Friday, February 29, 2008

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Wheels keep a turnin'

Have you ever started thinking about something that starts out with a little seed and then grows rapidly? It's like... zooOOOOOMMMM!?

I do that about really important things. Life-changing things.

I've been trying to figure out my best course of action for looking at Washington/Oregon and the Rocky Mountains.

After staring at a U.S. map for a considerable length of time and using MapQuest to get a rough idea of travel times... This is what I've come up with:

1. If I wait until May to go exploring I will have three weeks (versus the 10 or 11 days at Spring Break).

2. If I'm going to check out Idaho I might as well hop over to the next two states (WA/OR) which are also on my list of places to see.

3. I HAVE to get my paper done. Spring break is a great time to work on it, without distractions.

So...

I think that kind of make my decision for me.

I'll wait until after graduation, when I have more time and I'm not worried about "The Paper" to take my trip.

Now the question is: Do I fly to Washington/Oregon (using my free ticket) and rent a car to drive around those two states and Idaho or do I make one BIG cross-country trip.

hmmm...

Decisions... decisions...

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

For your viewing pleasure

I made a short slide show of 30 of my favorite NZ pics.
(scroll down - on the right side of the screen)

And yes, I'm aware that I've gone post-crazy. That's what 2 weeks being virtually blog-free do to me.

The Little Hobbit That Could?

So I've been looking around the web to catch up on what I missed in the two weeks I was practically unconcious.

Apparently, the Tolkien Estate is suing New Line Cinema for unpaid monies for the 3 LoTR movies. This may put a halt to the two new Hobbit movies that were finally moving forward.

/sigh

Jonathan got some good pics of the lunar eclipse that I completely spaced on.

And... yet again I missed the Sled Dog Races because I didn't know when they are.

Bah!

Future thoughts

Now that my brain is back in working order and I'm back at work, I'm back to working on my paper again.

I'm also looking ahead to the future; looking for jobs and trying to decide which areas of the country to focus on.

I feel the mountains calling me again... the questions is: Do I move to the Rocky Mountains or all the way to Washington/Oregon/Northern California?

I really don't know.

I guess it all depends on where I can find a job.

Part of me is struggling with the thought of moving to the west coast. It seems SO much further away from Texas.

Let's see... From TX to here is a 22 hour drive and from Texas to WA is probably around 35 hours. I mean I fly home as it is...
*ponder*

On the other hand... as I said, it really depends on where I can find a job. Maybe I should go totally against my character and not worry about it - not go and explore these places - wait until I have a job offer - accept it - move there without ever having been there.

That WOULD be totally out of character.

/sigh

Monday, February 25, 2008

The 80th Oscars

I was at bowling so I recorded the Oscars and watched them later.
That's the way to do it. Trust me. You can fast forward to the good bits... which were few and far between.

Best part of the 2008 Oscars: Katherine Heigl's dress.
Wowsers. I think this might be my favorite look... ever. I mean seriously.


Source.

Back in the saddle again...

I walked out of my apartment and the first thing I saw was not 1 but 2 male bald eagles circling above me.

I found a parking space right away.

Since arriving to work I've been greeted with multiple exclamations of joy at my return.

It's good to be back.

Now... to work!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Among the living...

Or nearly.

I got over my 10-day flu thing and now I just need to kick this sinus infection.

I've had about all the snuffling, coughing, sneezing, aching and sleeping that I can handle.

Went to the doctor today and she prescribed an antibiotic. In a few days I expect to back to normal.

Pretty please?

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Germs

Oh man.

Oh man-oh man-oh man.

I'm sooooo tired of this.

I'm still sick. Mom and Dad are still sick.

I think I'm starting to get better, but who knows.

I just keep sleeping and drinking and watching TV. That's all I can do. Just doing the dishes wears me out.

Only plus side to this - plenty of time to watch the first two seasons of Perfect Strangers and to re-watch all the extended LoTR (with extras).

And now... I sleep.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Ugh

Stuffy head, sneezing, coughing, aching, feverish, tired, miserable, blah...

That pretty much describes me.

Still sick. Been sick since Monday night.

Dad's been sick since then and Mom just called to tell me she caught whatever he has. So now we're all three sick. Keep in mind I live in MN and they're in TX.

A lady from work just called me to make sure I was still alive. That was nice of her. I said I was alive but miserable.

I've had more fun than this at the dentist office. At least they give you Nitrous Oxide.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Blogging

Blogging for the sake of blogging...

It's been a while.

I'm still here. Frozen to the bone, but still here.

Met with my Committee Chair last Thursday re: my Proposal and she had a few edits for me and my citations needed some work. Worked on those Thursday afternoon and Friday (after purchasing a $30 APA style guide).

Sending my proposal around today for signatures. Hope to have it turned in to the Graduate Office by Friday.

My DVD player finally died. Like-really-for-real-dead. It had been threatening for at least a year. Saturday morning I went to my most favorite store ever - Target - and bought a new dvd/home theater system. Nothing too fancy, but it has a dock for my iPod so I'm pretty much thrilled! Then I spent most of Saturday afternoon moving my furniture around (so I could place the speakers in the right places) and hooking up the system. Totally worth it.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting a cold = sucky. Last time I was sick was last Sept. which means I made it through all the holidays and two trips home without getting sick = amazing.

Drinking lots of water and trying to keep my germs to myself.

By the way... If you're curious as to when/if your favorite TV shows are returning, here's a site to keep you in-the-know.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

I Like it.

Credit goes to Amber - Rafting the Universe for this little gem.

I like it.

Candidate Blind Taste Test

Monday, February 04, 2008

Not freaking out.

I am not freaking out.

I'm not freaking out that the Grad Office can't guarantee I'll be able to graduate this Spring - because I'm not done with my proposal.

And I'm certainly not freaking out about what will happen with summer jobs, a teaching job this fall, finishing my paper, getting licensed in a new state, moving expenses, or moving away from my friends and a place I've called home for 7 years.

Nope.

Not freaking out.

Cool as a cucumber

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Superbowl Ads

Granted... I didn't get to see all of the ads because of bowling, but I was rather disappointed.

One that did make me stop in the middle of bowling to go "Oooo Ahhhh" and "Oooof" was the Coca Cola one.

And the Audi one and the Fedex one made me LOL.

I'm reading...

The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan



And so far.... It's freaking genius.

The Sixth Sense