my good friend monica sent me a forward today to commemorate my move back to the hawkeye state. it was a collection of wisdom about how you know you're an iowan, many of which were quite funny. i know i'm an iowan because mike and i drove about 1300 miles to move me here. all in all, the move was the most seamless one that i've ever encountered. i was packed by the time my friends (to whom i am very grateful) arrived to move my stuff into the truck. the truck i got was brand new, which never happens. everything fit, everyone was fed enough pizza and beer, and i had enough time to clean my apartment for my inspection (thanks kirk.) mike and i managed to get to OK City the first night which was our goal and then had a long haul the next day. once we got to town we checked out the apartment with dennis and then hit the wal-mart to get an air mattress and then headed to fat tuesday's (a favorite hang out of the duhawk crowd). mike had his first ever old style, which he seemed to enjoy and probably cost like a dollar or something. the move in the next day also went well and i got a lot of stuff unpacked. there is still random crap all over the place, but the essentials are just about all done. mike had to leave on monday night which sucked, but i'm glad he was able to stay a few days and hang out with me. :) this place seems really empty without his company. but i will say that i do like my apartment. it is really big, especially compared to where i was living, and in some ways is already starting to feel a bit like home. it will be nice to have everything put away, but that might take some time as i'm in full swing with the dissertation and getting ready for classes which start on the 27th. mike has vowed that he won't come visit until i get my first draft done, so that's a lot of motivation to crank it out. :)
i figured that moving back to iowa would be difficult in some ways. leaving behind the life in ABQ was/is not easy and it's especially hard to be so far away from the boy. at the same time, it's nice to be closer to friends (who better friggin' visit) and my family (who i already get to see this weekend.) it's nice to be starting my first job at a familiar place, though i do feel a bit of pressure that i will need to kick even more butts since i'm their former student. luckily it will keep me way busy.
i could continue to ramble on but instead i'm going to share a few things about living in iowa that i forgot about. that's what i get for being gone for like 9 years and only back in the winter usually.
-we do drink pop. and when you buy cans or bottles of it, you have to pay a deposit and then return the cans to get your money back. it's wacky.
-critters around here are furry and not lizards. didn't see a lot of furry creatures in TX and NM. but in iowa, i have already met a furry creature that lives under my back porch sometimes. i have named him chewbaca.
-there are bugs. NM spoiled me.
-sweet corn here is way better than the sweet corn you get anywhere else. come over and i'll make you some.
-people are nice. they say hi to you when you're just walking into the grocery store and are really helpful when coming to help you get your internet set up.
-parts of iowa are really smelly thanks to pig farms. mike's comment was "iowa smells like ass....i want to fart to cover up the smell." luckily it's not all over the place.
-stuff closes on sunday, like most of downtown dubuque.
i'm sure there will be more to add to the list, like the quirkiness of my old house, but for now i should probably go to bed.
over and out!
7.30.2007
my eyes hurt
its true. all day today my eyes were hurty...or at least for most of the afternoon. i was thinking about it in a bit of delerium between interviews i was transcribing and wondered briefly if the pain was a result of my denial about leaving albuquerque. don't get me wrong, i know that i'm leaving...but the fact that its happening rather soon is still not quite on my radar. its there when i realize that i have only a few days to finish transcribing interviews (i finished 3 today) and packing all my worldy possessions, but then that panick quickly subsides into my current state....total denial. so maybe my eyes hurt from the tears that i'm forcing back. or maybe i was looking at a computer screen for too long today. regardless, i need to write a bit about my denial. this is mostly to assure my wonderful friends here that i'm not a total robot. don't let my ...hmmm...what's the word...stony, icy, no...um, ambivalent (?) tone and/or facial expressions fool you. ignore the fact that i don't quite choke up at the thought of missing life here. i fully assure you that its not because i don't have emotions about it. i do. i have a lot. i've met some freakin' fantastic people here and albuquerque has become home. it is not easy to leave. i know that. it makes my heart do crazy things at times and prevents sleep at night on more occassions than i will admit (but to which mike could probably attest since it sometimes results with my knee in the middle of his back.) the deal is...i can't think about it yet, because its gonna hurt too much. so instead, i focus on getting items on my big ass list completed and flit about in a haze about the fact that i leave this home in a little over a week. what i'm banking on is that my new path in iowa is going to be really great...and that i can come visit a lot. :)
so, please know dear friends that my exterior will probably not convey what i'm thinking and feeling right now. i've wanted to sit down and write cards to people and let them know how much they've meant to me over the past 20 months or so, but doing that now would make it all too real. its more likely that will happen when things slow down and i'm back in iowa. (just ask my texas friends how this went....it was a freakin' whirlwind when i left there which probably didn't hit me until after the truck was unloaded in ABQ.) i'll try not to be a total robot, but i can't guarantee that i won't be able to express how much you all have meant to me. i am blessed in so many ways to have the chance to move around, because i get the great gift of friends in varied places. it's crazy awesome. :) for reals.
okay, just wanted to clear that up real quick. :D i managed to cross three things off the list of fun stuff to do over the past 4 days and did a few things that weren't on the list but that i was hoping to do (see the simpsons movie, eat a breakfast burrito, obtain the 206 balloon fiesta postcard, etc.) the next few days will be busy and i hope very productive. (oh, i tried to go to juan's broken tacos but they didn't have any broken tacos...figure that one out. and i spilled a metric assload of wine in my car through no fault of my own, so now the saturn smells a lot like a vineyard. its been a busy week already!)
time for some sleep...i hope.
so, please know dear friends that my exterior will probably not convey what i'm thinking and feeling right now. i've wanted to sit down and write cards to people and let them know how much they've meant to me over the past 20 months or so, but doing that now would make it all too real. its more likely that will happen when things slow down and i'm back in iowa. (just ask my texas friends how this went....it was a freakin' whirlwind when i left there which probably didn't hit me until after the truck was unloaded in ABQ.) i'll try not to be a total robot, but i can't guarantee that i won't be able to express how much you all have meant to me. i am blessed in so many ways to have the chance to move around, because i get the great gift of friends in varied places. it's crazy awesome. :) for reals.
okay, just wanted to clear that up real quick. :D i managed to cross three things off the list of fun stuff to do over the past 4 days and did a few things that weren't on the list but that i was hoping to do (see the simpsons movie, eat a breakfast burrito, obtain the 206 balloon fiesta postcard, etc.) the next few days will be busy and i hope very productive. (oh, i tried to go to juan's broken tacos but they didn't have any broken tacos...figure that one out. and i spilled a metric assload of wine in my car through no fault of my own, so now the saturn smells a lot like a vineyard. its been a busy week already!)
time for some sleep...i hope.
