Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Switching Over

2011-12-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

Heeey you guys!

I decided to switch from Blogger to Wordpress because I understand Wordpress a lot more than Blogger. So check out the new blog:

http://allisonfrasereavis.wordpress.com

the truth

2011-11-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

I feel bad saying the past 6 months have probably been the hardest 6 months of my life because nothing really bad has happened. Nobody has died, nobody has been critically ill, we've been financially secure, there haven't been any accidents, etc. etc. I really have nothing to complain about.

So today I'm thankful for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, to provide prospective. Whenever I think, "Jeez, life is really hard right now!" I can turn around and see everyone being thankful. What a great holiday.

The other side of the J CREW story

2011-10-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

The downside of the J CREW sale was that I had seen the movie Contagion, aka A Public Service Announcement to Wash Your Hands and Stop Touching Your Face, a few days before going. I couldn't help but think that if one person had a contagious, deadly disease and shopped at the sale, all of Durham would be dead. Think of all the clothes one person would touch at a sample sale, then how many other people would touch the clothes he/she touched, etc. etc.

But I wasn't too scared, because after the movie I played Pandemic with friends (a board game where you either save or fail-to-save the world from 4 strains of a deadly virus) and we totally won. Plus, I work at the 2nd best school of public health, so maybe my connection to the dean would be beneficial given a dire situation. But maybe not.

J Crew Sale

2011-10-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

This post is going to sound very materialistic and I don't even care.

Sample sales. I believe I had heard of them on various blogs.Wednesday night, I experienced one. It started in the morning when one of my coworkers came in excited. She was wearing a 100% J Crew cashmere cardigan that she had bought for 10 dollars. In Durham, J Crew had rented out an old Borders and filled the place with tables. On top of the tables were three boxes, below the tables two boxes. Each box was crammed with unsorted clothes -- there were children's clothes next to women's sweaters next to men's pants. No organization at all. BUT IT WAS CHEAP. All shirts and pants $10, dresses $10 or $15, sweaters and shoes $20.

It was nuts. Everyone in my office left right after work. Mae's strategy was to pick a corner and put everything in her size in a box. Angelica and my's strategy was to grab anything in a color we liked. (No surprise, everything I bought was a bright color. I think she was a little smarter.) A woman handed us a white trashbag when we walked in, and I stuffed clothes in and occasionally weeded out. There were no dressing rooms and no mirrors, so women were stripping down in public and men kept asking their significant other's opinion. I stuck to dresses and cardigans, because buying pants is a stressful business for me with mirrors and dressing rooms; I can't imagine blinding buying a pair. I wore my dresses around over my clothes while I picked through other boxes, trying to make sure the dress was worth buying.

But the best part of all was when I got home. I looked online to see how much some of the stuff originally cost. One of my 15 dollar dresses is still selling online for 250. When will I wear the four fancy dresses I bought? Maybe never. Or maybe I'll start dressing up for work like it's a glamorous wedding. Like I said, I don't even care.

Football

2011-10-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think the universe listened to my complain and I am generally off blog duty at work. (Probably because I wasn't so great at it.) And that brings back the desire to blog again.

This past Saturday, two of our Wilmington friends came up to go to a UNC football game. It was great because we had this set up before we even moved, and it's been something I've looked forward to every time I've missed Wilmington. And in many ways it was a perfect day... pumpkin pancakes at Elmo's, 75 degree degree weather, sunny enough for a sunburn. Not to mention that Julie and Aaron are some of our most favorite people!

But let me tell you. UNC football. What a disappointment.

I've never been to a football game that wasn't Arkansas football. Not another college, not NFL. I barely went to high school football games. (And I certainly never paid attention to the game when I did. I'll have to tell you about my ignorance in another blog post.)

A picture Julie took. We were there early because that is something the four of us are good at. Well, Tim is usually on time, but he's the odd one out in this crew.

For example, at Arkansas, we divide the crowd up and one side screams "Arkansas" and the other side screams "Razorbacks." This is a fun activity. At UNC one side yells "Tar" and the other side yells "Heel." Could you think of two more awkward words to yell? Whenever I hear the word Tar by itself, I think of the terrible things people have done with tar, and yelling Heel just sounds hillbilly, and is hard to scream with emphasis. (Actually, at Florida they yell blue/orange, and orange is also really awkward to yell, but UF makes up for it with another zillion awesome traditions.)

Also, one of the things they do to get the crowd pumped up on the third down is to show a picture of the historic bell tower on campus and make a loud bell sound. Talk about intimidating. "You guys, it's serious, that bell is ringing."

And UNC went down 14 without ever having possession. A fumble on the kickoff. They eventually came back (not for the win), but my heart wasn't into it. I doubted they could pull an Arkansas and win after a 19 point deficit.

The band did play excerpts from movies at halftime. Who can't get excited about awesome movie scores?

Whelp

2011-10-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

I admit, I've been avoiding my blog. I have to blog at work-- not my own words, but post someone else's blog. It seems like a simple enough task, yet it is the most dreaded work task. I wake up on Monday mornings in terror because Monday is blog day.

I have started to really love my job, so I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I think it's just the fact I've made several typos/mistakes on the blog, and it's always a rush to get it done before noon because it requires the approval of a zillion different people, and it has to go through a zillion different drafts before it is done, which means I'll probably make even more typos. So why don't I just catch the mistakes I make? I wish I knew the answer. I think I've gotten so nervous about the whole ordeal, I'm adding to the trauma.

So whenever I think of something I want to write on my blog, I think OMG BLOG BLOG BLOG, and avoid it. Not that you're waiting around for me to post, but that's the explanation.

Lambeau, 3.5 months

2011-09-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our 32 pound dog has officially received all of his vaccines and is ready to conquer the world.

What sets Lambeau apart from other dogs:

1) He squeals and grunts and wags his whole body when he is happy to see you.

2) He will spend a lot of time trying to crawl in your lap if you are sitting down. (Literally, crawl. He's very agile on two legs, and then will try to push himself up from there.)

3) He loves all of the dogs at the dog park. His favorite thing to do is wrestle in holes that he digs under benches. When it's time to go, he runs to the very back so you have to chase him.

4) He's a ladies man, and will follow women around before he gives men the time of day. (He likes men too, but he prefers the ladies.)

Noble dog

Shark dog.

Cuddle dog

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY JTT

2011-09-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

You're the only one of my celebrity childhood crushes still alive (RIP Jonathan Brandis, RIP Brad Renfro), so there is a lot of force behind that happy birthday.

My new favorite activity

2011-08-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

CONTRA DANCING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNx6t7VZe9o&feature=related

They offer this once a month where I live! You dance up and down lines, so while technically you have a partner, you will actually dance with every person in the line. There was a man celebrating his 83rd birthday at the dance I went to on Friday night. He danced up and down the line as well as anybody.

Another reason I like it is because it reminds me of the Yule Ball in The Goblet of Fire. This also happens to be the one scene I've seen the most of the Harry Potter movies, because somehow, every time ABC Family is having their marathon (so, pretty much every weekend), Tim turns it on right as the dance scene begins. Which is fine with me, because I love the dance scene. But I love contra dancing more.

Anniversary

2011-08-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently the father of modern Southern cuisine has a restaurant in Chapel Hill. So we went there for our anniversary.

the hello-humidity hair

the we-just-moved-and-I'm-a-chill-guy scruff

It was delicious. But North Carolina barbeque is always disappointing to me. Even when it's prepared in the tradition of the father of modern Southern cuisine.

But maybe I'm just missing Wilmington.

The Trauma of Moving

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'm thankful for parents who realize their adult children need help moving, and continually offer to help us move our stuff. So, thanks David, who flew out to North Carolina to help us move, and thanks Dad, who offered to fly out and help enough times I felt fully confident we would somehow make it three hours northwest to Chapel Hill. It really made me feel loved.

So that was the good part.

