so much to post yet so little time

In very quick notes I will update that:

My dad was here visiting for a long weekend. We tried out Bobby's Burger Palace and the Bobby Bleu burger was delicious (bacon and bleu cheese. yum), drove up to Albany to see my Nana and other family, spent lots of time outdoors which was lovely and soooo relaxing. Did a quizzo night at Local 44 with my Dad, we didn't do so well but it was tons of fun. Spent all Monday walking 8 miles (literally. I mapped it out afterwards) all over downtown. Pretty sure we saw the major highlights including: Penn's campus, walked along the Schuykill River, did the Rocky pose at the top of Art museum steps, saw the LOVE statue, ate lunch at Reading Terminal Market (a food paradise. I WILL be going back. An entire cookbook stall! and lots and lots of pastry places), went into the National Constitution Center (my new as-of-today place of employment) where we took pictures standing next to life size versions of Alexander Hamilton (my dad's favorite) and some other Constitution signers, then off to see the Liberty Bell up close and personal, meandered through Society Hill and South Street and then topped with a delightful dinner at Bistrot La Minette (my fave French restaurant of which I have raved about here before). rhubarb sorbet= cool. Tuesday we took it a lot easier, went to the top of City Hall for a fantastic panoramic view of the city and it was a perfectly clear and sunny day, got requisite cheesesteaks at Tony Luke's where we saw Tony Luke himself, and then walked along the Schuykill to check out the boat houses for the crew teams. Needless to say, I'm exhausted.

Yet. I started as the new National Programs Assistant today. It went well. I think I'll like it. Going to be a busy summer, just hope I can keep up. Big event tomorrow night with Lawrence Summers (former Harvard pres, currently Obama's chief economic advisor and director of National Economic Council) so should be interesting. More to come on all of this at some later date.

Stressing now because I hadn't expected to be working quite so soon and STILL have a paper to read for/ and write by Monday. gah! so I'm off to do that. and then sleep. or more likely pass out into my (w/ freshly laundered sheets) bed.

!!!

I start my NEW JOB next Wednesday.

I have so much craziness going on all of a sudden. I still have to just find the energy and motivation to write my last 2 class papers. (it hasn't been going well. I'm 5 days behind the schedule I set for myself) My dad is coming to visit me for the first time in Philly tomorrow night through Tuesday night. I will start at the National Constitution Center the following morning. That weekend I'm helping Pancho move out and its Memorial Day. and then I have to start working on/finishing my thesis during the next 5.5 weeks. ahhhhhhhh.

life is good. but oh so hectic sometimes.

Preakness

I had quite the weekend. Friday kicked off with a fantastic and gourmet-esque lunch at Fork. yes, it had icons of forks all over in an otherwise totally chic and hip decor. I had a lemongrass lemonade cocktail, finally got to try quinoa as a side to my crispy-skin salmon (I actually bought some at WF but had yet to attempt making it), and had a sinful array of dessert "bites." I think I could eat chocolate pot de creme daily.

Drove down to Baltimore and rushed downtown with Pancho to be volunteer balloon handlers in the Preakness Parade. scored free shirts, glow stick necklaces, and free $40 tickets to Preakness (the motivation). We were in charge of a pink tropical fish. what it had to do with horse racing or Baltimore is beyond me but I can now check that off my life list.

Saturday we went to Preakness. Check 1 of the 3 Triple Crown races off my list. We were in the infield, infamously known for its lawlessness and chaos. Not so bad this year though since people were no longer allowed to bring in their own alcohol. Didn't see too much drunkenness until late in the afternoon. Pancho really wanted to go because OAR played as part of the pre-race festivities. They were good, we enjoyed other bands too and I especially liked the funnel cake and the Black Eyed Susan (Maryland's version of the mint julep). Met up with some of P's friends who had made jello shots and Kahlua pudding (you could bring in food, no drinks). Deeelicious. Alas, no fancy hat and summer dress (not really the infield way) but I vowed I would for the next race. when we actually have seats. Really fantastic weather and no sunburns! We were diligent in re-applying. Oh, and Pancho won $4.60. but had bet $6. :)