7.25.2007
updating the list
i was talking to mike about how i move in like 3 weeks and he pointed out that its more like 2 weeks. what's up with this summer going so fast? fortunately, i'm done working the retail gig (pier 1 in case you were wondering) so i have some time to get a lot of things done. in fact, tonight i'm going to make a big list of things i need to get done before i move so i can sleep better at night. in the meantime though, i thought i should update the list of things i wanted to do in ABQ before i moved to see where things stood. so, here goes:
lots of fun so far in july. mike and i went to galveston to hang out with his family at the beach. it was a great time. i read a book (love walked in...its really good and it amazed me that i can read a 300 page book in 3 days. if only academic books went that fast), got a little sunburned, and had a great time just relaxing. :)
i've sure there's more to update but i'm distracted by packing that i need to do, so i'm off. i'll write more soon.
- breakfast at gold st. cafe (must eat that red chili bacon again before i go) -haven't done this one yet, though mike and i went for lunch a while ago and we had BLTs. maybe i can still get this one done since i love a good breakfast
- a trip up to the peak -went with father dennis
- drinks and merriment at the restaurant at the base of the mountain at twilight time -went with mike and father dennis. it was great!
- maybe a trip to the zoo -thank goodness father dennis visited. we did this too.
- isotopes game -didn't get this done.
- bowling at isleta casino (its way fun) -there was speculation about going this weekend
- a day trip to santa fe and/or taos -went to santa fe with father dennis and to see bob schneider there with kirk
- winery trip (at least to st. clair for the wine flight) -monday night
- feast at tucanos -mike and i went a while ago, so that can count. not sure we'll get back before i move.
- lots of pie shack - done and will likely do again
- cocktail party at kate's -vetoed due to cardboard boxes everywhere. :)
- grill outs - done
- lots of fun times with friends for sure in varied forms- done and will do more of i hope
- beer afternoon at kelly's -its planned
- lunch at juan's broken taco -any takers?
- a trip to dagmar's german food sometime- haven't done this either. maybe lunch one day.
lots of fun so far in july. mike and i went to galveston to hang out with his family at the beach. it was a great time. i read a book (love walked in...its really good and it amazed me that i can read a 300 page book in 3 days. if only academic books went that fast), got a little sunburned, and had a great time just relaxing. :)
i've sure there's more to update but i'm distracted by packing that i need to do, so i'm off. i'll write more soon.
7.16.2007
the thin horizon of a plan is almost clear
i'm sure it's no surprise that the title of this blog comes from a song i love. that seems to be my thing. :) this is actually the first line of the wood song by the indigo girls, which is one of my favorite songs of all time and resonates with me a lot at the moment. there was a time during my freshman year when i would listen to this CD non-stop and since i'm preparing to move back to my alma mater, it is even more appropriate.
for me this song is about life, especially in the sense that we don't always know what is coming next or what will happen with the various decisions we make. and that if we did know, we would be missing out on the good part of living. the uncertainty teaches us and helps us grow as people. it makes things exciting. keeps us on our toes.
for whatever reason, though this message is one that i try to keep in mind, it is not always easy to do so. especially now that i'm less than a month away from another transition in my life. and its slowly hitting me how much things are going to change soon. mike will attest that though i had a GREAT time at my going away party this weekend, i did lose it a bit after the guests had left or passed out. i'm sure many tasty drinks didn't help much, but it was one of those moments when i realized how lucky i am to have great friends here and how hard its going to be to leave and start over.
this also brings me to realizations that haven't quite sunk in yet.
so, as i get closer to the move date and the new start, i will try to keep in mind the message of this song. i'm looking forward to the new fun in IA for sure, because there will be lots of cool things about this move. even if it isn't all together easy.
(only one more week at the retail job! woo!)
for me this song is about life, especially in the sense that we don't always know what is coming next or what will happen with the various decisions we make. and that if we did know, we would be missing out on the good part of living. the uncertainty teaches us and helps us grow as people. it makes things exciting. keeps us on our toes.
for whatever reason, though this message is one that i try to keep in mind, it is not always easy to do so. especially now that i'm less than a month away from another transition in my life. and its slowly hitting me how much things are going to change soon. mike will attest that though i had a GREAT time at my going away party this weekend, i did lose it a bit after the guests had left or passed out. i'm sure many tasty drinks didn't help much, but it was one of those moments when i realized how lucky i am to have great friends here and how hard its going to be to leave and start over.
this also brings me to realizations that haven't quite sunk in yet.
- i will only (knock on wood) have to have one job starting soon
- summers off
- though i'm moving to iowa, i can still come visit my peeps in ABQ
- i get to hang out with friends that i haven't seen in so long which is going to be great
- i can go visit my family more than once or twice a year
so, as i get closer to the move date and the new start, i will try to keep in mind the message of this song. i'm looking forward to the new fun in IA for sure, because there will be lots of cool things about this move. even if it isn't all together easy.
(only one more week at the retail job! woo!)
7.10.2007
viva las vegas!
mike and i went to vegas over the weekend and we had a great time. we planned the trip a while ago so we could see richard cheese in concert. i thought vegas would be super busy that weekend since saturday was 7.7.7 day, but it didn't seem any more crowded than when i've been there in the past. it was really, really, really hot though. i made the comment once that it felt like we were in a windy oven, since even the breeze was hot. saturday we visited a bunch of casinos so i could check them out after eating lunch at p.f. changs. (our hotel was great and within close walking distance to p
.f. changs and the hard rock hotel where we saw the concert.) we gambled a bit hoping to win a bunch of money on the luckiest day of the century, but keno was not kind to us. :D mike did win some cash on a wheel of fortune slot machine, so that was good! that night we went to the venetian and checked out the shops. mike ended up getting a great deal on a watch he wanted, so that was rad! on past trips to vegas we'd end up going to sleep around 5 a.m. or something wacky like that. i think vegas usually makes you lose all sense of time. this time around though, mike and i were both sleepies at about 11:30, so it was an early night. the next day we ate yummy breakfast at terrible's casino across the street from our digs. it was yummy and came with lots and lots of champagne. after that we eventually went back to the strip to go to the bellagio so that mike could get me my going away present. i love it!! and we took these pictures (solo me and me and mike) in the botanical garden. we hung out at our hotel after that and then took a taxi to get in-n-out burger, which was actually the most expensive meal we had the whole weekend. :D luckily we had a crazy cab driver who kept us entertained the entire time with tails of eating monkey (which apparently tastes like frog legs.) we ate back in the room, relaxed, and then got ready to go get in line for richard cheese. it was a bit of a cluster f#ck once we got to the hard rock. we waited in a long line for longer than expected to get in and then waited longer than expected for the show to start (and probably spent more than expected on drinks.) 
