French and Other Things

I'm in Montreal, friends, and its so... French.  And yet still Canadian.  Or Canadienne, depending on your predilection.  I had my final conference presentation as a student today, and it went really well - apparently, I play pretty well to French audiences.  Je m'appelle Ariel. (That was my French name in high school.)

I love the Frenchness in the air so much.  I haven't gotten much of a chance to use my 4 years of hard-earned Francais ever since I finished French IV and then tested into French I in college.  Nope.  But last night, I told my server "Bon soir!" and the homeless man in the street bowed and wished me a beautiful night, "madameoiselle".  I'm able to read a lot of the signs around town, and I can get a working knowledge of instructions, so long as they are told slow enough.  I had some frites for lunch, then la glace for dessert.  Its everything I could wish, if I had even known to wish.  I had actually forgotten that there was going to be Frenchosity here, so it was a fabulous surprise!

Friendly PSA - if you have to chose between too-small and too-big shoes, always chose the too-small.  Big shoes won't shrink, but small shoes might stretch.  I made that mistake today, and I now have a pair of 2-inch black heels, Nine West brand.  Anyone interested? 9 1/2, which is apparently a half-size bigger than what my feet require.  Who knew!?

I've currently shut down my online shops, seeing as I've got 5 weeks to finish my PhD dissertation, 7 weeks to prepare to defend it, and 9 weeks to pack up my house, so...  I've had so much fun designing and then making the bags, but I've gotta take a break for at least a little while, in order to do my best work.  Thank you all so much for the support and purchases!  I will be sure to let y'all know when I'm able to re-open.

And now, I'm going to nap.  Because when Mama is away, she gets to nap whenever she wants to.  And she doesn't change any diapers, and she misses it all just a little too much.  Peace & love, friends.

<3 M.

It'll Be Tomorrow Soon Enough

*** Don't forget, there's a giveaway going on HERE for $50 to The Leather Hide Store.  You can enter everyday. Mariah - Out! ***

Oh lovelies.  Tomorrow is coming.  Fast and quick and unrelenting.

In other news, if my dog doesn't stop whining, I might cause him murder.

Back to the point, tomorrow.  Tomorrow is big and heavy, I don't know if you knew.  Tomorrow, I hop on a plane and head to the Great Cold North (GCN).  And I do mean cold.  Super cold.  I recently acquired a handy little box that tells me the weather, and it told me that today the high here would be 56.  Chilly, but definitely do-able.  Then I looked up the GCN and saw the phrase "Near Record Lows".  

And then I cried.

Real tears.

Because while I've been hearing tale of your cold winter, you northern people, I haven't had the misfortune of experiencing it.  I'm totes not ready.  I need to find, like, pantyhose or something.  This isn't a trip for leisure; I've gotta be Business Mariah while I'm up there, which is a great segue to my reason for taking on such a harrowing journey.

Job interview.

GULP.

For those of you not in the Academia bubble, this isn't an "be here at 11:15 sharp" kind of thing.  Nope.  I'm locked in for 24 hours, although there is some time penciled in for sleeping/power point revisions, whatever seems more important at the time.  After dinner the night before, we've got breakfast at 7:30 (for the love!) and then back-to-back meetings with other faculty members, until I give an hour-long research talk, followed by lunch at the school (managed expectations: check) and then more meetings until 3:00 when I give a 40 minute sophomore-level lecture to a room full of PhD's (potential for awkwardness - moderate), to be finished with an exit interview, a drive to the airport, and a quick "don't call us we'll call you".  But hopefully, they mean it.

Just the right size for my cards and phone.
I call it the Airplane Wallet.
If I close it, it looks like a bad eye-glasses case.
Because that's how I do.

Its tiring just to think about.  I'm combating my rising level of nervousness by sewing myself a new wallet for the trip, cleaning my house for my in-laws (who are driving down here as I'm flying up there, take that two ships passing in the night), writing to you, and thinking about getting around to packing.