The bad part was how far away our future apartment was, and how there were so many steps so we couldn't use a dolly. The bad part was also the truck wasn't big enough so we had to make two trips. And then, how the first night in Chapel Hill, Tim got a migraine, and how the second through seventh night, he had a severe case of the hives. The bad part was how heavy our desk is, and how my book addiction got out of control in grad school, and how all of those things went to the third floor.

I don't want to dwell on these bad things, because ultimately they weren't that bad. I just want to document them, so the next time I move and I think, "Jeez, the last move was so much easier," God can strike me with lightning.

Wedding Season

2011-07-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Since the last post, I have attended three weddings in three different states. And since today is my third anniversary, let me give three reasons I love weddings.

1) Meeting the family. In this day and age, people don't live close by their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. I love watching the families my friends came from and seeing the personality genes they can't outrun. If it's a family member's wedding, well then, I just like being around my family.

2) Dressing up. I love dressing up for a good occasion. I'm very thankful we live in a more casual society than our grandparents did, but I sometimes miss seeing people in their Sunday Best (which now is usually jeans and a polo shirt. Unless you go to a church for old souls, which we did in Wilmington. We were the casual people because Tim did not wear a tie and I did not wear a suit jacket.). I think I'm going to start hosting formal dinners where we will eat hamburgers in heels.

3) Cutting loose. I love to dance, but I'm not very good at it. Yet I feel that at weddings all the dancing is supposed to be bad anyways, so you might as well hop your heart out to "Cotton Eyed Joe." When weddings don't have dancing, it's still a blast because there is more conversation and it's so easy to tell everyone how happy you are to be there, how much you love everyone and the world, and it's all true. Usually abundantly saying such sentimental things in normal conversations comes across as cheesy, but at a wedding, cut loose and let them fly.

Of course, there are deeper reasons I love weddings, and I didn't even mention wedding cake, which is one of my top loves in life. I know a lot of my generation doesn't see the point in marriage, which makes me sad (and not because I don't get to come to the reception).

Also, I barely took any pictures at these weddings I went to. At the last one, I didn't take a single picture all weekend. I think I go through picture taking mood-swings.

2011-07-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

I often find myself wondering if there is any stage in life where you don't have to make the hard, uncomfortable decisions. I can't wait until my life is made up of decisions like which aqua aerobics class to attend, or whether I should read a fiction or a nonfiction book next. I'd guess that stage in life isn't worry-free either, but it's the dream I hold onto.

Also in this dream, the Oxford comma still exists. (I don't care about Pluto. That can remain un-planeted in my opinion.)

Wedding Weekend!

2011-07-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Some things I love

2011-06-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

I love my family. I love summer. I love free concerts. I love tribute and cover bands. I love the Cape Fear River. I love sitting outside. I love sunsets. I love wearing sundresses/skirts. I love diet coke. I love Kilwin's ice cream.

All of these things happened on the night pictured above.

Serpentarium

2011-06-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

omg. The Serpentarium. These are not fake animals.

Dad, Tim, and I went this Saturday. I had read a fabulous essay about the place, but had never ventured down. What a mistake! We went an hour before feeding time (which happens every Saturday), so we stuck around to see several snakes get fed. I kid you not, we witnessed a python eat a rabbit, and two snakes (including the yellow dude up above) get in a fight when the yellow one tried to steal a rat from another snake. The feeder literally got into the cage, grabbed their heads, and pulled them apart (they both had their mouth on the rat). WILD. But I'll spare you the graphic pictures.

Also, we saw two snakes yawn and one rattler seriously rattle its tail. And the owner of the place? Practically the worlds leading expert on bushmasters. Incredible.

Eating

2011-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

This post is only going to be interesting to me, just to warn you. I'm getting super nostalgic about leaving Wilmington, so I want to publicly document some of my favorite things about my favorite town.

There are three things I especially love doing in Wilmington. The top of the list is going to the beach. The bottom of the list is walking downtown/sitting by the river. Eating is in the middle.

So for today's post, my top 5 favorite restaurants:

1) The Little Dipper: a local fondue place with a lot of character and $8 ladies nights.
2) The Basics: a southern food establishment downtown that has the best brunch ever.
3) Sweet and Savory: I'll forgive them for naming my favorite sandwich "Babe the Pig." (Although I tell them every time the name bothers me. Who wants to eat that cute little pig?) Also, it's close to the beach.
4) Our Crepes and More: a crepe place. All of the workers are French, so I'm sure you couldn't find a better crepe, even across the pond.
5) Flaming Amys: a burrito place. It has the most character of any burrito place I've ever been to. Sorry, Flying Burrito.

Airlie Concerts

2011-06-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, Tim and I went to a concert at Airlie Gardens (the "Quintessential Southern garden in Wilmington") with our church group known as "The Situation," "The Contemporaries," or "The Aging 20/30s Group Which Now Has 40's In It."

The garden hosts concerts twice a month in the summer. These concerts compete with two other free concerts that also happen on Friday night. One is downtown, where you can buy expensive beer and listen to awesome cover and tribute bands while the sun sets on the Cape Fear River. The other concert is near the movie theater, with blowup castles for kids to bounce around on, and a few other planned activities.

You have to pay to get into Airlie. It's a private garden, after all. And the music is mostly forgettable. But there is something so wonderfully North Carolinian about the experience. If someone wanted to see the Old South's existence in modern days, these concerts would be the place to spot it.

You had to ride a trolley to get there. People brought tables and tablecloths for their picnics. They brought expensive wines and cheese and fruits to picnic on. People drank their wine out of glass goblets. Women wore dresses, and children ran around in sun hats. Everyone made the rounds, socializing with the neighbors they spotted around the tree, or they networked in the one area reserved for First Citizen Bank's customers. The whole field was full of people, and you could smell the gentle salt breeze from the cove beside the gardens. If you were to walk around the gardens, you might see an alligator or ibis or some other fantastic coastal or southern animal.

Our group was no so sophisticated. Some of us wore dresses, but we sliced our cheese on the cooler lid and passed it around with a bag of pretzels. We bought frozen ice that turned our teeth red. After it was over, some of us went to eat at a Mexican restaurant.

And really, I prefer the downtown concerts. But I've lived in the South my whole life and never felt quite the environment I did at Airlie. For a few seconds, it made me nostalgic for old Savannah (a time I've never experience). It's funny how moving away from a place can do that to you.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

to a truly wonderful dad! (A picture from back in the day.)

And to my father-in-law! (also truly wonderful!)

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

2011-06-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

We move in 1 month!

The only thing I am excited about is packing up my books, because that means I get to reorganize them.

a dad funny

2011-06-11T17:23:00.001-07:00

http://www.fraseology.com/Site/Fraseology/Entries/2011/6/11_Great_Scott%21.html#

A Misinterpretation

2011-06-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Legion. The name of the soccer field. And...

Luke 8:30: Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him.

Soccer Season

2011-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

As you might have picked up, Tim has become a fan of soccer since we've lived in Wilmington. It's growing on me. For one, I really don't like baseball. I used to like going to baseball games because it was fun to sit outside and be entertained, but even that has been pushing it lately. Cue soccer, which has a similar season to baseball, yet actually has action at all times and doesn't go on thirty innings if no one has scored.

For two, I like the idea of soccer. Rowdy fans across the world! Men wearing scarves for their team! Extreme national pride! Trading to other countries and breaking down borders! People SINGING the whole game. They (usually) don't do that in America, but imagine how much fun that would be if you got to sing the whole game!

For three, Wilmington has the lowest level professional team. Cary, which is about 30 minutes from Chapel Hill, has the next level up professional team. And soccer games are the same price as going to the movies, but you get to talk and people watch during them.

Here is a picture of every mascot the Wilmington Hammerheads could get their hands on, dancing to 50 cent for the birthday of the main mascot, Sledge. And America's Best Dance Crew: Bert, Ernie, The Easter Bunny, Another Random Shark, Little Ceasar, Sports Clip Guy, and who knows who that other dude is.

