School has started and the towns of Champaign & Urbana are again under siege. I'm sure that every college town goes through this every August or so, but with a school the size of UIUC, it makes life difficult to get around at times. But that's life.
Cassie is doing well so far with the cancer. She's running around enjoying life, which is exactly what I want her to be doing. Sasha on the other hand has developed allergies to something, probably outdoors. Poor thing is on benedryl three times a day and she's not very happy about being itchy all the time. Hopefully whatever is bothering her will go away soon or stop flowering so that she can get a brake. Guess we'll see.
Nothing really exciting is going on at the moment, which I'm happy about for once. Two fantasy football drafts are at Gene's house this week. Labor day weekend means moving day for a couple we know, which is exciting because then they will finally get a chance to live in the new house they've been building all summer. Then in two weeks, I'm going to a baby shower for one of Gene's coworkers and the next day going to a birthday party for a soon to be one year old.
It kind of blows my mind sometimes how much change has occurred in the past year. Dating, new babies being born, and adjusting to where I'm at now in my life has definitely been a journey. In some ways I miss dating just a little bit in the fact that I don't get to go through that initial encounter of excitement you get when the first date goes well. At the same time I'm not missing trying to figure out the creeps from the nice guys that will actually treat a girl how she's supposed to be treated. And I definitely don't miss the bad first date awkwardness. One thing I do love about being in a relationship is looking forward to seeing that person when I get done with work for the day, whether it's to tell him about the good, bad, or just that I'm glad to be home. I always knew I would look forward to that once things progressed to the point where that was an option, no matter who I was dating. I guess what surprised me was how much it actually means to me, and how much more stable my life feels because of it.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Golf?!?!
Well, I'm back from my vacation to Minnesota. I'm tired but rested. Sometimes it helps to be out of the lab or away from the everyday mess for a while.
On my vacation I got a chance to:
1) go tubing on a innertube on a lake for the first time (which those of you that know I grew up 10 miles from Kentucky Lake will probably find hilarious)
2) Watch a meteor shower
3) Drink alcohol every night except for the night before we headed home
4) Get constant updates from the place that I boarded Cassie to tell me that she was so CUTE! (and thus being spoiled rotten)
5) Learned how to play golf
On my golfing experience, I learned from a golf pro how to hit the ball on the first day with a 7 iron and went to the driving range to shoot half a basket of balls. Day two I learned how to chip and to putt. After the lesson, Gene and I went through the par 3 golf course at the place we were taking lessons at and I didn't do too bad. I hit 2 trees, which I found hilarious. Came within 2 shots of par on most of the holes, and made par on one hole (Gene made par also). And I got sunburned. I've been out in the sun all day ON THE LAKE without sunscreen and no appearance of a sunburn but the minute I step on a golf course I get a sunburn. WTF? Figures. At least I got some color. I still look like a ghost.
So back to work before I know it and maybe I'll work in some time at the driving range. Might as well. The lessons were pretty basic but made sense.
Overall the trip was fun and relaxing. Sure beats my old trips to Virginia that tended to be more stressful than relaxing. It was NOT the company I kept while I was out there but more of the situation of trying to cram in EVERYTHING in such a short amount of time, which tends to happen when you take chunks of time off to visit someone you care about. At this point, I know it was a learning experience and that I'm honestly happy now.
On my vacation I got a chance to:
1) go tubing on a innertube on a lake for the first time (which those of you that know I grew up 10 miles from Kentucky Lake will probably find hilarious)
2) Watch a meteor shower
3) Drink alcohol every night except for the night before we headed home
4) Get constant updates from the place that I boarded Cassie to tell me that she was so CUTE! (and thus being spoiled rotten)
5) Learned how to play golf
On my golfing experience, I learned from a golf pro how to hit the ball on the first day with a 7 iron and went to the driving range to shoot half a basket of balls. Day two I learned how to chip and to putt. After the lesson, Gene and I went through the par 3 golf course at the place we were taking lessons at and I didn't do too bad. I hit 2 trees, which I found hilarious. Came within 2 shots of par on most of the holes, and made par on one hole (Gene made par also). And I got sunburned. I've been out in the sun all day ON THE LAKE without sunscreen and no appearance of a sunburn but the minute I step on a golf course I get a sunburn. WTF? Figures. At least I got some color. I still look like a ghost.
So back to work before I know it and maybe I'll work in some time at the driving range. Might as well. The lessons were pretty basic but made sense.
Overall the trip was fun and relaxing. Sure beats my old trips to Virginia that tended to be more stressful than relaxing. It was NOT the company I kept while I was out there but more of the situation of trying to cram in EVERYTHING in such a short amount of time, which tends to happen when you take chunks of time off to visit someone you care about. At this point, I know it was a learning experience and that I'm honestly happy now.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
No teaching
I managed to get all of the technicalities worked out and I will not be a teaching assistant at the Univ of Illinois during the Fall 2006 semester. My advisor somehow worked out the money so I get the same pay and all I have to do is research, go to seminars, and group meeting. Which also means that I have to get more done which I have absolutely no problem with. I'm being a good little grad student and getting in earlier, staying late, and pushing an amount that's more towards getting things done.
And at the moment, my seminar date is November 8, 2006. Not fun. Guess we'll see what rabbit I pull out of my hat this time.
And at the moment, my seminar date is November 8, 2006. Not fun. Guess we'll see what rabbit I pull out of my hat this time.
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