My biggest concern is that I have to brush off a language that I haven't used in a good long while.  After years of fighting my predilection towards talking math in public, I now have to re-become fluent in Nerd.  Apparently I undersell when I give research talks, shooting more for "relate-able" and less for "impressive".  While this has served me well in the classroom, it's not what potential employers are looking for.  They want the academic version of lady on the street, freak in the bed (which makes me blush just to write, but you know what I'm saying, right?).  They want simple talk in the classroom, but fancy talk for research.  My game plan is to watch that John Nash movie on my first flight tomorrow, then channel my inner mathlete on my second flight and revise my slides.

I've talked about this a little bit before, but in that vague way.  There is so much changing, so many different options and shades of options.  I've discovered that there is a thin line between trusting God and apathy.  I'm flirting with it.  I'm definitely going to give it my everything this week.  I'm going to Nerd them so hard in the research talk, and I'm going to charm them with my examples and wit when I lecture.  I'm going to be pleasant and excited and congenial, because I do think this would be an awesome job.  And then I'm going to let the chips fall.  Because God's got this, and after I do my part, there's nothing else to be done for it.  Apathy or faith, I'm not sure, but is it important?

So now I've procrastinated long enough for the diapers to be done in the washing machine so that I can switch them to the dryer before bed.  I still haven't packed, which is growing in importance in my mind, but still seems like it could wait a little bit.  Think of me tomorrow, dear ones.  And then tomorrow's tomorrow, because that's really the big day.

<3 M.

Trip Deets

I'm here to provide you web-stalker-folk with everything you need to know.  Because, I know, you're dying to know the minutiae of my daily life.  The nitty gritty.  The ins and outs.

And I'm here to give it to ya!

Who:  Myself, the Duke-a-loop, and one very dear and easily excitable Amanda.

A little less of this going on, though.
Seeing as it'll be approx. 47*F in PA this weekend.
We're keeping the lid on Jeep Jeep.

What:  Road-tripping it.  The 3 of us, in Jeep Jeep.  Munching on some SmartPop Popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, Whoppers, and of course, good stuff like carrots and apples and celery and PB.  And water, loads of water.

Where:  PA, the hometown of the smoetown.  I don't even know what that means.

Why:  For a multitude of reasons.  For family and friends and America.  More specifically, for baby showers (eek!) and a "one last visit" before bambino.

When:  Here is where the real genius lies.  We're leaving tomorrow, which will get us in town late tomorrow night.  Which is AUTUMN LEAF FESTIVAL WEEK!  There will be so much food, and craftiness, and more food, and Soup Day, and trees dressed in fall colors and a high of 42 which means sweater-wearing... I'm so pumped.

This is quite possibly my favorite weekend for PA, and it's made even sweeter by two parties being thrown to celebrate this little bambino I've been carrying around!  I can't wait to share all of the experiences with you, but now I've got to go live it!  

Love the weekend you're with,

TFW

Precious Times

Being an aunt away from my nieces & nephews can be a little bit tricky.  Especially when there seems to be more & more kiddos every time I come back to PA.  While we're apart, I try and buy their affection with numerous gifts and trinkets, but as I've said, when there are more & more of them, that too can be an overwhelming game.  Really, we're at the point now where remembering birthdays is getting to be a challenge.  Of course, my mind seems to be going in general, so that part is not surprising.

When I'm up visiting, I try and make time for each niece and nephew, if not one-on-one, at least in small groups. (it's all about the crowd control, people!).  This trip, I got to introduce a few littles to the wonderful world that is Tractor Supply.  What may seem like an everyday shopping stop is a whole new world to a few farm-minded small people when they get to climb on tractors (lawn mowers) and see all the cow paraphernalia.

I've noticed that things changed some this time around, too.  We've got a whole bunch of littles (4 & under), but there are two not-so-littles.  And one of them, you may know the stage, brought his friend to a family outing.  Seriously!  Before, it was always enough to get to see Aunt Mariah (*sniff sniff*) but it seems he  is old enough now to need friends around now to play with and make inappropriate noises at and do all of those pre-teen boy things together.  Apparently I'm not that good at armpit fart noises.  Who knew?!

In order to retain the affection of the other not-so-little, we had a girls night at the drive-in movies, complete with a snack bar purchase, playing tag, and her falling asleep 2 miles from her house.  In a word: magical.  She kept telling me how many hours/minutes past her bedtime it was.  Might have been my favorite night of the whole visit.

