way of the future

I just found out that there's not only one, but two other people that I work with waiting for their spouse/significant other to be accepted into a graduate program next fall. It's a little funny to me that there are three of us in the same boat, and there may be a miniature-mass exodus come August when we all head to some other part of the country with our academically-minded loved ones. At least, assuming that all three are accepted into programs and are funded if need be. It makes work life a little more interesting to wait and see who hears back in the next couple of months. Now that all of the applications are officially submitted, I am anxious to see what happens.

The only spot I was not so sure I'd like is South Bend, Indiana. I still doubt I'd like it that much, but the pluses of being near Canada, Lake Michigan, and Chicago help it out quite a bit. And the fact that it would be the most affordable area for us to live in. Atlanta is another iffy one, I guess. I haven't spent any time there, so I have no idea what to expect if that's where we go. At least it's a big city. Does it ever snow there? Right now I'd move anywhere where it does not snow, because I'm so done with the snow. Anyway, we will just wait and see what happens, and I know this waiting and seeing is going to feel like FOR-EV-ER, in the immortal words of Squints.

By the way, our trip to Europe and the U.A.E. was glorious, spectactular, exhausting, informative, and wonderful. I am writing somewhat of an epic novel about it, and I'm not sure what to do with it. Mostly I write it for my own memories, but I would like to post it on my blog. I think it may take about 3 hours to upload, though. Yikes. Either way, I will get something up.

feverishly packing and cleaning

Quick blog update so that my blog doesn't sit lonely and collecting dust for the next two weeks:

Leaving a day early (tomorrow) for London in a desperate attempt to get the h-e-double-hockey-sticks outta here before we get dumped on with another massive amount of the white stuff that we lovingly call snow.

Had a wonderful Christmas with both families, although it was pretty much a blur. Got my new camera- very excited to inaugurate it in Europe. And the U.A.E.

Hopefully will have lots of stories and pho-tos (saying it Britishly) before MLK day in January.

My mind is going a mile a minute, but I am very sleepy, too. Better finish what I have to do and get to bed.

Cheerio!

oy vey with the snow and the wind

This picture shows the snow on the ground outside my window, and the snow that has been caught by the trees, but unfortunately it does not catch the snowflakes that are whizzing by my window, completely horizontally.*

I may be stuck at work today if this keeps up, in which case I will have to eat paper, drink water from a device I fashion outside my window that will catch the melting snowflakes that may never melt at this rate, and contact Mike via morse code on an old transponder that I will find laying in some obscure storage closet. (I really have no idea what a transponder is or does, or if that is even a real thing.) Hopefully I will make it home safely, but the quietness at the office this time of year really does make my imagination go crazy. It happened last year too- I remember devising escape routes from the Union if any bad guys happened to show up to ruin our Christmas cheer.

*I apologize for the poor quality photo taken from my cell phone. In just a few short days I will hopefully have a Kodak Z612 digital camera in my possession, and my photos will be so beautiful that they will make you cry.

christmas story

'Twas the Tuesday of the work week, and all through the office

Not a creature was stirring, not even a faculty member.

The files were hung in the file drawers with care,

In hopes that I would soon get the files there.

I was nestled all snug in my desk and wishing it were my bed

While visions of a new digital camera danced in my head.

Mike in his flannel shirt and I in my crocheted cap,

Were wishing we could settle down for a long winter's nap.


And so on and so forth.

because hair is the thing that grows back

So. I got my hair cut at lunchtime today. And I went for it. I got the bangs. I have seen a lot of cute quasi-bangs lately, and I decided it was time for me to jump on the bandwagon. Normally I don't fret too much about making drastic changes to my hair, but when the bangs got cut, I felt myself getting a little short of breath. She asked me how much bangs I wanted, and what length I wanted. I really just made a complete guess, and they didn't turn out exactly as I had imagined. Of course, my haircuts never turn out the way I imagine, because I basically envision myself as an entirely different person, usually with dramatic eyebrows and a dramatic jawbone. Who knows why.

I'm a little nervous what Mike is going to think...he is not a fan of the bangs. But I think they are quasi enough that it will be ok...I hope. I am having a difficult time controlling them right now. I also decided to start parting my hair on the side, so I really just don't know what to do with my head right now. I keep trying to make sure that my bangs are ok, that they didn't wander over to some strange spot or fall completely into my eyes. Then I do the horribly annoying, 80's male pop star flick of the head to get them to go back. That is going to have to stop. Quickly.

And for anyone who has seen Dana Carvey's standup routine from about 10 years ago, all I have running through my head is his impression of Marcia Clark: "I'm gonna cut my bangs! I'm gonna cut my bangs!" So, if nothing else, at least my new bangs amuse me.