And my last Check-that-off-the-list was we had dinner at the Crack Pot (an institution among Bmore crab places) and I had oysters on the half shell for the first time. Pretty good. Texture didn't bother me, but I can see how people are freaked out. Followed it up with more shellfish-- scallops for the entree.

and. (500) Days of Summer was a cute movie. Mmmm to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I was both annoyed and intrigued with the constant switching of present time and foreshadowing. I first saw Zooey Deschanel in Almost Famous, and I still think she's wonderful. If I could get away with wearing bangs, I would want hers.

Finally. I had my interview this afternoon. Should hear back by beginning of next week. I think it went well. After the gauntlet of this past year I'm starting to build myself up again on the awesome-ness of my resume. (sounds terrible, I know, but then again.. it sort of does rock. and I need to exude this confidence for the interviews). We shall see. I did, however, get to talk about Brian Williams! They have a program with Peter Jennings and journalists, and I made an aside about how I'm a BW fan myself, and then I got to talk about how great he is. and also what a news junkie I am. Asked to list my news sources. (Nightly, Meet the Press, Time, NYTimes, sometimes The New Republic) maybe I should consider some "new media" sources. but seriously where would I get the time?

Jeudi

So. all of the excitement in my day came in a roughly 1.5 hour window this afternoon.

• I have an interview next week at the National Constitution Center. (!!!) Basically my dream job, the only sucky part is that its a temporary position... :( BUT I would love it if I got hired because I could make networking connections, get more experience for the resume, and some much-needed money! and maybe maybe they'll decide they actually DO need someone full-time. Going to spend the weekend brushing up on Constitutional knowledge... (something tells me the Supreme Court exp. really helped me out on this one). Also confirmation that my resume and cover letter must be alright to have made it into the 5% that actually get read. yay.
• I bumped up my regular run to 4 miles. It was not bad. I might be bumping it up again soon.
• While I was out running, I saw this guy laying on the sidewalk. He wasn't moving, no visible injuries from what I could tell, debated whether I should try to wake him up but felt a little iffy about it (sort of an mehhh area), I mean he could have been drunk or high. No idea. Its a really heavily-patrolled area though so I figured I would see a cop, I didn't, but there is a Penn/Police substation 3 blocks from there AND its on my route so I popped in and was like "Theres a guy on the sidewalk. Maybe someone should check it out." Felt a little bad about not having checked him myself but at least I did the next best thing? There was a thing on Nightly recently about a good Samaritan in NYC who had stopped a mugging, got stabbed, and then laid for an hour while people walked by him and he ended up dying. So. yeah, if it was a medical issue at least the police were notified within like 5 minutes of my having seen him. It totally reminded me of the time in Gainesville, though, when I helped that stray dog ALSO while out for a run. Perhaps I should carry a cellphone.
• And finally, this didn't happen today but since I made a news reference and am on the topic, I saw a local anchorwoman at Whole Foods last week. I didn't recognize her until I overheard someone else say something about who she was. She smiled at me. and she was reading the magazines stocked near the checkout line with no intention of buying it! (she said something about it to that effect)
• How can tomorrow already be Friday? yikes. Having lunch with my priest friend. It still is such a bizarre thing to me. I've never personally known a priest before. I mean, I know they're just regular people but. but. but. not really. lol. The job totally sets them apart. However, Sean is totally and completely a regular person. wickedly funny, very smart, and enjoys good food (and hence our lunch). Anyways, think I'm heading down to Baltimore for possibly my second-to-last trip there. (at least for the foreseeable future. or Pancho drags me to some alumni event)

Au Revoir, my dears.

Monday's update

Why do grape-flavored things taste so horrible but real grapes are so delicious? Where does the discrepancy enter in?

My attempt at the early 90s' 8-Minute Abs video yesterday may have strained my neck muscles. or they're just really sore. I knew I had poor form.