Sometimes this whole letting-them-grow-up thing is difficult, especially when they grow so much between visits.  I guess it's time for me to get to know them at the ages they are currently, rather than pining for 4 years ago when they were so cute and chubby and impressed with my ability to whistle.  Or I'll start making noises with my armpits, either way.

Got any tips for me?  How to stay close when you're so very far away?  I'd love to know if/how you do it!

Wishing for more cotton candy,

TFW

Letters to Orlando: Part IV

Dear Hotel Pool,

You were just what I wanted needed yesterday.

 The sun, the light breeze, the large green pool towels.

The lazy river going around the pool so I didn't even have to work to swim.

Aside from your embarrassing Cabana Boy, you were perfection itself.

Thanks for not letting me stay long enough to get burned.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Bahama Breeze,

Thank you for the most unique restaurant experience of my young life.

I've never been evacuated from a restaurant before.

At least, not before my appetizer came.

Even though I missed out on my pulled-pork-and-plantain-dish, I'm calling it a win.

How can it not be, when I ordered one of the most expensive drinks, and got it comp'd?

#Winning

*********************************************************************************

Letters to Orlando: Part III

Dear Good Life,

I'm quite unsure as to why I don't have views like this regularly.

Also in question: Why don't I have 5 pillows and spend my days lounging?

Please get back to me on that.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Confernce Coordinators, 

Let me just tell you, I'm touched.

You've done what no one else has been able to do before.

You spelled and pronounced my name right.

For the first time, I was not "Maria Magagnoootie"

It feels so good to be me.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Cabana Boy, 

You were nothing like what the movies had led me to expect.
You wore your shirt, and your skin did not glisten, nor did your eyes twinkle or your smile shine.
In a word, disappointing.

Although you did bring me fresh fruit.

Still, the illusion was shattered.

I'm trying not to hold you personally responsible.

*********************************************************************************

Letters to Orlando: Part II

Dear Handsome,

Thanks for calling me while you're grocery shopping and asking me where to find the yogurt.

Even though I'm 9 hours away.

I like that you fall apart in the small ways when I'm not there.

I also like that I know you ate the entire jar of peanut butter.

Although you did surprise me by using crackers instead of just a spoon.

Life's always an adventure with you.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Room Service Lady, 

Thanks for making me feel rich.

I'm sorry I opened the door before remembering to brush my teeth.

Due to me not being actually rich, I'll be eating the other half of the bagel for tomorrow's breakfast, so I won't be inviting you back.

Maybe we'll meet again some other day, under better circumstances.

i.e.- maybe my breath won't smell like death.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Skywriter,

Your work was impeccable when you wrote "GOD" in the sky.

I wonder if, from above, it looked like "DOG"?

*********************************************************************************

Letters to Orlando: Part I

Dear caramel apple that I ate whilst alone in my room,

You were utterly magnificent.

Everything a caramel apple bought at the slightly-over-priced Disney store should be.

I'll love you always.

Or at least as long as the flavor lingers.

*********************************************************************************

Dear Venezuala, 

Thank you for sending this man to be my brother.

I'm so happy to know that I won't starve if ever I find myself in your country.

These.

Were.

Delicious.

Atlanta Love

I'm in Atlanta today.  

I'd really like it best if I were home with Handsome, had a large (neverending) mug of really good hot chocolate, a large fluffy quilt, and add in some ferocious rain falling on the roof, and a stack of movies just waiting to be watched.  Oh, and in this dream, all of my looming deadlines had been met ahead of time and I have nothing to distract me from purely enjoying my day.

But that's not where I am.  So I need to find some things to love about Atlanta, instead.

And I know one right off of the top of my head.  Or bottom of my stomach.  Or something like that.

Yes Please.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm going to get to go to Max's, but in my heart, I'm already there.  I'd tell you that their dinner menu is great or something, but I don't much remember dinner.  And I'd blame it on their fancy brewskies, but I'm not a brewskie drinker.  It's their dessert that has wiped all other food from my mind.  Deep.  Fried.  Cheesecake.  Fried-in-a-tortilla-rolled-in-cinnamon-sugar-served-with-icecream.  It's incredible.  I've had it twice, and my mouth remembers every taste.  

