Having friends pack and label your stuff means sometimes you end up with strangely-labeled boxes (and not just because the Stranges labeled it). So far we have found the following:
-Fragilish (ish?)
-Get Baked! (baking supplies)
-Vibrators
Dildos
Hamsters
Hangers
(only one of the items listed was actually in the box)
I love finding these. Makes the box monotony not so bad. Thanks friends!
14 July 2010
12 July 2010
The Craziness of Getting Settled
Alternate Titles: This would be so much easier if we weren't all sick, or The First Weeks in State College.
We all arrived sick, sinus funk and deep cough. Lived in a hotel for the first 5 days in town. Tried contacting a bazillion people about housing the first day, but it was Sunday. Had no place to live. Went to an outdoorsy store on Monday, J talked to people about meager climbing locally. Heard back from a guy about subletting his apartment for July. Saw apartment. Went for it, as most places seemed to be coming available Aug 1st, and our chances of finding and moving into a house before then seemed pretty slim. Contacted more people about housing. Heard back from an elderly P.I.T.A. (Pain In The A$$) landlady wanting to rent a 3br house, got lectured on fiscal responsibility, budgeting, and her fixation on numbers. Ugh. J was feeling worse and worse, so he saw a doc, got a chest x-ray. Not pneumonia, just bronchitis and a sinus infection. *sigh of relief* J lost his voice. I did a conference call w/ J's PI, because J couldn't talk. Moved into apartment July 1. Discovered that broiling hamburgers in a baking dish works okay when you have very limited cookware. Urban camping, complete with sleeping bags and camp cookware in the apartment. Saw another house, found out we were second in line on that one. Talked to P.I.T.A. landlady more, got more lectures on the importance of a budget, said we wanted the house despite her harping about numbers and the fact that "responsible realtors like [she used to be] didn't put our country in the predicament it's in now". over and over and over. *sigh* Felt progressively better, health-wise. Went to farmer's market, bought local pork (OMG DELICIOUS!), fresh veggies from some Amish folk, and stopped at a roadside Pennsylvania Dutch-run stand to get some homemade ice cream from a woman with very burly, strong hands. Signed the lease with P.I.T.A. lady. We have a place to live until the morning of July 31st (the apartment), and for one year starting Aug 1st at noon (3br house). In the short time between, we have a storage unit and will get a hotel room. Oh, and Roo took his first (and second and third... now up to SIX!) steps in the midst of all this. And we unloaded our freight trailer of belongings into the storage unit with some help from J's new labmates. And celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with takeout sushi. And Roo got sick again, putting us in quarantine for 3 days.
In summary, it's been kinda chaotic. But we're feeling better (even Roo, as his latest funk subsides), J is working, Doodle has her train set again, and all is mostly right with our little world. Two and a half weeks until the pollinator conference here (note to self: get crackin' on that poster!), then another week until we uproot again and move into a house! with a garage! all to ourselves! ...just as J heads to the Botany meeting in Rhode Island. Meaning I get to relocate us and our few not-in-storage belongings to the house, then slowly haul more of our in-storage crap to the house and get established. It'll work. Eventually the Gods of Chaos will cut us a break, right? Right?