I really just can't stop saying

2011-06-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

how much I love Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Ricks = Best Bakery Ever

2011-06-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

Look! It's my thesis looking like a real book. But it's a CAKE! And unlike most decorative cakes, this cake tasted dang good. There will never ever ever ever ever ever be a bakery that holds a place in my heart like Rick's. And I even worked in a bakery!

Also, major props to my parents, who ordered the amazing cake, and organized the whole party weekend. I'm going to graduate every three years.

Where everybody knows your name

2011-06-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

4 hogsbreath hamburgers, please.

A big congratulations

2011-06-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

First order of business is to send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Kari and Nick who are engaged. Kari's ring is absolutely stunningly gorgeous, and Nick is the best drummer on Rock Band that I've ever seen, and is also a wonderful guy. Yay! Excitement!

Also, I have the most supportive family ever. Consider this like a museum exhibit of people I lean on. They all came to Fayetteville, AR to eat dinner with me, all because I spent three years trying to be a better writer. And I love them.

Jesse Baker

2011-06-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of the bummer parts of living so far away from Arkansas is that you don't get to meet a BFF's child until he is 4.5 months old. And just think of how much he'll change until the next time I see him!

Jesse is much more adapt at taking a wrap around picture, as demonstrated here. He is the only person looking in the correct place. Allison and I are focusing on the image that the front of my camera shows.

Current Mood

2011-06-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Remember how Xanga used to have "current mood" and "listening to" or "currently watching," etc.? Well, right now I am watching Jurassic Park. I remember my dad reading this book out loud me. I remember getting to watch the movie in theaters even though I wasn't 13. I remember going as a very realistic dinosaur that Halloween. I could keep listing all of the positive memories I have of this movie, because they are numerous.

But instead I'll tell you about the adventurous job interview I had today. Thankfully, I decided to leave early for Chapel Hill, because there were a few setbacks. First I typed in the address on TomTom only to discover the street wasn't recognized by the GPS (thank goodness I checked before I got on the road). So I went in and wrote down the directions, then made it to the first gas station outside of town to discover I had left my purse at the apartment when returning for directions (thank goodness I stopped at the first gas station instead of one an hour down the road). So then I had to drive the 15 minutes back to Apt. E, then stopped at a different gas station further down the road, only to stop in a stall with no toilet paper. But I made it!

In the meantime, partly trying to find a job, but mostly the music from Jurassic Park makes me really want to do something big in life. Either that, or live in Universal Studios and ride the JP ride everyday. LA or Orlando, I don't even care.

ADDITION: Jurassic Park derives about .1% of the conflict from romantic tension. That's amazing and wonderful. It's nice to have a movie where the two lead characters are in a happy relationship the whole movie.

SECOND ADDITION: My dad just emailed me this fun YouTube video about mistakes in the movie. Because as much as I love the movie, I also love finding mistakes in movies. Who doesn't?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1D-_BjYv_k&feature=player_embedded#at=53

Wolverine

2011-05-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

I happened to meet Theron the first week he came to work at our dear apartments. He said he had just gotten out of a long-term relationships, then followed his brother from California to North Carolina. He once owned his own construction company, but because of the change of events, he was now the head maintenance man of our complex.

But I know the real story. He's Wolverine. Everything about him looks like Wolverine. He has the sidechops (that's really the best way to describe them), the swagger walk, the brown hair/eyes, the grizzled look, he's the perfect age, etc. Plus, his name is Theron.

I don't have a picture of Wolverine because I'm scared to sneak a picture. But I've decided to make that my mission before moving in mid-July. In the meantime, I'll show you a picture of the first hibiscus bloom of 2011 (which happened way back in early March).

I'm blogging a lot lately. That's what being done with school and unemployed/part-time-working-from-home does to you.

Another reason I like Tim

2011-05-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

All of my favorite friends have obsessive personalities. Right now Tim is on a River Monsters kick. Not only is it cute to watch him scare himself (and me) with all of the nasty dudes out there, but it also makes me feel better about the weird things I get stuck on.

A turning moment

2011-05-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

also known as: The Day The Beach Was Too Cold, part II.

Anna had told the car tune-up place she didn't need her car for the day (because we were going to the beach), so after our trip to ~~the beach~~ Antarctica, we still had hours to kill. We watched Dogs: Decoded (Nova), How Smart Are Animals (Nova again), and Oceans (Disney, and far less satisfying than Nova or Planet Earth). Because that is how exciting our friendship is once school is over and we are both unemployed.

But seriously, you guys, How Smart Are Animals changed my life. I am pretty sure I will think back in twenty years and remember the moment I found out dolphins are going to take over the world. You'll have to watch it for yourself (its on Netflix instant watch), but it basically went something like this:

To test to see if dolphins were truly intelligent or just following orders dumbly, two dolphin trainers taught their dolphins sign language, two of which were "create a trick" and "together." So at the same time, side-by-side, the trainers told two dolphins to create a trick together.

The dolphins went underwater, talked their little dolphin talk, then rose to the surface on their backs, and lifted their tails AT THE SAME TIME.

Did you get that? Dolphins have their own language, and are just humoring humans. The time is short before they say, "So long and thanks for all the fish."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojydNb3Lrrs

(This post is partly inspired by Towel Day.)

The Saga of the Pea Green Bookshelves

2011-05-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

In college, Kari bought a black entertainment center, so my roommate contribution was to buy two black media shelves to store things for the entertainment center. They were cheap, bought more for the functionality of a few years of moving around rather than permanence. And they've served us well, but at Christmas we bought a brown entertainment center, which doesn't match black shelves. I thought about selling them, then ended up just moving them.

But then I started thinking, since I'm not so very attached to them, maybe I could paint them my favorite color and love them. (My favorite color is the shade of green of this flower vase.)

So I painted them. First with a spray paint, which turned a perfect shade of green. But after barely making a dent with two cans of spray paint, and upon discovering that all paint stores were out of that shade of spray paint, I decided to match the color with normal paint.

Except, of course, I didn't pick the exact same color. I'm not such a fan of how they turned out. The green is a little too yellowish green for me, and reminds me this much of baby food.

I haven't put the shelves back, so you'll have to use your imagination.

But that's okay! Because its not like its a completely heinous color, and the shelves were never expensive to begin with, so they are what they are.

And because I had to unload all of my photo albums to paint the shelves, I figured I would go ahead and pick them up, since photo albums are not anything of daily use. So, SADNESS, here are our first packed boxes:

The countdown begins!

2011-05-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

6 months until the new Muppet movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CloKbXtD28&feature=player_embedded

We aren't undergraduates

2011-05-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Anna and I went to the beach today while her car was getting work done. It was a beautiful day, sunshine and a high of 80, but Wrightsville Beach is windy. Always. I know days are Very Windy when my plants ten miles inland get knocked down, and today they tumped over multiple times.

But we didn't know it was that windy until we got to the beach. Slowly we added layers until we were sitting with all of our clothes on and towels wrapped around the other exposed parts. I looked around the crowded beach and saw ten zillion shirtless guys and girls in bikinis just lying there without a care in the world. No one looked cold. Not even a little bit. And Anna and I were contemplating going home, since we just weren't prepared mentally or physically for being cold in the beginning of summer.

"Can't anyone acknowledge that it's just the least bit cold out here?" I asked, mostly to myself, secretly wanting an answer.

Of course no one did. There were too many rays to soak, wind and cold or not. We went home anyway, because we live at the beach and can take it for granted every now and then.

Tapas

2011-05-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, my friend Rachel organized a tapas excursion. According to wikipedia, the serving of tapas is to encourage conversation because people aren't so focused on the meal in front of them. The restaurant said that tapas were actually salty food items served on top of wine glasses that would increase patron's thirst and want to make them buy more wine.

