Your Life...what's that? Life Insurance You Say?

2009-06-06T17:35:00.003-04:00

So, like Rachel, I'm also chilling at home for the summer. But, I'm in it for the long haul forbidding overwhelming circumstances and influx of income. I love the food, the fam, and I've tried to steer away from the "awkward" situations. But, as some of you may now, after a week or so, you start to get a little anxious; your daily life starts resembling the habits of someone suffering from cabin fever; and you start to detox from Yale...for good.

This is the first time any of us has had to quit cold turkey though, and I think I've handled it well. I've eaten way too much in the time away (stocked frig every week!!!111one!!11), and I've now started compensating by exercising every other day...or when I get too bored. Is that bad? I'm exercising from boredom, never thought I'd see the day.

And when I'm not eating or exercising, I'm looking for an apartment in Madison, furnished bedroom preferably, not gonna have a car the first year, so close to campus or busline is a must. I'm 22, gonna be a 1st year grad student at UW. I'm positive, easy going, neat, and fairly social. Anyone? Anyone? No takers...well I'll keep waiting.

And when I'm not trying to plan the next 5 years of my life, I'm thinking of things to do I've never had time to do. Practice Spanish (I listened to tons of Juanes and Shakira today). Practice Italian (Yea, I dropped the ball here all I listened to was Pensa by Fabrizio Moro). Develop a new system for estimating ages and masses of stars (Yea right...I'm just really irked by HR diagrams, but I don't have the will at least, not now to do something about it). Oh and I have a saxophone, almost forgot about that whole music thing. And wait, I was supposed to be trying to make money too. So, I've been scanning craigslist, my local newspaper, but no leads on anything interesting or easy and lucrative....until today.

My aunt's father-in-law (still with me? I know we tight in da souf) sells insurance, and he brings up casually today after asking the trite questions he knows the answers to already. So, you going to Wisconsin next fall? Yep. Gonna be here all summer? Yep. You gonna work at all? Only if I can find something easy and lucrative or interesting. So he tells me I could get my insurance license in 2 weeks, and be earning at least $100 in sales from newborn insurance from concerned mothers. Granted, sounds sorta sketch at first. But I listened to him and asked him some questions. I'd have to take a class for 4-5 days and shell out around $300 dollars to take the class and a test, but once certified, I could sell as often as I'd like, and depending on the type, I could earn more.

My grandfather-in-law (yea we'll call him that cause I can't keep saying aunt's father-in....arggh I'm doing it) essentially made insurance selling his #1 thing, and he's done quite well for himself. So, it'd be a nice side income. Plus, it's a much more satisfying way to make money than by screwing people over. Insurance is something everyone needs, and you're never angry that you have it when you need it. So, maybe I've found that interesting summer thing...