We all arrived sick, sinus funk and deep cough. Lived in a hotel for the first 5 days in town. Tried contacting a bazillion people about housing the first day, but it was Sunday. Had no place to live. Went to an outdoorsy store on Monday, J talked to people about meager climbing locally. Heard back from a guy about subletting his apartment for July. Saw apartment. Went for it, as most places seemed to be coming available Aug 1st, and our chances of finding and moving into a house before then seemed pretty slim. Contacted more people about housing. Heard back from an elderly P.I.T.A. (Pain In The A$$) landlady wanting to rent a 3br house, got lectured on fiscal responsibility, budgeting, and her fixation on numbers. Ugh. J was feeling worse and worse, so he saw a doc, got a chest x-ray. Not pneumonia, just bronchitis and a sinus infection. *sigh of relief* J lost his voice. I did a conference call w/ J's PI, because J couldn't talk. Moved into apartment July 1. Discovered that broiling hamburgers in a baking dish works okay when you have very limited cookware. Urban camping, complete with sleeping bags and camp cookware in the apartment. Saw another house, found out we were second in line on that one. Talked to P.I.T.A. landlady more, got more lectures on the importance of a budget, said we wanted the house despite her harping about numbers and the fact that "responsible realtors like [she used to be] didn't put our country in the predicament it's in now". over and over and over. *sigh* Felt progressively better, health-wise. Went to farmer's market, bought local pork (OMG DELICIOUS!), fresh veggies from some Amish folk, and stopped at a roadside Pennsylvania Dutch-run stand to get some homemade ice cream from a woman with very burly, strong hands. Signed the lease with P.I.T.A. lady. We have a place to live until the morning of July 31st (the apartment), and for one year starting Aug 1st at noon (3br house). In the short time between, we have a storage unit and will get a hotel room. Oh, and Roo took his first (and second and third... now up to SIX!) steps in the midst of all this. And we unloaded our freight trailer of belongings into the storage unit with some help from J's new labmates. And celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with takeout sushi. And Roo got sick again, putting us in quarantine for 3 days.
In summary, it's been kinda chaotic. But we're feeling better (even Roo, as his latest funk subsides), J is working, Doodle has her train set again, and all is mostly right with our little world. Two and a half weeks until the pollinator conference here (note to self: get crackin' on that poster!), then another week until we uproot again and move into a house! with a garage! all to ourselves! ...just as J heads to the Botany meeting in Rhode Island. Meaning I get to relocate us and our few not-in-storage belongings to the house, then slowly haul more of our in-storage crap to the house and get established. It'll work. Eventually the Gods of Chaos will cut us a break, right? Right?
11 July 2010
roadtrip redux
This is the quick&dirty version of our roadtrip.
Day 1: Left Logan late (4pm instead of ~10am) due to extra errands to run (#1: get nearly-flat tire fixed before loading Jeep). Had burgers in Laketown, drove to Rawlins, WY.
Day 2: Doodle played at train engine park in Rawlins. We drove to Vedauwoo, a climbing spot between Laramie and Cheyenne, and played for 3 hrs while J climbed, and Doodle chased chipmunks out of our gazebo (which, by the way, is a great way to teach a kid about not feeding the wildlife while also wearing said kid out in the process). Finally rolled into Kearney, NE as the lightning bugs wound down for the night. Camped at a lake, got mosquito bites.
Day 3: Kearney to Princeton, IL. Finished with Nebraska (hallelujah!), liked and exploited the wireless internet access at Iowa reststops (while still wishing we had an iPhone).
Day 4: Drove to Chicago where we met and had lunch with J's cousin Candy at one of Obama's fave restaurants, Medici. The service and bathroom lighting left something to be desired, but the food was really good. Drove through Indiana, part of Ohio. Ugh, Ohio. Turnpikes, expressways, and corn. But Window Crayons are awesome and double as 3yo makeup, and fuchsia sequined headband+sweaty napping kid = fuchsia-stained forehead. Should've taken more photos that day.
Day 5: Fremont, Ohio to State College, PA! Asked in OH if we were heading to the PA rainbow gathering. Hooray for looking like a ragged bunch o' hippies. PA has topographic changes! and far less corn! and Amish wagons! with canoes on top!
next up: The Craziness of Getting Settled. Or, this would be so much easier if we weren't all sick.
Day 1: Left Logan late (4pm instead of ~10am) due to extra errands to run (#1: get nearly-flat tire fixed before loading Jeep). Had burgers in Laketown, drove to Rawlins, WY.
Day 2: Doodle played at train engine park in Rawlins. We drove to Vedauwoo, a climbing spot between Laramie and Cheyenne, and played for 3 hrs while J climbed, and Doodle chased chipmunks out of our gazebo (which, by the way, is a great way to teach a kid about not feeding the wildlife while also wearing said kid out in the process). Finally rolled into Kearney, NE as the lightning bugs wound down for the night. Camped at a lake, got mosquito bites.
Day 3: Kearney to Princeton, IL. Finished with Nebraska (hallelujah!), liked and exploited the wireless internet access at Iowa reststops (while still wishing we had an iPhone).