With that said, I LOVE IT. When I rule the world, all meals will either be tapas or fondue. Or else it will be mandated that meals will be abolished and people will just snack throughout the day. I just love sharing food, only eating a few bites of this and that, venturing to try things I wouldn't have normally, rich foods, etc.

Signs of the End Time

2011-05-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, the world might be ending soon (May 21st, to be precise). With this in mind, our atomic clock has been going crazy. About a week ago, we noticed that it was off by a few hours, although the minute hand was still correct. This means it was still pretty functional in my mind, because I am rather anal about knowing what time it is, and the minute hand is what I look at most often, since I am generally aware of the hour.

Then yesterday, I heard what I thought was was either the stove clicking or a phone vibrating, but what turned out to be our atomic clock speeding through time. The minute hand was going around about twice as fast as the second hand normally would. Then it stopped very definitively at 8:04, although it was 4:30 in the afternoon. After this episode, it keep accurate but incorrect time (as in, a minute was a minute, an hour was an hour, etc.).

So that night, Tim changed it back to the correct time.But no avail. It was incorrect about 4 hours later.

Has anybody else seen signs of the end time?

Weekend Visitors

2011-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

The past weekend we enjoyed a lovely trip from Karen and Mema. I think you could sum the trip up as we ate a lot, we shopped a lot, and we played a lot of cards. What more could a person want to do? It was delightful.

And Wilmington is really the best place to eat. I know everyone talks about the food in Italy and France, but I think Wilmington could give them a run for their money. Someone told me that Wilmington was in the top 20 cities of restaurants to people ratio, and most of these restaurants are local. So if you haven't been yet, come to Wilmington this summer for a free beach vacation and delicious food. No really! Come on! It's your last chance!

Hello free time

2011-05-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

This week is a holiday in South Korea (HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!) and all of my classes, parties, and thesis responsibilities cease to exist, and we no longer have company, thus yesterday I had a whole day to do nothing but what I wanted to do for the first time in what felt like 10 years.

So last night I watched a random show for the heck of it, and I happened to land on Extreme Couponing. Talk about a stressful experience. For one, these people spend hours planning their shopping experience. I am pretty neutral about grocery shopping (unless going to the Wilmington Wal-Mart, in which case, I hate it, although I recognize it as a necessary evil). I occasionally make a list, but usually only if Tim has requested certain things, which makes it mandatory I'd forget something otherwise. I mean, I don't even make lists for things I want to cook. I usually just bring in the whole cookbook. I admire these people for spending hours planning their purchases, but I think I felt a fraction more anxiety than respect.

Anyway, for two, these people have to stockpile a zillion things in their houses. I wanted to clean out my cabinets just thinking about it. For three, now I feel like I'm spending way too much on groceries. These people could get $1,000 tabs down below 50 dollars.

There was one guy who couponed to send supplies to the troops, and that I could get behind, because there really would be a reason to buy 23 tubes of toothpaste. And like I said, I admire these people on some level, but I don't think I'll be watching the show again (unless it happens to be on and I won't be able to look away).

Hey you guys!

2011-05-05T06:16:00.001-07:00

I am completely done with my MFA degree.

Unlike the dinosaurs...

2011-04-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Jesus is alive!

Happy Easter Weekend!

The Beckham Experience

2011-04-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Virginia asked me how the Beckham experience was. In a word: rowdy.

Here's the article that describes it best. I won't go into it in my own words because, well, I don't know that much about soccer. I was, however, a little disappointed that Landon Donovan didn't play, because while I don't know soccer, I do know celebrities.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/avi_creditor/04/10/mls.snaps/index.html?eref=sihp

Becks wore sleeves the whole time, so you couldn't see his tats. Also, doesn't his hair seem longer than normal?

Tim and I were done tromping around DC around 4:30 in the afternoon, and the game was at 7:30. All I wanted at that point was a cupcake. We thought about finding a restaurant or something around Foggy Bottom, but instead we decided to head to the stadium and relax in the restaurants/bars/cafes/etc. that would be around there.

Only we arrived at the stadium and there is nothing around. DC United did have a pretty fun tail-gaiting section, and I think that was the point where we could most vividly see ourselves living in DC and hanging out with hipsters who wear soccer scarves and play corn-hole before games. But I was also cold and tired, and maybe this much cranky about the general lack of cupcakes in the area. Nevertheless, a fun experience.

TFA Explained

2011-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should be super secret about this post, because I know from experience that blogs where people discuss Teach for America come up on Google blogs and get a million hits, so they rise even higher, because insane people like me are out combing the internet for a clue, any clue, about how to get what we want (in this case, TFA).

So anyway, I applied for TFA out of college and didn't make it. I applied for an MFA program and did make it. Going to UNCW is in the top 5 best decisions of my life (also on the list: marrying Tim, attending the University of Arkansas, studying abroad in Australia, and getting involved with the Wesley Foundation).

But now that UNCW is about to end, I am faced with the prospect of working another minimum wage job, as I have done so often here in Wilmington. I thought TFA was a good alternative, and I have to admit, I wanted to avenge that failure. I made it this time, and they placed me in my preferred region, Eastern North Carolina, and my preferred grade, high school. The perfect place for me to have a job that used my education and Tim to go to his favorite grad school.

And it was so nice to be around TFA people. They were articulate, they sent funny yet moving emails, I could hear the passion in their voice, and the whole thing really felt life-affirming. Let me say it now: I'm glad these people are out there in our education systems.

But I turned them down. Everyone I talked to worked 10+ hour days. That should be good news to all of you out in cyber world... these people are completely dedicated to change! And I know that I was accepted to TFA because I have the same personality as everyone I talked to. I love teaching, and when I take up a cause, I can't let it go. I go insane and thrive in that type of atmosphere. I could happily work 14 hour days and be satisfied; the search for the great achievement is completely thrilling. But, I'm dedicated to Tim. And to my church. And I want to start running again. And I want to have free afternoons, to make up for all of the free afternoons I didn't have in grad school. And what I want right now is to try to be a writer, which requires being selfish about large chunks of time. TFA doesn't have room for people who want to be selfish with huge chunks of time. I know they have a waitlist of people who will be completely unselfish with their lives. I made it off the waitlist for UNCW, and I'll be eternally grateful to the one person who turned it down and gave me their spot.

So maybe I'll be waiting tables in Chapel Hill, because I'll be competing with 500,000 UNC graduates for the same jobs. But that's okay. I'm still young, and if I want to be a teacher, I can get a certificate with one more year of school.

Lately I've been a lot more personal in my blog. I don't think this will be a new thing, but Tim and I are going through a lot of changes right now. So here is our transition stage, laid out for all to see!

defense: passed

2011-04-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

What I was most afraid of was that I would feel discouraged and not want to work on the ideas I already had bouncing around for things I wished to do with my manuscript. I don't feel that at all. I feel like I could write all day! All night! All weekend, all week, all month, all of my life!

Horray for those momentary highs!

The School Saga from A to Z

2011-04-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

It was a long process. Before our trip to DC this past weekend, Tim had narrowed it down to five schools.

George Washington: Because of the proximity to DC, Tim would have better job prospects for national jobs. It is the most expensive, but he had a campus job offer that would reduce tuition by 95%. But, no one had ever gotten the degree and certificate he wanted to get at the same time, so he was a little nervous about how it would work.

George Mason: They have Emergency Management and it also has the DC advantage, but it is still extremely expensive. We felt the campus and Fairfax was nice, but nothing really screamed us to live there. It's also a very large program.

After the trip to DC, these were eliminated. So it came down to...

North Texas: They have the emphasis he wants (Emergency Management), and is the perfect proximity to our beloved parents. It would probably be easier to find a job within Arkansas driving distance after graduation. But, Denton is Denton, which does not compare to Chapel Hill or Wilmington.