the show was great though and i actually talked to richard cheese during it. or i suppose he talked to me first. i won't get into the details but i'll just say that he was singing a lords of acid song at this point. we had a really fun time overall and i'm even looking forward to going back in august. here's hoping that it isn't as hot!!in other news, i'll be giving my notice this week at the retail place and the big going away party is this weekend. i anticipate that it will be off the f---in chain.
better get busy packing. or sleeping.
6.16.2007
on second thought...
one of the things on my list of stuff to do before i move was to have another cocktail party at my apartment. it occurs to me though that the days of my apartment looking cute are over. i've spent the past two evenings going through stuff and packing boxes. the going-through-stuff part was LONG overdue and i'm happy to say that i don't have too much more to do there. hopefully i got enough out of my system so that i can get back to dissertation work tomorrow. what this means though is that my apartment is in a bit of disarray and probably will be until august. or at the very least will be littered with u-haul boxes and less occupied by the little things that make my place...well, mine. its fun in a way. i've had the opportunity to look through tons of fun college pictures, sort through cards and letters, and located lost items. for example, probably at least 3 years ago i misplaced my drink coupons for free adult beverages on southwest. tonight...i found them. i'm hoping that my aggie ring will be the next lost item found. (*crosses all crossable parts*)
friends who have helped me move in the past (to whom i will be forever grateful) will appreciate that i'm getting rid of stuff (shut up dennis and mike) and i'm happy that this looks to be a more organized process than ever before. i've managed to throw some stuff away with every move, but i think this one will be the most successful.
now it's time or bed.
friends who have helped me move in the past (to whom i will be forever grateful) will appreciate that i'm getting rid of stuff (shut up dennis and mike) and i'm happy that this looks to be a more organized process than ever before. i've managed to throw some stuff away with every move, but i think this one will be the most successful.
now it's time or bed.
6.13.2007
one more concert faux pas
it's really not necessary to yell "freebird" more than one time during a show. maybe its not even necessary to yell it once. not sure, but this lends some insight: http://ask.yahoo.com/20070607.html
some jackass kept yelling it last night at bob. good lord dude. give it up. it's just not funny.
some jackass kept yelling it last night at bob. good lord dude. give it up. it's just not funny.
"its not the end of everything, its just the end of everything you know"
i love using song titles as blog titles. this title comes from a freakin' great song i heard at a bob schneider concert last night. if you don't know bob, then you're truly missing out. (www.bobschneidermusic.com) my friend kirk asked me how many times i've seen bob perform and i guessed 11, which may or may not be correct. i know i've seen him in college station a few times, austin a few times, milwaukee, houston, and now santa fe. kirk enjoyed it, as did i, and it was a good time at the santa fe brewing company. my only complaint has to do with what i will call people behaving poorly. i'm sure this theme has come up in the past, but in this context my gripe is people who go to a concert and then talk loudly with their friends the whole time. what is the point of paying $15 to see someone perform and then chatter through all the songs. at one point people were shushing others, since many of us wanted to actually listen to bob's quieter songs and not hear conversations about random crap. there was plenty of space in the venue for chatty-kathys to relocate, thus having a quieter space to talk while not disturbing others who actually came to hear the performance. end rant.
in other news, i had an AWESOME time with my best friend dennis. he came to visit for about a week. we did a lot, including many items on my list of things to do before i leave. monday we ran some errands (including mailing my lease and deposit making the move almost official) and we went to what we thought was going to be a beautiful cathedral. turns out holy spirit cathedral is not so much a cathedral as a nondescript building. i took a picture of it with my phone, but you can't really see it. we soothed our disappointment by driving around campus and then having a few beers at kelly's. tuesday we took the tram up the peak and looked around, had a glass of wine at the top, got annoyed at the parents of twin boys who were kind of out of control...or at least more out of control than they should have been at the top of a mountain (at least they were named pascal and johnny...wtf?!), and then enjoyed the ride down the mountain. that night we made mike cook us his famous ribs and drank more beer (that was a trend for the week...we averaged a 6-pack per day per person for dennis and i). wednesday morning we went to see the petroglyphs and then went to the zoo in the afternoon. dennis got to meet some of my friends at pie shack that night and we ate pizza and...drank beer. thursday we went to santa fe and wandered around the plaza. we got to see two beautiful churches, a few neat shops, and lots of snooty people. we stayed at a wonderful hotel (st. francis hotel) near the plaza which was great. after daily mass, we had a yummy dinner at blue corn cafe and then proceeded to drink WAY too much. yikes. friday we eventually got out of santa fe to see bandelier national park. it was incredible!! i'll try to post some pictures after this very long post. when we got back to ABQ, we met up with mike and went to santiago's to have dinner and a drink on the mountain and watch the sunset. it was a great night! saturday we sent dennis off after a meal at owl cafe. it was truly wonderful having him out here. makes me look forward to living closer to one of my closest friends in the world. love ya dennis!
sunday i ran in a 5k. by run, i mean jog/almost die/walk/run/walk/jog/walk/jog/walk/jog/woo finish line! i didn't really have a time goal, mostly a just finish the race goal, which i did. it was harder than i expected, especially the uphill part at the beginning, but it was fulfilling to finish it. now i know its something i can do, and i can just continually improve my time. (and not train for future runs by drinking lots of beer and not exercising really for a week). it also kicked off getting back on track with the fitness and healthy eating after too long of a hiatus. so hear's hoping i can get the gym more and cheat on the diet less. :) off to a good start so far!
one more thing...the move has become official and is happening in less than two months. the apartment is set, the u-haul is reserved, mike's return ticket is purchases, and more boxes are getting packed. buck wild.