Back Home to my Crock Pot

In a glorious turn of events, coming home yesterday was everything I had hoped it would be.  Not in a "things are just perfect like I wanted them and the world revolves around me" sort of way.  But in a "I have my own towels and look at my backyard and this place smells right" sort of way.  Glory be, I love it here.

Plus, we have humidity here in SC, which is something UT obviously hasn't heard of.

I love my backyard.
And, speaking of, anyone need a Magnolia tree?
Seriously, we're transplanting those babies here before long.
Get your orders in.

Also, I would like to add "coming home" to the list of things that make dog ownership more rewarding than cat slavery ownership.  Seriously, I'm pretty sure there's not much better than being greeted by your dog.  With Duke, I can be gone for 5 minutes and get generally the same level of enthusiasm that I got yesterday after being gone for 4 days.  But still.

It just does something for the soul to be loved and missed and celebrated so thoroughly.
Doesn't hurt the ego any, either.

Head in the Clouds

This morning, when the alarm rang, it was difficult to think there could be anything redeeming about a 4:30 pick-up to the airport.

Later this morning, when the baby on the plane was crying, and there was a weird perfume smell in the air, it was still difficult to imagine there was anything redeeming about a 6:05 take-off.

Lucky for me, there is redemption even in difficult, uncomfortable things.

Can't wait to get home,

TFW

Because I Promised

I don't much feel like writing right now.  Especially considering (a) it's after midnight, Eastern time (which I'm still technically on) and (b) my hotel room must be vacated by 4:30 in the AM in order to catch my ride to the airport tomorrow.  Add in the fact that my belly is full of fan-flippin'-tastic mexican, and there should only be one thing on your to-do list: S-L-E-E-P.

But I promised.  Or at least said I'd try.  And so I'm giving you a try, here.  I've tried to get pictures of the beautiful mountains that I've been looking at for the past two days.

And, to mirror my own pathetic "try", the mountains seem to have decided to only give it a mediocre effort to look good. [sort of like me, in the post below, ha!]

It started out much like the day before, cloudy up top, not a whole lot of light.  No biggie, yesterday turned out beautiful.  I had faith, I believed that it would clear up.  That, now that I had my camera with me, heck, it might be even more lovely than the day before!

And then it did this.

And then it looked like this.

And that's the end of the story.  My best pictures are trapped in my head.  Feel free to insert some moral of the story here.  Perhaps something about "misplaced faith" or "being prepared to seize an opportunity".  Whatever floats your boat.  I've got nothing tonight.

WIWW: A Vision In Monochrome

So...

Let's start this out with some disclaimers:

• I got 3 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night.  
• I was on an airplane, not moving, for over 4 hours yesterday.
• I was doing airplane/airport - y things yesterday for over 11 hours total.

And then this morning, I had an extra 15 minutes, so I thought I'd link up at the Pleated Poppy for a What I Wore Wednesday.  With an outfit that I am actually wearing on Wednesday.  As the title says, I am currently a vision in monochrome.

Button-up: Express, years ago.  Slacks: Express, this summer.  Shoes: Nine West, outlet.  Cardi: Old Navy, to match my Mom.
Black, white, and in-between.
<3

Sassy shoes?  Check.  Classic hip check pose?  Check.  Cardigan that makes weird bulges appear in my midsection area, as well as split ends out the wazoo?  Check and check.  Business professional at it's best.

You might say that accessories could make this outfit.  That I could really snazz it up with some brights, or even pastels.  And I would agree, yes, I could.  With could being the optimal word.

Light gray, dark gray, and cream.
Don't want to get too far away from my color scheme here.
Also, I designed & made that purse.
It'll be in the shop soon, I'm changing some things.

Apparently, I didn't feel very adventurous after my uber-turbulence airplane rides yesterday.  Tomorrow, I promise, I'll mix it up a little bit.  I think I have some beige, some blue, some violet.  Really, the people we're meeting might not even recognize me!