UNCW: This is in our most favorite town in the whole wide world (it only beats Fayetteville by .3 points, and only because it had a beach. If everyone I loved in Arkansas would move to Wilmington, my life would be perfect, also because Wilmington is getting a Whole Foods and possibly a Trader Joe's, and it has First Presbyterian Church and a zillion wonderful local restaurants.) It didn't, however, have Emergency Management.

UNC: This is the smallest program. They offered Tim a scholarship. People called him to talk about his decision, and he was able to meet several students, all of whom he liked. He would be able to get the degree and certificate without problem, and its well-known for its local government emphasis, which is what Tim was interested in (as compared to national, ie DC schools).

So, because we couldn't put UNC's program in the town of Wilmington in the proximity to Arkansas of Denton, we chose UNC.

Go Tar Heels!

Happy Birthday Timoteo

2011-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Grotero

2011-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

As I taught my Korean class last night, I spotted a cockroach crawling around, too close for comfort. I couldn't move because of my class. I just had to sit there and watch it conquer territories in the dining room, until it disappeared behind a bag of soil in the corner. I remembered that cockroaches travel in pairs, that they only come indoors because they are curious creatures, and then they get lost and can't get back outside.

Of course, I forgot about it when class was over. I'm not forgetting it now.

Sad Things About Growing Up

2011-04-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

1) Removing The Doors as my voicemail message after eight years (the whole time I've had a cell phone!).

Thesis Reading

2011-04-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

When I attended a seminar on how to give a good thesis reading, Philip and Clyde's best advice was not to give a reading,but instead, give a performance. So if I look a little upset in this picture, don't worry, it's all part of the performance.

March Madness is over

2011-04-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

At least my March Madness. This past month I have interviewed for jobs, taken the Praxis, started a new Korean semester, and gone on a quick weekend trip. This past week I have turned in my thesis, turned in my last official assignment, and gave my thesis reading. Holy Moly. I feel a thousand pounds lighter.

I thought I'd be jumping around with happiness at finishing all of this. And believe me, I am relieved. I've watched a television show, a movie, and a documentary this morning, and I didn't feel one once of guilt about what I should have been doing. But in place of the pressure I'm feeling quite sad that this whole experience is coming to an end. I feel like I'm just beginning to figure a few things out. Now I need about 10 more years to really get in a routine. So, how about that UNCW? Would you mind extending the program another 8 years?

whoops, 1 post late

2011-03-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is my 301st post!

TimTan...haha, get it? Like TimTam?

Also, I finished another draft of my thesis. 2 down, 10 zillion to go! But my wonderful friends, the Taylors, and Tim helped me celebrate.

Aren't these flowers beautiful? Everyone should place an order at Carolina Beach Blooms.

Mr. Smart

2011-03-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Tim got accepted to all of the schools he applied to! (Well, technically he hasn't heard from Tennessee, but that was at the bottom of his list for whatever reason, so we don't feel like it counts.)

Where will we be this time next year? Wilmington? DC? Chapel Hill? Denton? Fayetteville? Those are the front runners, in no particular order.

March Madness

2011-03-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

I really love March Madness. College basketball is my favorite sport in general, and I think the tournament is the best thing the sporting world has ever produced. The storylines, the buzzer beaters, the giants toppling, the four games going on at once, ahhh!

We're living in the heat of the UNC/Duke rivalry. It was especially fun this year, as both teams were really good. They played each other three times before the season, and could have played a fourth if Duke hadn't of lost in the Sweet Sixteen. I was a fan of JJ Redick in his day, so I've always aligned myself as a Duke fan. But last night we watched the game with other young couples from our church, most of whom were UNC alums, and since Tim is considering UNC.... well....don't tell my fellow Duke fans, but I think my allegiance switched. (Plus, I'm a little mad at Duke, because I had them winning the whole thing and they let me down. But I'll always love Coach K, who loves college basketball maybe a little more than I do, since he's stuck around all this time. I love a good story of loyalty. And I will also love JJ Redick, even though we're both married now.)

2011-03-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Bulgogi....mmmmm

2011-03-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Tim and I decided to go out for dinner. Tim suggested iHop, because we seriously love that place, and also we had a gift card, but I had made breakfast for lunch so I suggested a Korean place I had been wanting to try. Tim has come a long way with eating Asian food since I've met him. In fact, as he pointed out while we were eating, the last three times we have gone out to eat have been to Asian places. (To be fair, all of the others someone else suggested and we just went along with. I'm not trying to cram sushi down Tim's throat).

We had a wonderful time until we got the bill, which was much more than we expected. That's what happens when you get a menu with just pictures, no prices.

But oh well! We were extravagant one night of our lives. I start my Korean classes this week, and I think that the bulgogi I ate will bring me good luck. Mmmm, bulgogi.

(I really wanted to take a picture of this, but I forgot I had taken my camera out of my purse for the scary interview. I promise, blog pictures coming soon.)

Changing Doorknobs is for the Birds

2011-03-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Tim and I are a lot of great things, but handy men we aren't. About eleven days ago the doorknob to front door fell off (and by front door, I mean the only door to the outside). I simply walked through late on a Saturday night, and when I took my hand away the doorknob came off with it.

So that Monday I put in a maintenance request with our apartment, because that is the joy and happiness of being renters. A week and a half passed and there were no signs of it getting fixed. We used the doorknob like a key, just attach it to the door and turn to be let in. We carefully propped it up so you couldn't tell it wasn't attached before we left. It was inconvenient, but not hindering.

But yesterday I asked Tim to come outside to help me rehang a bird feeder that a squirrel had knocked down. We we went to go back inside and the doorknob had completely fallen off on the inside. There was nothing to turn. We were essentially locked out of our house.

Tim walked to the office building to check on the status of our maintenance request. We thought about leaving, but all of the keys were inside. When the maintenance man finally did let us inside (on the first try with a good pair of pliers), we knew we would just leave, because Tim had to eat lunch and I had to go to work, and there wouldn't be time before the doorknob got fixed.

Except, of course, that Theron finished fixing the doorknob before we could gather up purses/keys/wallets.

Anyone want to lend some social skillz?

2011-03-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I had a job interview that required a teaching presentation, a group activity, a multiple choice quiz, and a one-on-one interview. Whew! I felt the teaching presentation went well, and the rest of the day just went.

If you read my blog, you probably know these two things about me: I'm prone to shyness and I'm an extreme internal processor (that is, I think about what I want to say, and then sometimes say it, sometimes not. I've learned this is often the case with internal processors.... once we come to a conclusion, it satisfies us, while everyone around us are left wondering what is going on/this is so awkward).

It's never kept me from trying a new experience or making friends or anything, but it has kept me quiet in classes, or on the fringe of a party instead of in the middle of it, which I am okay with. So, I thought I was acting myself in the interview, and things were going more or less well, until the final one-on-one interview.

"Let me ask a question that isn't on the standard list of questions," my interviewer said. "I find you a compelling candidate (for a few reasons) but you seem so nervous. Tell me something that will convince me that that won't be a problem."

Could there be a question that could make me even more nervous? Pardon me, Allison, you have seemed really nervous all day, but here is your one shot to get this job if you can talk about why you were nervous without completely losing your nerves.

I don't think I pulled out the best answer. I told them I was shy, but not nearly as shy as I had been. I don't think this job wants shy people. But I always remind myself that Flannery O'Connor was shy and awkward too, and now it's a nice anecdote about her, not a reason for scorn or anything.

High School Time Warp

2011-03-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here is the thing about this past semester. I have thought entirely too much about high school. Since November I've had a job where I read UNCW undergraduate applications for the Admissions Department. I have to fill in the student's major classes into a form, asses the quantity/quality of their extracurriculars, then read their essay and recommendation and rate those. It's a little bit of glorified data entry, but I find it oddly appealing because I have seven minutes to get a picture of someone's life, then recommend acceptance or no to UNCW based on that. So every time I type in AP Government, I think about my own AP Government class (bad experience). Or, whenever someone gets to take Studies in Short Fiction, I think, geez, I wish we had that class when I was in high school. I promise, there is not a minute of high school that I still remember that I haven't thought of while working this job.