in other news, i had an AWESOME time with my best friend dennis. he came to visit for about a week. we did a lot, including many items on my list of things to do before i leave. monday we ran some errands (including mailing my lease and deposit making the move almost official) and we went to what we thought was going to be a beautiful cathedral. turns out holy spirit cathedral is not so much a cathedral as a nondescript building. i took a picture of it with my phone, but you can't really see it. we soothed our disappointment by driving around campus and then having a few beers at kelly's. tuesday we took the tram up the peak and looked around, had a glass of wine at the top, got annoyed at the parents of twin boys who were kind of out of control...or at least more out of control than they should have been at the top of a mountain (at least they were named pascal and johnny...wtf?!), and then enjoyed the ride down the mountain. that night we made mike cook us his famous ribs and drank more beer (that was a trend for the week...we averaged a 6-pack per day per person for dennis and i). wednesday morning we went to see the petroglyphs and then went to the zoo in the afternoon. dennis got to meet some of my friends at pie shack that night and we ate pizza and...drank beer. thursday we went to santa fe and wandered around the plaza. we got to see two beautiful churches, a few neat shops, and lots of snooty people. we stayed at a wonderful hotel (st. francis hotel) near the plaza which was great. after daily mass, we had a yummy dinner at blue corn cafe and then proceeded to drink WAY too much. yikes. friday we eventually got out of santa fe to see bandelier national park. it was incredible!! i'll try to post some pictures after this very long post. when we got back to ABQ, we met up with mike and went to santiago's to have dinner and a drink on the mountain and watch the sunset. it was a great night! saturday we sent dennis off after a meal at owl cafe. it was truly wonderful having him out here. makes me look forward to living closer to one of my closest friends in the world. love ya dennis!
sunday i ran in a 5k. by run, i mean jog/almost die/walk/run/walk/jog/walk/jog/walk/jog/woo finish line! i didn't really have a time goal, mostly a just finish the race goal, which i did. it was harder than i expected, especially the uphill part at the beginning, but it was fulfilling to finish it. now i know its something i can do, and i can just continually improve my time. (and not train for future runs by drinking lots of beer and not exercising really for a week). it also kicked off getting back on track with the fitness and healthy eating after too long of a hiatus. so hear's hoping i can get the gym more and cheat on the diet less. :) off to a good start so far!
one more thing...the move has become official and is happening in less than two months. the apartment is set, the u-haul is reserved, mike's return ticket is purchases, and more boxes are getting packed. buck wild.
5.30.2007
very slowly sinking in...
last night i did something proactive. i packed two small boxes of stuff in my apartment. sure, there's A LOT more to do, but i'm two boxes closer to moving to iowa. i also spent some time making a calendar today (i bought one of those blank ones you create yourself since its practically june, thus there aren't 2007 calendars for sale really...and its a waste of money to buy one now). the next few months are going to be really busy. i have two trips io texas, two trips to vegas, a visit from my best friend which starts this weekend, and lots of stuff on the list of things to do before i leave. somehow i only have about 2 1/2 months left in albuquerque. the official load the truck day is wednesday, august 8th..probably in the evening and i'll buy pizza and beer if anyone is free to help out. then i clean on thursday morning (again, if anyone wants to help i'll buy coffee and doughnuts or something) and then mike and i go part of the way that day. i think move-in day will be august 11th. i got the lease to the new apartment today and got to see some more photos. it looks great and i'll have plenty of room for visitors. (so come visit punks!)
still working at the retail place and liking it. i've even thought about working like one day a week at the same store in iowa just to get the discount and meet some new people. we'll see. also trying to get more transcribing done which is a challenge. my goal was to finish them all before dennis gets here on sunday but i'm not sure that will happen since i'm scheduled to work a bunch. :P new goal is finishing them before i go to texas.
okay, enough rambling. guess i should get a few more boxes and pack a few every night. crazy shit, yo!
p.s.--had a busy and fun memorial weekend. hope you did too.
still working at the retail place and liking it. i've even thought about working like one day a week at the same store in iowa just to get the discount and meet some new people. we'll see. also trying to get more transcribing done which is a challenge. my goal was to finish them all before dennis gets here on sunday but i'm not sure that will happen since i'm scheduled to work a bunch. :P new goal is finishing them before i go to texas.
okay, enough rambling. guess i should get a few more boxes and pack a few every night. crazy shit, yo!
p.s.--had a busy and fun memorial weekend. hope you did too.
5.22.2007
"no, this is how it works, you peer inside yourself, you take the things you like, and try to love the things you took..."
if you haven't heard regina spektor yet, you need to check her out. i was fortunate to get her newest CD as a b'day gift from my awesome friend haley. get it and the lyrics will inspire you to blog.
this particular song is one of my favorites and though its titled "on the radio" its more about life and the way things seem to march forward. it speaks to me about how one thing lead to another "you laugh until you cry...you cry until you laugh." and that wherever we are led, all will pretty much be okay. we keep going on.
that sentiment resonates with me as may comes to an end. somehow its already memorial day weekend, which means june is just around the corner. i have a lot to look forward to, including a visit from my best friend dennis and a trip to texas, so that is all very exciting. at the same time though, time is flying by, which means that my tenure in albuquerque is too quickly coming to a close (about 80 days away!) i'm not going to write about how sad that will be, mostly because i'm in denial right now about leaving, but also because i don't want to sound like a broken record. suffice it to say though that i did have a bit of a freak out when i realized yesterday that its the end of may.
at the same time, i'm really excited because i got my dream apartment in dubuque. it seems to be exactly what i was looking for and though i haven't seen it in person yet, it looks to be a great place to call home. its a two-story duplex and the building was erected in 1906. the outside is brick and the inside has been completely renovated. i'll have my very own washer/dryer, three bedrooms (so come visit), lots of space, and a great view from my patio. i can't wait to see it. which is weird, because when i see it that will mean i have moved from ABQ. so confusing.
cross your fingers i can get 16 interviews transcribed by june 3rd. that is the goal. laters.
this particular song is one of my favorites and though its titled "on the radio" its more about life and the way things seem to march forward. it speaks to me about how one thing lead to another "you laugh until you cry...you cry until you laugh." and that wherever we are led, all will pretty much be okay. we keep going on.