So that's my WIWW.  Because it's all I had in me this morning.  And then I was late for my meeting, and then I had my ALL DAY MEETING, and then I came back, and it's still all I've got.  Hopefully, I'll have some pictures for you tomorrow of the mountains here.  Really, while they are also a vision in monochrome, they are much, much more appealing.  Mountains don't have split ends.

I don't dream in color, 

TFW

Brain Dump to Lighten the Load

Tomorrow, I get on a plane.

Tomorrow, I fly far far away, to a land where there is snow and cold and F-22's.  

Tomorrow I'm going to Utah (but "I'm Going to California in my Mind", please put me out of my misery and tell me what song that comes from!)  I've got 4+ hours of plane time to log.  I should be packing.  I should be getting the meals ready for Handsome to eat while I'm away.  I should be doing pretty much everything but updating my etsy shoppe, typing away on here, and drawing purse pictures.

SOOC (straight out of camera), no lie.
This place where I live, this little hidden gem?
It's completely beautiful any time of year.
I hope Utah is beautiful.

Why am I so taken with purses?  I have no idea.  I just can't stop sewing them.  I can't keep sewing the same ones over and over, either.  It's an adventure, I believe.  Exploration, discovery, creating and all that.

Remember when I said I wanted to be a baker?  And now I'm a candlestick maker doing this purse thing?  I still love baking.  I still might be a baker.  Just a baker with a really nice purse, maybe?  

Meh.  The future.  Who needs (to know about) it?  I've got no idea what's coming down this pipeline called life (terrible metaphor, sorry!).  

I do know that Jj Heller is pretty awesome.  Sometimes I need music that really gets me pumped and ready to fight or run or just... calls to action.  Jj doesn't do that.  She sings prettily, and makes me want to be her friend and eat scones and sip tea at her house.  

I've got a $5 amazon mp3 gift card as a small consolation prize for buying a way-too-expensive textbook.  Perhaps I'll download some of her songs to keep me company on the plane tomorrow.  Got any other suggestions for my plane trip, music related or not?

Thank you for stopping by here.  I'm sorry I'm so scattered and have so little of substance to offer you.  You're a peach for reading this entire thing.  You're a peach for just existing, as far as I'm concerned.  I'm also unsure why anyone would ever want to be an actual peach, but that is neither here nor there.

Randomly Unorganized,

TFW

Charlotta and Home Again

Charlotte was loverly.  

I learned things.

I saw a presentation with a photo of Pam Anderson in it, followed by a presentation explaining a methodology for using metaheuristics to set a policy at food banks to equally distribute food to hungry persons in NC.  

Variety.  The spice of life.

Speaking of spices (very loosely, and don't think this is a segue, I'm not going anywhere with this.) I bought a vanilla bean for the first time today.

Just like this one, but without the 3pack.
And without Amazon's help.

I don't have any idea about what to use it for.  I've always wanted them, but even on Amazon they're selling 3 for $28.  This one I bought was $2.  Three cheers for the discount-grocery-store-that-I-was-formerly-afraid-to-go-into-but-now-love.  Here here! (hear hear?)  

ASIDE: I still don't look in the freezer.  Something about the huge "COME SEE WHAT'S IN OUR FREEZER" sign and one too many scary movies has me unable to open the door even with my hand on the latch.  Sometimes I shake.  Okay, not really, but it's close.

Something else I've bought recently at my scratch-and-dent grocery?  My new favorite cereal: Honey Graham O's!

ASIDE: Am I the only person who thinks Graham is hard to spell, and difficult in general?  

Clearly it's also available from Amazon.
But it's a 12pack.
I've done the never-ending-breakfast-food thing before,
it's not pretty.

p.s.- I'm still considering doing it.  This cereal is 'da bomb!

Whew.  We've already covered a lot of ground in this short post, and I'm half tempted to call it a night and go to bed.  But there's other things left to say, more words lodged in my fingertips that need to get out.  Problem is, I don't know exactly what they are.  

Going Home

I’m going home.  And then, when our trip is over, I’m coming back home. 

How can a person have two homes?  I do not know the answer to that question; I know only that I do, in fact, have both.