This past Saturday I took the Praxis II and it was the total pinnacle of reliving high school. (This is the test that tests content knowledge for the subject your interested in teaching. I took the English Language, Literature, and Composition test for 7-12th grade.) Technically, having a bachelor's degree in English with a few education classes (which I don't have, but most of which were common sense questions) prepares you to take the test. Well, I don't think my bachelor's degree did me much good, because it seemed like most of the test was over stuff I learned in high school. I know this makes a little sense, because it's what you would teach to high schoolers, but I know some of that stuff is subjective. As in, all the books I read in college were perfectly capable of being taught in high school, but I just happened to read some in college, and others in high school, and the test was entirely over the things I learned in high school.

But in a weird way, it was fun. Creative Writing is so subjective, it was nice to take a multiple choice test where I knew most of the answers. But I wonder what I would have scored if I took it right out of high school. That would be interesting.

Tuesday Night Shannigans

2011-02-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

At Bible study last night the host's dog started barking outside and wouldn't stop. Kyle, the homeowner, went out to see what was going on, and Lauren, the other homeowner, explained that, while they loved their neighborhood, the house across the street was a sketchy situation. After a few domestic disturbance events, some of the car window's in the sketchy house's driveway had been busted in yesterday. But the only thing anyone could see was that one of the guys was outside smoking, and Bible study finished as normal.

Tim and I get into our car, parked in the street across from their driveway, and drove away. Tim thought one of the back windows was down because there was a faint noise of air. We pulled into a parking lot and checked it out. Our back driver's side back door had been completely smashed in. A large white car had obviously backed into it. There wasn't a streetlight and we just hadn't seen it.

We went back to Kyle and Lauren's to file a police report. The police officer was an A+ guy. There's more to the story that I don't think I should say, but while we're 97% sure about what car did it, there's nothing we can do if we don't have proof: a smashed bumper with some red paint. So hopefully that will come, as it might make dealing with the insurance a little easier. Whatever the case, there's a lot to be thankful for in this situation, even though before the event I was already feeling maxed out on what I could handle. Some times in life are just like that! But don't worry....we bought Just Dance 2 with bonus points from Best Buy, so we'll relieve all further stress by dancing it out.

Valentine to Titus (my bike)

2011-02-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

I don't understand
you, but you make me feel so
fit, chic, green. Young love.

On that note, why do people hate Valentine's day? Sure, it's a consumer holiday, but is society telling you to spread love such a bad thing? Single Awareness Day is for the birds (or something less cute than birds). People should exchange Valentine's Day cards every month. In fact, if you want a monthly Valentine, let me know.

Valentine to the Internet

2011-02-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

At what magnitude
do you start feeling earthquakes?
You'll not let me down.

(tomorrow finishes a week of Valentines. I hope you all had a week full of your own lovely loves!)

Valentine to Coke Zero

2011-02-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Every day I wish
you were like water and I
could drink only you.

Valentine to my Valentine

2011-02-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

You laughed with me when
I cried through Toy Story 3.
Now that's supportive.

Valentine to my Word Processor

2011-02-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today I think I'll
move this paragraph four times.
You let me do that.

Valentine to Tim's Sports Teams

2011-02-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Rangers, Packers, Hogs:
That'll do, teams. That'll do.
Now rest and repeat.

Valentine to my Phone Battery

2011-02-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Labeled "eco," so
your battery lasts a week.
My love goes longer.

Congratulations, Packers!

2011-02-07T06:18:00.000-08:00

Last night Tim and I donned all of our Green Bay gear (tee-shirts, zip hoodies, and the cheese-head, which we took turns wearing) and went to two different parties, both with spectacular food and company.

And the game. What a game! We both had headaches at the end of the night. I don't think our bodies could handle all of the tension. Some things are easier when it's not your team playing. It's a good thing such large things happen only once a year.

I tried to convince people to root for Green Bay by pointing out the Steeler's personal flaws, which I feel bad about now. But seriously, people, in case you missed it, Tim went to Green Bay and saw them play this year! He saw the super bowl champions in their full form!

Happy Lunar New Year!

2011-02-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

Happy year of the rabbit!

My students didn't show up to class today (understandable, it's a public holiday in Korea). If they had, we would have made some fortunes for fake fortune cookies.

Have any you would like to share?

Hello There World

2011-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

It feels a little self-righteous to announce my presence back in the blogger world, especially since I haven't really been gone. It's just that it's been so COLD here that I try to avoid going outside, which means my life is pretty boring. Perhaps people in Fayetteville are rolling their eyes right now, but it's snowed three whole times in Wilmington, which is exactly two too many times for my tastes.

But in the meantime, some of my finer accomplishments (because if announcing your return wasn't too self-absorbed, listing favorite accomplishments is totally normal, well-adjusted behavior):

I turned in my thesis (I feel horrible about it, if you're curious, but I still have a good month to fix things up.)

I navigated from Chapel Hill to Durham all by myself with ONLY A MAP. Both of my parents, who know my abilities and limitations, insisted I personally could fix the fuse that is causing TomTom not to charge in my car, but doing that would have required finding a car service shop to buy the fuse in Chapel Hill, which is impossible with my lacking skills of navigation. Which is why finding Duke's campus and downtown Durham is worth celebrating.

I changed two bike tubes without completely holding my breath the whole time. Sometimes when I'm working on my bike, I wonder why I'm starting to feel dizzy, only to realize I've been holding my breath. But I'm working on it. Now I only hold my breath when I'm reattaching brakes.

I've come really close to identifying all of the birds at my feeders. I wish I could show you all of the birds that come. They're eating me out of house and home, but they only love me because of my food, and I'm desperate for an animal to love me, so I'll keep providing it. Plus, they're really cute.
(which reminds me, appropriate for this blog design: http://www.ifc.com/videos/portlandia-put-a-bird-on-it.php )

Tim's team is in the super bowl! Not my accomplishment, but notable.

Snow Day

2011-01-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

Today it snowed in Wilmington, and Tim had his first ever snow day from work. (Well, he had to go in for about two hours, long enough to cancel all the appointments and whatnot, but that barely exists in my mind because I slept late and woke up just as he was getting home. Thank you for announcing you were closed the day before, UNCW!)

I went outside for maybe 10 seconds, long enough to feed the birds. Because some snow days are play outside days, and other snow days are watch the birds and National Geographic documentaries from the couch days.

The Great Debate

2011-01-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

Tim and I are having a debate. There's no right or wrong answer, but I'm curious about your opinion.

If you had to spend 3,000 dollars on an animal, which would you rather have?

A Bengal cat?

Picture from: http://our-cats.com/2010/03/bengal-cat-and-kittens-breed-information-pictures-and-videos/

Or a micro pig?

Picture from: http://www.nutrecareblog.com/tag/micro-pigs-2/

Both are pretty awesome, I know.

What My New Years Resolutions Actually Are

2011-01-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

1) Write more letters. I don't think this actually benefits anything, but it's something I like to do, and since people will be moving after they graduate, I want to stay in touch. I don't expect anyone will respond, but it's a nice way to sit and reflect on life.

2) Write more. I wrote more in 2010 than ever before, which is good. But the summer of 2010 is on the low list of favorite summers, and did not include much writing at all. I hope I find balanced routine when I graduate. (The one aspect that pulls summer 2010 up are all of the visitors we had. Yay visitors! Everyone come visit Wilmington this summer! What brought it down was working a job that I liked but had a stressful deadline, along with working a job that I didn't like for various reasons, yet took up all my time. Oh well, lesson learned!)

3) Go to the beach more. Because that's my favorite place in the world, and sharing a car and having a husband who doesn't quite buy into the idea that a perfect day is just sitting for six to eight hours are not good excuses to get my booty down there as much as possible.