that sentiment resonates with me as may comes to an end. somehow its already memorial day weekend, which means june is just around the corner. i have a lot to look forward to, including a visit from my best friend dennis and a trip to texas, so that is all very exciting. at the same time though, time is flying by, which means that my tenure in albuquerque is too quickly coming to a close (about 80 days away!) i'm not going to write about how sad that will be, mostly because i'm in denial right now about leaving, but also because i don't want to sound like a broken record. suffice it to say though that i did have a bit of a freak out when i realized yesterday that its the end of may.
at the same time, i'm really excited because i got my dream apartment in dubuque. it seems to be exactly what i was looking for and though i haven't seen it in person yet, it looks to be a great place to call home. its a two-story duplex and the building was erected in 1906. the outside is brick and the inside has been completely renovated. i'll have my very own washer/dryer, three bedrooms (so come visit), lots of space, and a great view from my patio. i can't wait to see it. which is weird, because when i see it that will mean i have moved from ABQ. so confusing.
cross your fingers i can get 16 interviews transcribed by june 3rd. that is the goal. laters.
5.15.2007
mini-rants and some raves too
just a few rants...
first up, when you're at the movies do me two favors. 1. don't friggin' text people during the show. you paid money to go watch the movie...so friggin' watch it. 2. speaking for all movie-goers, we could live without you making out with your boyfriend after the flick to the point that i'm pretty sure he is leaving with a half-stack. just don't do it. go home. home is for that kind of making out.
second, please ABQers...please....learn to drive. when a light is green, you can wait a second before going...but almost two minutes is ridiculous. pay attention to the task at hand, which is operating a motor vehicle. also, don't be a dick when its raining. the roads are wet, so that's not the best time for the usual antics like cutting people off, changing lanes without signals, and not stopping for emergency vehicles.
third, why has it been such a wet year in the desert? does that make anyone else wonder?
finally, please keep your kids under control. just do it. if your kid is trying to steal someone's tickets at a fun park while standing on said persons foot, you should probably get your ass over there to do something about it. and the reason your kids is so "unexplainably crabby" is because he is in a wet diaper. so wet that the stranger with the smashed foot can clearly smell it.
okay...that's all the rants for today. now a few raves.
i had a great weekend full of catching up with mike's family, watching lots of rugby, drinking beer, and eating good food. and i also finally got a bit of a tan. sure, its splotchy due to uneven sunscreen application, but its there none-the-less.
also, i'm really liking the one and only retail job that i have now. every one is nice and its just a positive place to work. even at 6 a.m. thank god for starbucks opening at the ass-crack of dawn.
cross your fingers that i will be an aunt again soon and that my niece will be coming over from russia soon to join our family.
also, cross your fingers that the kick-ass apartment i found online (gotta love craigslist) is as kick-ass as it seems. i should know more soon in a few days and maybe will have my housing figured out this week. how rad.
love my friends and family. just had to be said. okay...even ramblings for now.
first up, when you're at the movies do me two favors. 1. don't friggin' text people during the show. you paid money to go watch the movie...so friggin' watch it. 2. speaking for all movie-goers, we could live without you making out with your boyfriend after the flick to the point that i'm pretty sure he is leaving with a half-stack. just don't do it. go home. home is for that kind of making out.
second, please ABQers...please....learn to drive. when a light is green, you can wait a second before going...but almost two minutes is ridiculous. pay attention to the task at hand, which is operating a motor vehicle. also, don't be a dick when its raining. the roads are wet, so that's not the best time for the usual antics like cutting people off, changing lanes without signals, and not stopping for emergency vehicles.
third, why has it been such a wet year in the desert? does that make anyone else wonder?
finally, please keep your kids under control. just do it. if your kid is trying to steal someone's tickets at a fun park while standing on said persons foot, you should probably get your ass over there to do something about it. and the reason your kids is so "unexplainably crabby" is because he is in a wet diaper. so wet that the stranger with the smashed foot can clearly smell it.
okay...that's all the rants for today. now a few raves.
i had a great weekend full of catching up with mike's family, watching lots of rugby, drinking beer, and eating good food. and i also finally got a bit of a tan. sure, its splotchy due to uneven sunscreen application, but its there none-the-less.
also, i'm really liking the one and only retail job that i have now. every one is nice and its just a positive place to work. even at 6 a.m. thank god for starbucks opening at the ass-crack of dawn.
cross your fingers that i will be an aunt again soon and that my niece will be coming over from russia soon to join our family.
also, cross your fingers that the kick-ass apartment i found online (gotta love craigslist) is as kick-ass as it seems. i should know more soon in a few days and maybe will have my housing figured out this week. how rad.
love my friends and family. just had to be said. okay...even ramblings for now.
5.12.2007
hot!
today was a beautiful day to watch a bunch of rugby and drink fat tire. BUT, now its like 82 degrees in my apartment. its the annual "my air conditioner crapped itself" time of year so it's quite sultry in here. thank goodness i'm going to mike's soon and then will be partying for the rest of the night. so hopefully one of two things will happen by the time i'm back: 1. it will cool off and it won't be so warm in here and 2. i will have consumed enough "chardonnays" that i won't care.
also, go brujos and especially the rhino squad!!
:D
also, go brujos and especially the rhino squad!!
:D
5.07.2007
yeah...i'm tired
i started working at a cool retail place last week and i must say that i really really like it. i like it much more than my other retail job which i'm probably going to quit this week, despite the good discount. i am however, really tired. my day started at about 5:20 a.m. so that i could be at work at 6 to unload "the truck." though that sounds like it would suck ass, it really didn't. once i got out of bed, it was all good. i found out starbucks is open before 6 a.m. (thank god) and got to do some physical exercise in the wee hours. apparently earning money while working out is the only way i can drag myself out of the covers before 8 a.m. maybe that will change though, since i'll be a regular truck person. it will be nice to just be working at one store. i almost feel bad about quitting with no notice. but i don't. i'm also thinking about doing some house cleaning (for money) for people in ABQ. not glamorous work, but i don't hate cleaning and i could make some decent money doing it. woo!