The first two three years or so that we lived down here, I wouldn’t get real excited on our trip home until we saw the first Sheetz.  Now, I still feel that excitement, but I feel the same excitement on the way back down when I see the first CookOut, the first offer of Meat & 3.  That’s how I know I have two homes.

I’m so thrilled about this trip.  I’m going to meet my new nephew (I love you little Izzy!!), I’m going to hangout out with friends and family, and I’m going to cool off a little bit (its never quite as warm up there).  We’re going home for no very good reason, which is, to me, the best of reasons.  It seems that we’ve fallen into a pattern of a trip home in May, a trip home in August, and a trip around Christmas time.  While its hardly enough, we try to make the most out of it, so this time we’ll be up in ole’ Pennsyltuckey for an entire week.

Really, I’m ‘bout to burst, I’m so excited.

Weekend Whirlwind

I like that one, that title up there.  Its a good one.  It makes me want to both (a) make an awesome post to match its own awesomeness and (b) quit now, because the pressure is too much.

I have for you today just a few short notes before I start running around my house like a mad woman, throwing things into suitcases.  That is right, we're heading out of town this weekend.  

Attention all would be burglars whose ears have perked after reading that: You're welcome to stop by, but we looked around and tried to find things to sell on ebay last weekend, and we didn't see anything of value.  Perhaps a pair of fresh eyes would see something we missed.  Please don't break any windows, its been raining a lot.  Thanks, TFW

The problem with a knapsack

The problem with a knapsack is that its only got so much room in it.

On my final day in Reno (I think it was Wednesday... but I'm not sure what today is... Friday? Saturday?), I arrived at the airport around 10 AM and was scheduled to board my flight about 45 minutes later.  I had a limited amount of time, and considering that I would, best case scenario, have 25 minutes between my two flights, I needed to get myself enough food to last the day.  (fyi: turned out I only had 7 minutes from touchdown to boarding.  What a rush.) 

There were certain criteria this amount of food needed to satisfy:

• moderately healthy
• able to travel/unlikely to spoil
• not über expensive
• small enough to fit in my knapsack backpack
• yummy and delicious

Here's what I had to work with

With only 8 minutes to make the decision, my gut instinct kicked in and I started picking.

I tried to pick enough food to fill me up, while satisfying my taste buds, staying within a budget, and only buying as much as will fit in my backpack.  Obviously some foods were more appealing to me than others.  Like the drinks; I don't really like diet coke, but I do like vitamin water, so one is more appealing to me than another.  I don't like black licorice and it has no nutritional value, so its appeal is very low.  Its all pretty much instinct.  Don't lie, you do it too.  You do it when you grocery shop and when you pack for a trip and even when you choose which friends to take with you on a car trip.  Different friends have different appeal, and you can only have so many of them.

This type of decision making process is actually near the heart of my Masters studies.  I know, I'm sorry, I tricked you.  Slid an operations research lesson right in here, in between my quilting and recipe tinkering and bicycling adventures.  It was rude of me and I apologize.  But in case you're not totally ticked off and through with me, here's a link to the classic problem.  Just in case you want to know more.  I won't judge you if you don't, as long as you don't judge me for being unable to stop my brain from working this way.

My final choices: 

Yes, I spent an embarrassing amount at the airport newsstand.  And yes, I shoved this all in my backpack, but barely.  But really, it did work pretty successfully; I didn't go hungry, I didn't get sick, and I hit all most some of the food groups.  I mean, starbursts count as fruits, right?

I'm a tricky little nerd,

TFW

Jonesing for home

Its true, I'm missing home in the worst way.

I miss its laugh, I miss its musk... when this is all over, I think maybe home & I should get an apartment together...

And not only do I miss home, I miss Handsome, and The Duke too.

And I miss baking.  Honestly, I've been sitting here making this pinterest page, fixated on baking chocolate chip something.  I can almost taste it.  I think I'm out of butter.  I'll pick some up on the way home from the airport.  I want to go grocery shopping.  I know, its weird, but true.  Take me as I am.