4) Read the Bible more. If only I didn't have to put this on my list most years.

What My New Years Resolutions Should Be

2011-01-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

1) Stop drinking so much diet coke (and other diet varieties)
2) Stop pining after dresses online that you will never be able to afford to buy.
3) Stop looking at future dogs on the internet, and be happy you just have a place to live.
4) Stop freaking out about how there are ten million writers better than you out in the world, because you are 25 and still have room to grow, even though 25 is the same age Michael Chabon and Flannery O'Connor were when they published their first novel.

But what I should do isn't always what I actually do.

Good News

2010-12-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Who got accepted to grad school this week?

This guy did.

Odds

2010-12-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here thinking, what are the odds of encountering two broken heaters during abnormally cold conditions in one winter season? when I realized I had never said anything about Thanksgiving. Travesty.

There's not much to say except that it was wonderful and everything I hoped it would be, except for our cabin had a broken heater. I got to see family and friends, hike, eat a lot, read, sit around a fire, listen to football games, and other life affirming moments.

And now I'm out of school, and it's wonderful and everything I hoped it would be, except now our heater is broken, which we only realized today when we broke down and decided to turn it on. But always, the good outweighs the bad, so it's fine and snuggly.

2010-12-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

After the Advent lighting travesty, I went to the Advent festival and made my own wreath.

All of the women said, "Oh, you did such a good job this morning!" That was worrisome, because I don't speak old women yet, and I don't know if there was Southern sarcasm in that. I think I'm being overly paranoid. But I like these women because they speak their mind and scoff at Martha Stewart and say, "My daughter would never let me look like that," which is oddly comforting to me.

Tis the Season

2010-12-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, the curriculum director at our church asked Tim and I if we wanted to light an advent candle (that is, stand in front of the church, read a little script about Advent season, and light a purple candle in a wreath). Well, technically, she asked if we wanted to the backup readers. She had already asked two people, but she hadn't heard from them.

We agreed, and I admit I was a little disappointed when we found out we were staying on the bench. Both people said yes, but she would put us on the list for next year.

Last week, however, we got an email asking if we could light the candle this Sunday, the Sunday before the one we were on call for. We agreed, happy to make it off the wait list.

Now, we were already at a disadvantage, because beside the important symbolic act of lighting the candle, the second most important thing is to have small children that will inevitably be adorable when they say their line. Thankfully we were delegated the early service, a service without as much gusto as the main service.

We arrived to our reserved pew (it even had the fancy sign on it!) and noticed the lighter and the acolyte candle. Tim said we should just use the lighter, but we go to a church where every Sunday men wear suits and ties, it's acceptable for women to wear Sunday hats, and the choir performs an anthem that could be on a movie soundtrack, so I thought, this is not a church where one lights the Advent candle with a lighter, we much use the alcolyte candle. Why else would it be there?

So you can probably tell where this is going.

My brain said "no, no, no!" but my fingers didn't listen and accidentally hit the knob that snuffs the candle out, right before Tim read the line, "we light this candle..."

I scurried back to the pew to grab the lighter and was still able to light the candle almost on cue, as the actual lighting of the candle is only the most important part of being the Advent candle lighter. It was not, however, done gracefully, and I felt shame. I came off the bench and didn't quite deliver.

Of course, my church isn't judgemental, and the pastor admitted (only when I brought up the snafu) that it happens almost every week, and he remembered he should have warned us that the candle burned out quickly as we approached the stand, which was of course too late. The woman I sat next too had a long list of Advent candle lighting stories where everything worked out much worse than my mistake did, and we both laughed at how such a simple act can produce so many things that go wrong.

But the main lesson of the story: don't light the Advent candle unless you have little children. They will steal the show and no one will care about you, and also, if something goes wrong, you can blame them.

Also, I hope this doesn't ruin my chances of making it off the bench for the handbell choir.

In case anyone was wondering

2010-11-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

I thought this Harry Potter movie was better than the book.

6 degrees of Arkansas

2010-11-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

I want to play a game to see if I can connect myself to anyone who has roots in Arkansas. So far, I am 1 for 1, thanks to the wonderful Amanda Cofer.

It starts at the eye doctor's (again). It only took a week and a half of having to wear only my glasses to decide buying a new pair with the right prescription was worth the money. (Remember the eye virus that was not herpes?) So I went in and someone was shadowing my eye doctor.

(And a quick aside about this eye doctor trip. He recommended having a picture taken of the inner eye, because they can find out all kinds of things about your brain and blood and skin by looking around. It turns out I have a freckle on the back of my eye. Isn't that crazy? You can have freckles there just like anywhere else in your body. And like everywhere else, these freckles aren't inherently dangerous, but you have to watch and see if they morph into melanoma, so in fact, I'll be having many future pictures of my inner eye.)

Anyway, that has nothing to do with the story I'm trying to tell, except for the fact that there was this guy, not an eye doctor, shadowing my eye doctor for some reason I don't know and might not ever know. He ended up leaving at the same time as me, and casually asked if I was from Wilmington.

"No," I said. "I've lived here about two and a half years. I'm originally from Arkansas."

"No way!" he said. "Where in Arkansas?"

"Fayetteville." I never know how much I need to describe where Fayetteville is. But this guy knew.

"No way!" he said.

It turns out, when he was a junior in college, he had met a girl on a cruise who had just graduated Searcy High School. She was headed toward college in Fayetteville, and they had had a romance. It eventually fizzled out, as they were young and lived in different states, although they did manage to visit each other after the initial meeting. But, he said, he had been trying forever to find out what/who she became. He kept insisting he was happily married, and that he was pretty sure she was also happily married, but he just wanted to know.

I could totally understand. So I wrote down her name, he immediately friended me on facebook, and I told him I was about 85% sure I could track down this girl.

It wasn't hard. I called Cofer and my mom, and Cofer made the connection. It turns out Cofer's mom know this girls mom, and within seven hours, I had a name and number for this guy.

So: this guy in the parking lot --> me --> Cofer --> Cofer's mom --> the girl's mom --> this girl.

Who wants to play next?

As a child of 25

2010-11-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Well, now I'm 25, so I can sing with absolute conviction "Chocolate" by Snow Patrol.

More notably, I now know about more of the history of Old Wilmington, thanks to the ghost tour Tim and I went on. Our tour guide was a profession actor. He said his favorite movie he was in was Huck Finn, the one with Elijah Wood. But more often, he said, he's the murderer on Unsolved Mysteries. At least he's okay with that.

And I suppose I can forgive everyone for not getting me a dog for my birthday, because otherwise, it was perfect.

UPDATE: I just realized I can now rent a Suburban. Anyone want to road trip?

What they don't tell you about growing up

2010-11-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight Tim drove me to a friend's house so that I could babysit while he went to youth group. While I was there I did my homework and chatted with my mom. Tim came at the very end (to save me the embarrassment of having to wait on him to pick me up) to drive me back home. In the meantime, he played Xbox.

Despite reverting back to junior high, I'm turning 25 next week.

(but, let me say, baby Nicholas is one cute, well-behaved baby.)

Gray

2010-11-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days where I have to talk myself into doing things...anything, really. I even for a moment wondered if I would be fired if I wore a hoodie to teach my Korean class, just this once.

Luckily, I am food motivated.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Aretha Franklin'a inaugural hat

soccer playa

5th Annual

2010-10-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Tim had been prepared since September.

Dumbledore

a reason people should go to church

2010-10-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

My left eye is trying to sabatoge my semester. At various moments in the semester, it turns red (especially on Tuesdays), and occasionally hurts and gives me a headache. But after a week of glasses wearing I can usually get it under control. Last night it started feeling funny, so I took out my contacts earlier than normal, but alas, this morning I woke up to the climax of eye pain.