i had some rants and raves but i'm not sure i remember all of them. so far only one comes to mind, which was a recent dining experience at one of my favorite pizza places last week. they have an awesome deal on wednesday nights and its arguably the best pizza in town. its a small place, so its always a crapshoot as to whether or not it will be insanely crowded or not very busy. for whatever reason, last wednesday night was unofficial kids night. i have nothing against kids. i like them in fact. but this was a crazy number of kids in a very small restaurant. for a brief period, we thought we were at Chuck E. Cheese, but no matter how much we looked around, there was no animatronic giant rat thing. so, the restauarant was LOUD. it was one of those situations where it just kept getting louder and louder. and the parents of the 1000s of kids did not seem to notice. one of the dad's commented on how the pizzeria was losing money because they don't have enough seating. this comment was especially irritating to me as one of the few childless people in the establishment. i guess it was because their party literally took up half of the seating, which meant there weren't chairs available for adults who would eat more than two bites of pizza. instead, most of the chairs were full of this guy's kids and his friend's kids who were not going to be consuming much, thus also costing the restaurant money. fortunately the food and the beer and the company at our table was great, and eventually it was bed time for the under 5 crowd.
weekend was good. i didn't have to work on saturday or sunday which was AWESOME! i did help mike clean his house and do yardwork though. kinda fun. i think his house is officially cleaner than mine now. next weekend should be a fun time too. looking forward to it. :D
this week i give the final for my class and then turn in grades. this was a fun group of students, but i'm glad that the semester is over. and i'm glad that i get paid until the end of june. money is tight hence all the jobs. gotta get the move figured out and all the interviews transcribed. the goal is to get the interviews done by june. i feel like that will be 80% of the work for the dissertation. i could be wrong though. :)
okay, enough sleepy rambling. hugs to my friends who kick asses.
i had some rants and raves but i'm not sure i remember all of them. so far only one comes to mind, which was a recent dining experience at one of my favorite pizza places last week. they have an awesome deal on wednesday nights and its arguably the best pizza in town. its a small place, so its always a crapshoot as to whether or not it will be insanely crowded or not very busy. for whatever reason, last wednesday night was unofficial kids night. i have nothing against kids. i like them in fact. but this was a crazy number of kids in a very small restaurant. for a brief period, we thought we were at Chuck E. Cheese, but no matter how much we looked around, there was no animatronic giant rat thing. so, the restauarant was LOUD. it was one of those situations where it just kept getting louder and louder. and the parents of the 1000s of kids did not seem to notice. one of the dad's commented on how the pizzeria was losing money because they don't have enough seating. this comment was especially irritating to me as one of the few childless people in the establishment. i guess it was because their party literally took up half of the seating, which meant there weren't chairs available for adults who would eat more than two bites of pizza. instead, most of the chairs were full of this guy's kids and his friend's kids who were not going to be consuming much, thus also costing the restaurant money. fortunately the food and the beer and the company at our table was great, and eventually it was bed time for the under 5 crowd.
weekend was good. i didn't have to work on saturday or sunday which was AWESOME! i did help mike clean his house and do yardwork though. kinda fun. i think his house is officially cleaner than mine now. next weekend should be a fun time too. looking forward to it. :D
this week i give the final for my class and then turn in grades. this was a fun group of students, but i'm glad that the semester is over. and i'm glad that i get paid until the end of june. money is tight hence all the jobs. gotta get the move figured out and all the interviews transcribed. the goal is to get the interviews done by june. i feel like that will be 80% of the work for the dissertation. i could be wrong though. :)
okay, enough sleepy rambling. hugs to my friends who kick asses.
4.30.2007
holy poop its the end of april
mike called this a long month on his blog, but for me i think it went really fast. in fact, i fear that the next three months are going to whiz by and it will be august before know it.
in the meantime, i find myself working at two, count 'um, two retail stores. hopefully once i get the scheduling figured out it won't be more than 30 hours a week combined. it will be fun for the time being and i get good discounts at both places.
lots of stuff coming up in the next few months. classes are ending in a few weeks. mike's parents and sister will be coming to visit which should be fun. hopefully i won't have to work the whole time. :P dennis is coming to visit in early june and then i'm probably heading to iowa in mid-june for the house/apartment search. hopefully going to vegas in july and i REALLY want to go to texas one time before i move. so...should be a busy next couple of months.
oh, and i need to crank out more transcriptions for my dissertation (anyone want to help?) and probably start packing stuff. crazy! so i'm hoping the new jobs will still allow me to do everything i want to do before i leave. if not, then i guess i'll quit. :) that's the nice thing about having a job that you don't necessarily have to rely on.
okay...back to work.
in the meantime, i find myself working at two, count 'um, two retail stores. hopefully once i get the scheduling figured out it won't be more than 30 hours a week combined. it will be fun for the time being and i get good discounts at both places.
lots of stuff coming up in the next few months. classes are ending in a few weeks. mike's parents and sister will be coming to visit which should be fun. hopefully i won't have to work the whole time. :P dennis is coming to visit in early june and then i'm probably heading to iowa in mid-june for the house/apartment search. hopefully going to vegas in july and i REALLY want to go to texas one time before i move. so...should be a busy next couple of months.
oh, and i need to crank out more transcriptions for my dissertation (anyone want to help?) and probably start packing stuff. crazy! so i'm hoping the new jobs will still allow me to do everything i want to do before i leave. if not, then i guess i'll quit. :) that's the nice thing about having a job that you don't necessarily have to rely on.
okay...back to work.
4.23.2007
something i didn't think i would say or do
an abq friend asked me on saturday if i'd like to participate in a 5K run in two weeks. i thought she was crazy when she asked me....the kid who has been riding the fitness struggle bus for a while. but after thinking about it, i think i might try to do it. and i might as well track my progress here. the even is called "run for the zoo" and i suppose if anyone wants to make some pledges you could. it will help animals and stuff. :) and if you donate money then i will feel obligated to actually follow through. :)
the race in on may 6th and i'll be working on getting ready for it for the next two weeks. regardless, it will feel good to have accomplished this and maybe it will help me stay motivated to keep on truckin'...i mean runnin'.
so as of today, i ran 3.1 miles (or 5k) in 42.5 minutes. hopefully i did the math right. the gym will only let me put in 30 minutes at a time and i knew i needed at least 45. :) maybe i should try to run outside?
anyways, if you want to pledge, send me an email or something. hope everyone had a great weekend.
the race in on may 6th and i'll be working on getting ready for it for the next two weeks. regardless, it will feel good to have accomplished this and maybe it will help me stay motivated to keep on truckin'...i mean runnin'.
so as of today, i ran 3.1 miles (or 5k) in 42.5 minutes. hopefully i did the math right. the gym will only let me put in 30 minutes at a time and i knew i needed at least 45. :) maybe i should try to run outside?
anyways, if you want to pledge, send me an email or something. hope everyone had a great weekend.