I want to bake real bad.  When I get back (tomorrow night), I'm going to change into sweatpants and a long sleeve T-shirt (the perfect outfit) and I'm not changing for 4 days.  I'm not going anywhere or meeting anyone or doing anything.  Unless someone asks me to, but I mean, I'm talking in general.  I've been getting up relatively early, dressing up like business, and meeting people for the last 3 days straight.  I've been punishing my feet with some awful little black shoes, and fueling myself with coffee and free reception food.  Add in the fact that here in Reno (and this resort), no one really goes outside at all, and you get the simple truth that I'm pretty much over it.  I want to be home and make dinner for Handsome and play with my puppy dog and vacuum and bake a lot.

Now, I don't want it to seem like I haven't enjoyed myself here; I definitely have.  I've gotten to see my brudder, enjoyed Tahoe, made some new friends, and even learned a thing or two.  Like the fact that "creme de la creme" sounds waaaay better than "cream of the cream", and that "cogitate" is not a real word, even though it sounds like one.  Really, this has been a productive and enjoyable trip (and mostly free, too.  Thanks Clemson!).  

But anyhow, I'm kind of over this.  My conference partner and I have been getting to the conference later and later ever day, and I think we're sorta worn out.  I mean, thats a lot of walking and learning to do.  And I think I read a study once that learning can really wear a person out.  I'm ready to get back to Handsome, my own bed, and washing my own towels (just kidding on that last one.  I could totally do room service for the rest of my life).  

There are some drawbacks to flying home tomorrow, however.  At the top of my list is the 4 1/2 hour flight to Chicago before I can catch the 2 1/2 hour flight back to GVegas.  Also, I only brought one NetFlix DVD, and I watched it all on the way over.  I'm debating between sticking it in the mail here (so I can get the next one sooner) or taking it with me to watch again.  Its TV episodes, which don't really lend themselves to re-watching within a week (unless its How I Met Your Mother, which I'm currently in love with) (Its not.).

The plus side is that even if you have an early flight, when returning to the East from the West, it doesn't really feel like getting up early.  And then, when you get back, you've lost 3 hours in the air and no one really expect much from you.  "Oh, its late, you must be tired," is what I'm expecting to hear.  If you go the other way, its "Whats up with you?  Its still early!"  I don't like that.  Too much pressure.    I avoid pressure.  Don't pressure me.

So, to make a long story short, (hahahaha... heh) I'm heading home tomorrow and I'm pumped.  On the way here I had a great seat partner (him & his wife own a restaurant near Clemson and are sending me a gift certificate) on the first flight and then an ok seat partner (talked a lot and took my arm rest, but was congenial) on the second flight.  It nearly feels like I'm due for a terrible seat partner, which frightens me.  Also, I'm not feeling as aggressively friendly as usual and I fear I might be all friended out.  We're going to have to see how this plays out.  It might be nearly as dangerous as roulette (which I haven't played this time around, but I've got about 15 hours left to make it happen).

Crossing my fingers for a good airplane neighbor,

TFW

Much ado about Tahoe

I've always wondered about people who love Tahoe.  I've heard a lot about it.  Everyone wants to go skiing at Lake Tahoe, everyone wants to vacation on the lake at Tahoe...  You've heard it too.
Heck, maybe you've even said it, "Gee, I wish I could go to Tahoe..."


So I've always wondered but I've never known.  This was remedied this weekend, thanks to my (not so) little brother and his go-cart of a truck.  Now, although I firmly believe that Reno is nothing more than Vegas's slower, slightly smelly younger brother, Tahoe is a different story entirely.  In case you're curious and unsure about your vacation plans for this summer, let me spell it out for you.

Tahoe is worth the trip.

Reno is not.

Hopefully, this has been helpful to you.

Now, for those of you who can't make it to Tahoe, but want to see the proof, I've got just the thing for you; Photographs!  Its a picture heavy post, but I've kept the commenting to a minimum in order for you to really be able to experience the beauty of this place. (By now, you know I'm lying, right?  I just can't resist.)

Before we begin, may I reveal even more of my ignorance, please?  I learned something this weekend, even before the conference started.  I learned that Tahoe is partly in California!

Who Knew?!

Also, I need to acknowledge that without my broseph, none of this would have been possible.

  

Brudder Jonah