But, it just so happens that I go to the most educated church ever, and am in a Sunday morning Bible study with two lawyers, the retired head of the English department at Syracuse university, Tim, someone who is also smart but whose profession I don't know, and, EUREKA! an eye doctor! The eye doctor in the closest proximity to my apartment! I didn't go to church because I was sensitive to light and was feeling nauseous (I think my eye and my stomach have an express route, because this happens more than you might think). But the heroic eye doctor was able to diagnose me through the phone and Tim's summary, and he met me at his close office to write a prescription.

It turns out I've had a virus (not herpes, which is the only virus a google search will lead you to believe exists) in my left eye all semester, and an increased sensitivity to the preservatives in the off brand contact solution, which stresses out both of my eyes. So basically the point of this story is that my eyes are drama queens, and somehow know that they have all control over my ability to write and teach, and like to dangle that in front of me. And everyone should stop using offbrand solution because it's not the same, and preservatives are going to destroy all of us!

Some dreams do come true

2010-10-21T05:42:00.001-07:00

A non-graphic story about giving blood

2010-10-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today I gave blood, and immediately after being stuck, the nurse said, "Whoa. WHOA. wow! Did you feel that?"

I've given about two gallons of blood in my life... enough so I wasn't concerned going in, but I was freaking out after the first Whoa. Any physical sensation bottlenecked with panic.

"No," I said, trying to concentrate to see if I felt anything unusual. I didn't.

She said, "The needle just completely turned around."

I just looked at her so she explained further. "Sometimes we just let the needle do what it wants after it goes in, and it just turned completely around. Wow!"

I did want her to elaborate, but I couldn't bear any gross image during the actual giving blood process, so I decided to ask after it ended. Unfortunately, she wasn't there when I finished, so I could never ask.

But, like, whoa! What happened?!?

2010-10-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend I take a test that determines whether or not I can graduate in the spring.

Whoa.

The good and the bad

2010-10-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

The bad: Time Warner cable did something and now we don't get the Oxygen network which means now we don't get SNAPPED, thus killing my fantasy in which I eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and watch Snapped for six hours straight (except for a pause in which I check the mail and have received at least three letters).

The good: The only reason I know this is because UNCW canceled classes because of the rain, and then because of fall break, so I had time to watch television beyond the Thursday night golden hour.

The Creek of The Creek Apartments

The bad: Because of all this rain and closings (22 inches in 4 days!), I went stir crazy.

The good: This weekend was also Riverfest, so I got to fight through the same amount of people in an hour that I would normally have seen in a four day span. Plus, I purchased pumpkin barbeque sauce and jalapeno dill salsa, and they're both amazing.

The bad: Tim and I looked at our living room fan today and noticed it had an appalling amount of dust, and wondered why we hadn't noticed it in the (surely) months it had looked that way.

The good: I've also had time to notice all of the crazy little birds that comes to my porch bird restaurant. Cardinals, hummingbirds, finches, mourning doves, blue jays, and two or three kinds of sparrows have provided me endless entertainment.

The bad: Just like that, I've turned into a crazy bird lady. Or a 90 year old grandmother.

Bring it, TS Nicole

2010-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

The highest score I've ever bowled included no strikes. Granted, the score was only, like, 107, but it was made of all spares and 9's.

Likewise, Wilmington is about to receive it's record amount of rain (after being in a 15 inch drought), surpassing the amount that Hurricane Floyd brought. That's the most destructive Wilmington hurricane.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100929/ARTICLES/100929608/1155?Title=Rain-tonight-could-break-Hurricane-Floyd-record

See. Wilmington and I don't need major events to set high scores.

He's just not that into you

2010-09-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

It's taken me until my mid-20s, but I've figured you out, Fall. Everyone loves you because you're beautiful and a nice change of pace. Suddenly we can open our windows and keep your perfume throughout our house. You bring gifts of football and apple cider and make us remember all the good times we've had in the past, jumping into leaves, carving pumpkins, taking hay rides. I love these days, Fall. It makes me remember what a perfect world it can be

But that's it. It's not like you stick around long. A few weeks for some leaves to change, a few days where we can wear jackets in the morning, tee shirts and jeans comfortably in the day, and then you're out of town, goodbye, see ya later, sucker. And you know what? Even when you're here, you're kind of moody. Cool one day, hot the next. I never know how it's going to be with you.

So I understand. You're just a little fling trying to ruin my one true relationship with summer. So I won't fall for you. Especially since you don't even change the leaves much in Wilmington, and the beach doesn't go anywhere, and I saw an amazing football game in the heat and it was still just as fun. So there.

Does Arkansas Have a Food?

2010-09-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

While I was retrieving my dish from the church potluck last week, an older lady asked me what I had brought. It was couscous with Rotel and garbanzo beans, so I quickly explained I just threw the ingredients together. I knew couscous wasn't the most common of foods, so I tried to explain.

She stopped me. "Rotel?" she asked me to clarify. Apparently, couscous wasn't the confusing factor.

Another Arkansan was standing nearby. "They don't know about Rotel here," she said.

Is this true? Is using Rotel in every other recipe an Arkansas thing?

I thought catfish was our only signature dish.

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

2010-09-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Clear the decks for pleasant action, and drink battle, murder, shipwreck, and hellfire to this day for swashbucklers, filibusters, freebooters, and gentlemen of fortune...or else you'll be blasted to Davy Jones and the death you'll face will make men's blood run cold for a hundred years.

Thesis Freakout 9.13

2010-09-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a problem is it to have a 13 page story that has 9 named characters and a dog?

Embarassing Story

2010-09-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Making pancakes is not a risk free activity, but I have to admit, I did not expect to burn my stomach.

Where I Should Live....

2010-09-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Apparently, right where I was before Wilmington. Who knew.

Fayetteville, Arkansas
Alexandria, Louisiana

Little Rock, Arkansas

Charleston, West Virginia

Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana

Frederick, Maryland

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Monroe, Louisiana

Greenville, South Carolina

Baltimore, Maryland

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Lafayette (Cajun Country), Louisiana

Clarksville, Tennessee

Norfolk, Virginia

Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi

Charlotte, North Carolina

Hampton, Virginia

Gainesville, Florida

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Richmond, Virginia

Raleigh, North Carolina

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Tallahassee, Florida

Find your spot

September 11

2010-09-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Tim and I were talking yesterday about how we are among the youngest that will clearly remember the events of 9/11/01. We were in 10th grade. I'm sure people a few years younger understood and will remember, but around about fifth grade, the details get confusing. I vaguely remember the Oklahoma City Bombing; mostly, I remember my mom's reaction when it happened, and then eventually put the pieces together once they had a suspect.

I don't get tired of telling the story about how I found out the World Trade Center was attacked and how my day preceded. And that makes me glad that, at least for three years, I've lived in a community of story-tellers.

A picture of me in the 10th grade, with the wonderful Stephanie

On a less serious note, I'm also glad that I spent four years in an SEC community. I didn't know a ton when I was in high school, but I knew enough to decide on the University of Arkansas, so.....

Labor Day Reunion

2010-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am thankful for friends across the United States that know the beauty of spending seven straight hours at the beach doing absolutely nothing (besides swimming and flirting/watching-Olivia-flirt with lifeguards.)

Wilmington, NC August 2010

Sydney, Australia March 2007

2010-08-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

So many years later, I sometimes still feel disappointed whenever it comes time to recycle the middle of the paper towels. I remember when paper towels couldn't be finished quickly enough. There were more important things for tubes of cardboard than holding napkins together.

Things That Don't Change in Two Years

2010-08-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of every year, I begin to suspect that my acceptance to graduate school was a fluke, and I start wishing for some terrible, yet curable, disease that allows me to drop out without shame.

Eventually, I get workshopped, it isn't the end of the world, and I remember that UNCW is a supportive program, not a ruthless or competitive one.

But that hasn't happened yet, so if you don't see me, I'll be on WebMD searching my options.