4.18.2007
taking in the view
i'm sitting here on my couch looking out the patio door at the beautiful sandia mountains. they were especially beautiful this weekend when they were covered with snow (which fortunately mostly stayed in the mountains!). the view makes me both happy and hopeful that when i leave here i won't feel like i took albuquerque for granted. that always seems to be the case though. once you live in a place, you do your normal day-to-day stuff, and you don't always take notice of the beauty around you. at least that's the situation for me. so i've been trying to make more of an effort to drink in this place while i'm here. the problem is that i'm not totally sure how to do that. my approach so far is to make a list of stuff i want i want to do before i move in august. here are some of the things i have so far:
-breakfast at gold st. cafe (must eat that red chili bacon again before i go)
-a trip up to the peak
-drinks and merriment at the restaurant at the base of the mountain at twilight time
-maybe a trip to the zoo
-isotopes game
-bowling at isleta casino (its way fun)
-a day trip to santa fe and/or taos
-winery trip (at least to st. clair for the wine flight)
-feast at tucanos
-lots of pie shack
-cocktail party at kate's
-grill outs
-lots of fun times with friends for sure in varied forms
-beer afternoon at kelly's
-lunch at juan's broken taco
-a trip to dagmar's german food sometime
and i'm sure there's lots and lots of other places i will end up adding (and unfortunately a lot of them are food related! better amp up the workouts). and i'm also pretty sure that i won't get everything on the list accomplished. i guess that means i'll have to come visit a bunch. :)
anyway, my hope is that i won't leave albuquerque regretting not appreciating it more. i think the best way to accomplish that is it spend time with my kick ass friends out here.
okay, enough rambling and staring at the mountain. back to work.
p.s.- the going to bed early plan is not going well for me.
-breakfast at gold st. cafe (must eat that red chili bacon again before i go)
-a trip up to the peak
-drinks and merriment at the restaurant at the base of the mountain at twilight time
-maybe a trip to the zoo
-isotopes game
-bowling at isleta casino (its way fun)
-a day trip to santa fe and/or taos
-winery trip (at least to st. clair for the wine flight)
-feast at tucanos
-lots of pie shack
-cocktail party at kate's
-grill outs
-lots of fun times with friends for sure in varied forms
-beer afternoon at kelly's
-lunch at juan's broken taco
-a trip to dagmar's german food sometime
and i'm sure there's lots and lots of other places i will end up adding (and unfortunately a lot of them are food related! better amp up the workouts). and i'm also pretty sure that i won't get everything on the list accomplished. i guess that means i'll have to come visit a bunch. :)
anyway, my hope is that i won't leave albuquerque regretting not appreciating it more. i think the best way to accomplish that is it spend time with my kick ass friends out here.
okay, enough rambling and staring at the mountain. back to work.
p.s.- the going to bed early plan is not going well for me.
4.09.2007
early to bed
mike and i are trying a new experiment this week, which has to do with going to bed earlier. earlier means 10:30. i'm betting that's pretty close to mike's usual bed time, but for me, the night owl, that's really early!!! the idea is that more sleep helps you lose weight, so we'll see how it works. also, getting to bed earlier means getting up earlier, which means getting more accomplished towards the lofty goals i set in my last post. PLUS, i should get on a normal schedule since i'll be in a real job before i know it.
so wish me luck. i'm wondering if i'll need a nightcap to actually feel tired at 10:30 tonight. :D
so wish me luck. i'm wondering if i'll need a nightcap to actually feel tired at 10:30 tonight. :D
3.28.2007
a few hopefully non-lofty goals
its almost the end of march. which means its almost april. which means august is in 5 months or something. so i have set some lofty goals for myself.
1. fit into pants that i have moved all over the country more than one time. it would be great to be wearing those pants on this trip across the country. that will require me to drop 1 and 1/2 sizes. not sure if that's realistic in the time i have, but i'm going to try. guess that means no more skipping the gym. :)
2. finish the dissertation. i at least have to have a complete first draft of the whole damn thing before i move. that way i can send it to my committee and they can tell me what to correct and we can figure out a defense date so i can graduate in december.
3. figure out my syllabi. it would be nice to plan ahead for the courses that i'm teaching in the fall. i feel like i've been a "by-the-seat-of-my-pants" instructor so far in my career as adjunct and i would like to approach these courses with more intentionality. (is that a word?)
4. have some kind of fun-ass blow out with my ABQ friends. when i left TX to move here, it was very, very quick. i finished a stressful semester, went to iowa for two weeks, and then came back in a mad dash to pack my stuff and get to NM. so though i did have a few nights of fun with people at Northgate before i ventured off, the whole experience was so rushed that i barely processed that i was leaving. so i hope to catch up with everyone out here before i go and not in a "holy shit i'm leaving tomorrow and we must ingest coffee as fast as possible so i can see another person" way.
5. figure out boys. ha ha...that one is lofty. :D
6. sort through my stuff. i'll admit it, i have too much stuff. and i always say i'll go through it before i move again, and i end up going through some of it before i move, but there's still boxes of just...crap..that i need to sort through. this time i hope to really do it. maybe if i tackle a box a week. that's realistic right?
7. find a great apartment in dubuque. i'm looking for an inexpensive place in the downtown area with character. (not to be read as a total piece of shit...but rather one of those neat, older apartments instead the uniform, cookie-cutter variety).
i think that's enough goals for now. here's hoping i can get them finished. it will require me to get off of my current spring break schedule and to get up earlier and get to bed earlier as well. maybe tonight will be the first night. :D
1. fit into pants that i have moved all over the country more than one time. it would be great to be wearing those pants on this trip across the country. that will require me to drop 1 and 1/2 sizes. not sure if that's realistic in the time i have, but i'm going to try. guess that means no more skipping the gym. :)
2. finish the dissertation. i at least have to have a complete first draft of the whole damn thing before i move. that way i can send it to my committee and they can tell me what to correct and we can figure out a defense date so i can graduate in december.
