Archive for May, 2009
- Awake at 4am, lulled back to sleep by the rain.
- Spent much more than I planned at the Dupont market – buffalo burgers, strawberries and more strawberries, broccoli, ZUCCHINI, golden beets, chive blossoms, salad, rhubarb, and basil.
- Finished the rest of the grocery shopping, made pesto, dramatically reorganized the fridge to make 2 shelves work (used to have 3 but one broke), and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom – all before noon!
- Drove all the way to Cherrydale Hardware only to find no 4oz jelly jars. Bought lids and Taco Bell.
- Prepped and canned four pints of strawberry-rhubarb jam. Scraped the pan with some bread from the market. Even better than last year’s batch.
- Transplanted the herbs and the lime tree. Planted lavender seeds – would really, really like it if my kitchen smelled like lavender year round.
- Dinner: spare ribs braised in this and that, broccoli with an amazing vinaigrette, glass of Garnacha.
- Sleepy E.
May 31st, 2009
Erin Fae was here for a couple of days, which was so nice! After every friendo visit, I find myself commenting on how wonderful it is to just sit around and talk with no expectation of doing anything more – just being together and friend-y is enough! This was definitely the case with Erin’s visit.
Last night, in the midst of a torrential downpour, I met Erin at Artomatic for a little while. This was my first time attending Artomatic, so I wasn’t sure what to expect – nor was Erin, who thought from the name that it might have something to do with vending machines dispensing small works of art. Instead, it is nine floors of art and performance in a big empty building in SE with a great view of the Capitol, the ballpark, and the Anacostia River. There were a few things I liked a great deal in the four floors I toured – and a lot of mediocre stuff. We loved the Peeps dioramas and I loved Tigerflight‘s owls (of course). I’d like to go back when I’m not quite so tired and can take it all in – and perhaps see a band and get a cocktail as well.
This morning, we three bleary eyed kids had Crop-to-Cup coffee from Erin’s co-op, ate delicious pancakes with rhubarb compote and amazingly sweet strawberries, and then went to the ZOO! Erin was extremely excited about seeing pandas, and the pandas didn’t disappoint – we got there just after they’d been given bamboo, so we watched the fat bears chomp away for a while. Chomp chomp chomp. I squealed like a little girl about the baby anteater (no, not this one), and in general thoroughly enjoyed the perfect weather and the presence of friendos – though not the presence of OMG GIANT OVERSIZED STROLLERS EVERYWHERE. It was also good to see the new elephant habitat well underway – once complete, the thing is going to be giant and amazing, and I’m happy for that!
May 30th, 2009
May 19th, 2009
I biked to work!
May 18th, 2009
Virtual Graduation: My 30 seconds of fame occur about 1:08:40. Congratulations to all my friends!
Continue Reading May 17th, 2009
2005:
Started school, got a great job, felt like I’d finally figured it all out, took some library classes but was much more into the social informatics-type stuff and also my job my job my job. Went to France, dated some, felt pretty alone but also more like myself than ever before, applied to the doctoral program.
2006:
Started dating Shane, met a bunch of fantastic people, walked the Camino, lost weeks of my life to Moodle, started the doctoral program, got a for real job with the longest title ever, broke my arm, became a master of science!
2007:
Launched Moodle, left the doctoral program, walked at graduation, nationwide job hunt for both of us while working full time and taking three classes, moved to DC, started at the library, took a semester off.
2008:
Metadata, classes at GW, felt disconnected but actually able to do research at work, had an epiphany and put together a thesis project that addressed practical work and also my research interests, read and worked and collected data, hated job.
2009:
Last class, six weeks of frantic writing and revising, defense and Kams, and now….?
May 17th, 2009
To: Faculty, Staff, Students
From: Robert D. Palinkas, M.D.
Director, McKinley Health Center
Subject: Handshaking at Commencement
Because of ongoing concerns about the possibility of spreading the flu virus, students receiving degrees and their families should not shake hands at Commencement if they have symptoms of an upper respiratory infection such as fever and cough.
McKinley Health Center will provide hand sanitizer on the platform at the Assembly Hall ceremonies so that graduates can, if they wish, use it before and/or after receiving their degrees. Members of the official platform party also are encouraged to use the hand sanitizer provided.
Everyone is encouraged to observe the other guidelines to reduce the risk of infection, such as covering coughs and sneezes; avoiding touching eyes, mouth and nose; and washing hands frequently.
Robert D. Palinkas, M.D.
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor
Continue Reading May 13th, 2009
When I was 24, I made a list of 30 things to do by age 30. I turned 29 in January, so I have 8 months to go and quite a list up ahead of me. Italicized items are the ones I’ve finished.
30 by 30
Travel:
1. spend a summer abroad.
2. go to morocco.
3. spend a week in paris in the springtime.
4. take a vacation on each coast
5. see a show on broadway.
Education:
6. finish (or start, for that matter) graduate school.
7. read don quixote.
8. learn spanish.
9. have something published.
10. learn arabic.
Goals with tangible results:
11. finish the quilt grandma and i started when i was 10.
12. have a successful vegetable garden.
13. knit socks.
14. paint a room red.
15. develop a “signature” dish or menu.
Fun:
16. go camping and keep my freaking out to a minimum.
17. follow a band on tour (again).
18. win at pub quiz.
19. stay out clubbing til the sun comes up.
20. attend a “black tie” event.
Personal ‘improvement’:
21. build a fun yet professional wardrobe.
22. get some sort of computer certification.
23. build credit.
24. learn to live on a budget.
25. join a gym (and go regularly).
Defying easy categorization:
26. fall in love.
27. win an award.
28. have a well-stocked wine cellar.
29. perform music in some sort of live setting (not karaoke).
30. have a child.
May 11th, 2009
My April project was to take a self-portrait every day. Apparently I was sleepy, and also I liked my shoes.
May 1st, 2009
From DCist:
Drinking and spelling: best time ever!!
On a corner in Penn Quarter:
Guy #1: “I guess we could walk this way and look for a bar, or we could get on the Metro and go to a different area…wait, did you bring a dictionary?!”
Guy #2: “Yeah, I did.”
Guy #1: “Good, I totally forgot mine. So I guess let’s starting walking this way.”
Continue Reading May 1st, 2009