During my last visit to Baltimore, Pancho and I had brunch at Ms. Shirley's, hands-down the best brunch place. I'd spotted the Monkey Bread on the menu before but at $10, it seemed a little steep for an appetizer. We were feeling indulgent and split it along with our meals. I've never had monkey bread before. It. was. heavenly. Like an awesome cinnamon roll but drizzled with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar and deliciousness. So I've looked into it. Williams-Sonoma sells a mix by King Arthur Flour which sounds like it could definitely replicate it at home. But then I went to the KAF website itself, which essentially means I lost roughly 45 minutes from schoolwork this afternoon. So they have a cheaper version of the mix there (figures, should always go straight to the source) AND you can buy a monkey bread pan. I could use my Bundt pan, all you really need is a tube pan to make them, but if its actually called a monkey bread pan, well, seems slightly more proper.

Anyways, I've been using KA flour for the past year (its amazing and organic) and judging from my survey of other baking blogs, a much-loved favorite. The website is pretty cool, lots of recipes and stuff. I have an urge to try my hand at baking bread, but I'm sort of intimidated about the whole rising and proofing and other vocabulary aspects that are out of my comfort zone.

(oh, and Pancho said the pan & mix could be a gift in someone's future... moi? ;)

What I've learned so far in Grad School

1. Professors are regular people. And by that I mean you get a pretty f* upped group when you put them all together. It is unbelievable the petty jealousies and tensions that simmer just below the surface. Has anyone made a tv show about college faculty? Because they totally could. Some of them think they are brilliant (One considered his Harvard classmates idiots when he was in grad school), others think they are just impossibly busy and can't deign to make time to meet with you (even though, um... its their job..?), and still others are just plain awkward and you leave class or meetings replaying the "conversation" you had about a thousand times. But mostly they are just impressive and smart and really really competitive and can write articles and books and do a million things at once. (Oh, yeah, there are plenty who are nice, too. but its just not as fun to blog about them.)

2. I am too old to pull off all-nighters. At least successfully and in the way that I could before where I was actually productive and could bounce back the next day.

3. I've jokingly said all year that I've had a growing caffeine dependence, but last week I went 4 days without any and went into withdrawl. I had an actual splitting headache that disrupted my sleep. So I think I do actually have some sort of issue there. ;)

4. It is possible to "read" up to 5 books in a week. and sometimes more if a paper is due.

5. TV breaks/ brain breaks/ relaxation is not only healthy but essential.

6. This website is hilarious. and so emblematic of my next point: I can bullshit about Foucault and discourse and "the theoretical underpinnings of this study" (an actual phrase in my 700 paper, btw). maybe not with the best of them, but I can at least do it now if pressed to. Also not sure if this is something I should be proud of because....

7. People talk about stuff they don't really know about. A lot.

8. People talk about stuff that has to do with their particular field. A lot. Even if it has NO relevance to the class discussion.

9. Getting a PhD / writing and publishing a book is daunting. DAUNTING.

10. You can't get through it without friends. Or, well, you can't get through it happily and sanely. Grad school is a great place to meet other similarly geeky people. It can be refreshing to be "with your own kind"

11. The dividing line between undergrads and grads is huge. I will admit to regarding them now rather dismissively. I cannot wait for them to leave for the summer.

12. The library can be your friend but also a black hole into which several hours can pass without notice.

146 footnotes and 44 pages later...

I am pretty much down to proofreading and trimming my final draft of my 700 paper. Hallelujah. I'm aiming for early afternoon completion tomorrow. and then its margarita time with my cohort!

I also had a margarita yesterday at a birthday outing. What is it exactly about grad school that facilitates regular drinking? Oh yes. Must be something to do with balancing out the compulsive caffeination. Hrmm. I'd be worried about my general wellbeing if I hadn't started running again.

My score at Whole Foods this week: Ciao Bella chocolate gelato. delish.

Mailed my Mom these cute flower petal earrings from BR for Mother's Day. actually very tempted to get myself a pair! So embarrassed though when I got to the counter to buy a padded envelope at the post office and forgot her address. whoops.