3. figure out my syllabi. it would be nice to plan ahead for the courses that i'm teaching in the fall. i feel like i've been a "by-the-seat-of-my-pants" instructor so far in my career as adjunct and i would like to approach these courses with more intentionality. (is that a word?)
4. have some kind of fun-ass blow out with my ABQ friends. when i left TX to move here, it was very, very quick. i finished a stressful semester, went to iowa for two weeks, and then came back in a mad dash to pack my stuff and get to NM. so though i did have a few nights of fun with people at Northgate before i ventured off, the whole experience was so rushed that i barely processed that i was leaving. so i hope to catch up with everyone out here before i go and not in a "holy shit i'm leaving tomorrow and we must ingest coffee as fast as possible so i can see another person" way.
5. figure out boys. ha ha...that one is lofty. :D
6. sort through my stuff. i'll admit it, i have too much stuff. and i always say i'll go through it before i move again, and i end up going through some of it before i move, but there's still boxes of just...crap..that i need to sort through. this time i hope to really do it. maybe if i tackle a box a week. that's realistic right?
7. find a great apartment in dubuque. i'm looking for an inexpensive place in the downtown area with character. (not to be read as a total piece of shit...but rather one of those neat, older apartments instead the uniform, cookie-cutter variety).
i think that's enough goals for now. here's hoping i can get them finished. it will require me to get off of my current spring break schedule and to get up earlier and get to bed earlier as well. maybe tonight will be the first night. :D
3.22.2007
"i'm waiting for my real life to begin"
the title for this blog comes from a really cool song by colin hay (who often has songs the show scrubs which automatically means they are good). it's a song that i find myself connecting to a lot lately. for more lyrics go here.
i suppose this song resonates because of some recent life changes that are on the horizon. as you know faithful readers, i've been on many interview trips including an impromtu trip on monday. the process culuminated yesterday with a decision. before said decision and after 9 days in texas, i was pretty gung ho about wanting the job in austin. but circumstances and choices have lead me on a new path...well, sort of new.
i'm excited to announce that i accepted my first full-time faculty position at my undergraduate alma mater. this school is near and dear to my heart since its where i spent my college days (well the first four years of them anyway). i made life-long friends there, became catholic there, learned a whole lot, and in so many ways my time there shaped where i'm at right now. it will be wonderful to be back and i know it will be a great fit...again. " i'm walking in my old footsteps, once again."
now, i'll be honest...i've loved living in new mexico and i have a great thing going here (aside from not having a job at the moment.) i've gotten accustomed to living in a larger city and i enjoy my mountain view. i also really like living near my favorite boy. so it will be hard to leave. luckily i have five months to hang out and have fun.
i also found out that my committee chair is going to be gone all summer, so i'm going to be graduating in december. still going to kick ass to get the dissertation written before i move. it will be hard to write and prep courses and adjust to a new life. its going to be fun to be closer to old friends and my family of course. it will be awesome to have a real job finally and be able to pay off debts and maybe by a house at some point. :)
anywho...that's the news.
"any minute now, my ship is coming in." or maybe it has? for now? :)
i suppose this song resonates because of some recent life changes that are on the horizon. as you know faithful readers, i've been on many interview trips including an impromtu trip on monday. the process culuminated yesterday with a decision. before said decision and after 9 days in texas, i was pretty gung ho about wanting the job in austin. but circumstances and choices have lead me on a new path...well, sort of new.
i'm excited to announce that i accepted my first full-time faculty position at my undergraduate alma mater. this school is near and dear to my heart since its where i spent my college days (well the first four years of them anyway). i made life-long friends there, became catholic there, learned a whole lot, and in so many ways my time there shaped where i'm at right now. it will be wonderful to be back and i know it will be a great fit...again. " i'm walking in my old footsteps, once again."
now, i'll be honest...i've loved living in new mexico and i have a great thing going here (aside from not having a job at the moment.) i've gotten accustomed to living in a larger city and i enjoy my mountain view. i also really like living near my favorite boy. so it will be hard to leave. luckily i have five months to hang out and have fun.
i also found out that my committee chair is going to be gone all summer, so i'm going to be graduating in december. still going to kick ass to get the dissertation written before i move. it will be hard to write and prep courses and adjust to a new life. its going to be fun to be closer to old friends and my family of course. it will be awesome to have a real job finally and be able to pay off debts and maybe by a house at some point. :)
anywho...that's the news.
"any minute now, my ship is coming in." or maybe it has? for now? :)
3.12.2007
march madness and job madness
i've been spending the weekend with my friend brett which means that i've watch a lot more basketball that i normally do. the events of the weekend led me to actually make a few brackets for the ESPN tourney thing. maybe i'll win $10,000 with my very uneducated guesses.
if i don't, the chances of me getting a job are looking bright. i actually got an offer last week. because of that offer and the timing of it, i turned down an on campus interview for another school, and then traveled to texas to interview here on friday. i think the day went really well and i'm trying not to be overly optimistic that i'll get an offer hear. the kicker is that i won't find out until the 27th and i'm supposed to tell the first offer by the 19th. i called them today though and left a message about getting an extension (cross your fingers!). i had a call from faculty from the school i declined to call them to talk about the situation. i called them after the interview on friday and they REALLY REALLY want me to come to campus. so i'll be leaving from here on monday to go there and interview on tuesday. its all very crazy. i'm feeling like i'm suddenly in high demand after getting two rejections initially. i gotta say, its pretty cool. i'm hoping to get another offer, especially from the friday school.
i will of course keep you posted. gearing up now for SXSW music festival. woo to the hoo!!
if i don't, the chances of me getting a job are looking bright. i actually got an offer last week. because of that offer and the timing of it, i turned down an on campus interview for another school, and then traveled to texas to interview here on friday. i think the day went really well and i'm trying not to be overly optimistic that i'll get an offer hear. the kicker is that i won't find out until the 27th and i'm supposed to tell the first offer by the 19th. i called them today though and left a message about getting an extension (cross your fingers!). i had a call from faculty from the school i declined to call them to talk about the situation. i called them after the interview on friday and they REALLY REALLY want me to come to campus. so i'll be leaving from here on monday to go there and interview on tuesday. its all very crazy. i'm feeling like i'm suddenly in high demand after getting two rejections initially. i gotta say, its pretty cool. i'm hoping to get another offer, especially from the friday school.
i will of course keep you posted. gearing up now for SXSW music festival. woo to the hoo!!
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