Continual State of Becoming

Vacation is almost over :( We fly home tomorrow morning... then it's back to living life in the real world. No more reading by the pool or ordering room service or standing in line for roller coasters. But it's been good while it's lasted. Me with the topiary Sorcerer's Apprentice in front of Fantasia Golf Matt doing his part to stop the at-ats from attacking us. Overlooking Tampa from the hotel's gazebo

As mentioned in my previous entry... First of all, the circumstances weren't great. It was a Thursday evening and Matt and I both had to take off work early because the tickets and website said that the show started at 6:30 (which I thought sounded crazy early, but I then I thought... well it's an outdoor venue, maybe they want to do it while it's still light out?), and there was no mention of an opening band (again... weird). So we wanted to make sure we got there on time (I know what rush hour beltway traffic is like). And we got there earlier enough to have dinner before hand at the Cheescake Factory. And while we were eating there was a thunderstorm... which could be distressing for an outdoor concert, but I was smart enough to buy tickets for seats under the roof. They weren't great seats, but at least we didnt have to worry about getting wet, and we had actual seats to sit in. We got to the concert close to 6:30 and surprise surprise, there was an opening ba...

I've been tagged (thanks Tom)... here's the game: a) I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. b) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. c) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. d) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. e) Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged and to visit your blog. My 8 Random Facts: 1. I dont know how to parallel park. And I really dont care to learn either. In all honesty, I think the world is better off without me trying to do it. I count this as one of the reasons I could never live in a city. 2. I dont like being in cars with black leather interiors. To me it's the same as having a bedroom with the walls, ceiling, floor, and furniture painted all black... depressing and confining... not to mention how hot the car would be in the summer. 3. I...

Total commute time I've been dealing with over the past months: School: twice a weeks, 9 hours in class, 8 hours driving Work: two or three times a week (alternating) avg: 20 hours of work, 10 hours of driving/metro That's like having a part time job of just commuting. I realize that in this area there are a lot of people who do it every day (and from places even further than Leesburg). My grandpa used to commute into NYC from a little town called Mahopac NY (about a 2 hour train ride... that's a train, not the subway) and he did it for YEARS. I talked to him a week ago at my sisters graduation party and told him that whenever commuting started getting to me I would just think "hey Grandpa did it everyday so why can't I?" and he looked at me and said "grandpa was an idiot." But in all honesty, he and my grandmother had 11 kids to take care of, so they were in a different situation than me. He also told me that several of his children would ask...

Some pictures from a lunch time stroll (from a few weeks ago) to the Botanical Gardens: A pretty combination The boat is a sculpture (the red, yellow, orange objects are made of glass). I got a lot of material at work about the sculpture so I decided to check it out. View of the Capital just a few steps away from the Gallery. The National Gallery of Art... if you look about 20 feet underground of the right end of the building.... that's my office!

... though sometimes I feel like that might be easier. So summer classes started. I remember last summer's classes, and how I used to complain about how easy and work-free they were (I'm sure I even blogged about it), well, you'll be happy to know that I'm now eating those words. I'm currently taking a Young Adult Literature class (YA for all those who enjoy acronyms), which is actually really interesting, partly because I genuinely enjoy reading YA materials, partly because the teacher is really good (which is a rare and beautiful thing in my program), and of course partly because my friend Melissa is in it with me (how else would I survive the school library media frustration?). But it is a LOT of work. We have readings and writings due every class... I think when all is said and done I will have read 12-14 books over a (very short) 6 week period (plus boatloads of scholarly articles-- my personal favorite). Not that I mind the reading, I love the reading, but...

My summer class starts today. ugh.