Day 4: Drove to Chicago where we met and had lunch with J's cousin Candy at one of Obama's fave restaurants, Medici. The service and bathroom lighting left something to be desired, but the food was really good. Drove through Indiana, part of Ohio. Ugh, Ohio. Turnpikes, expressways, and corn. But Window Crayons are awesome and double as 3yo makeup, and fuchsia sequined headband+sweaty napping kid = fuchsia-stained forehead. Should've taken more photos that day.
Day 5: Fremont, Ohio to State College, PA! Asked in OH if we were heading to the PA rainbow gathering. Hooray for looking like a ragged bunch o' hippies. PA has topographic changes! and far less corn! and Amish wagons! with canoes on top!
next up: The Craziness of Getting Settled. Or, this would be so much easier if we weren't all sick.
29 June 2010
What I learned on our cross-country drive
- Wyoming, and a bit of Nebraska, have A LOT of freight trains passing through, easily visible from I-80. This made for a very happy Doodle... at least until we reached Iowa and points beyond, where trains were scarce and begging to see more didn't make them appear any faster.
- Camping in June in the middle of Nebraska right near a lake = mosquito central. Um, DUH. Totally should have expected that. Oh well.
- Lightning bugs glow when they splatter on your windshield. :( Very sad. But they were so dense in NE that there was no dodging them.
- Window crayons for the 3 y.o. are great, even when she grows silent for a bit, then declares "don't look at me." Yep, you guessed it. Window crayons double as Doodle Makeup.
- The corn fields of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio seem to go on FOR.EVER. Bloody corn.
- Turnpike employees sound distinctly regional, even when simply asking you for $12 to cross Ohio.
- Wireless internet at rest stops = awesome.
- We were asked in Ohio if we were headed to the PA Rainbow gathering. It seems our Jeep, with cooler, camping bin, scoot bike and RocketBox strapped to the roof and liberal stickers on the back, looked like a hippie rig to fellow hippies. (woohoo!)
- Fun Ellen is my new hero. Her goody bags for Doodle totally made the drive more fun for all involved. THANK YOU!!!
- Doodle and Roo are great little roadtrip kiddos.
Now to get settled and find our place here in S.C., PA.
15 June 2010
28 May 2010
faster faster
This is one of those times in life where, as you start to wish for time to slow down, it speeds up even more. Yesterday J defended his dissertation(!!!!!!) and is now making edits to get it through the Graduate School's master editor dude. The past 2 months leading up to the defense have been crazy, with J pulling all-nighters and generally being away from home far more than he'd like. The defense was a huge relief (and a huge success), but now the next step is coming up quickly.
We set a move date last week, and immediately June 22nd started to race toward us at a ridiculously fast pace. June 22nd. That's the day we roll out of Logan, now as a family of 4.
We're heading to PennState, where J has a post-doc position lined up in a lab, and where I'm hoping to schmooze with pollinator folk and get an in this summer.
Do you know how far it is from Logan, UT to State College, PA? 1,960 miles. That's a really freakin' long way.
We have three weeks until the trailer gets here. I have a whopping two small boxes packed (though I picked up a bunch earlier today, and will head out to get another free batch as soon as Roo wakes up).
In those three weeks we have to pack, plus we're taking all next weekend to hang out with friends up at The City, and fitting in as many social engagements as possible. Oh, and a bellydance show. A bit going on.
That said, blogging may be very meager until we're settled in PA. We'll see. Wish us luck!
We set a move date last week, and immediately June 22nd started to race toward us at a ridiculously fast pace. June 22nd. That's the day we roll out of Logan, now as a family of 4.
We're heading to PennState, where J has a post-doc position lined up in a lab, and where I'm hoping to schmooze with pollinator folk and get an in this summer.
Do you know how far it is from Logan, UT to State College, PA? 1,960 miles. That's a really freakin' long way.
We have three weeks until the trailer gets here. I have a whopping two small boxes packed (though I picked up a bunch earlier today, and will head out to get another free batch as soon as Roo wakes up).
In those three weeks we have to pack, plus we're taking all next weekend to hang out with friends up at The City, and fitting in as many social engagements as possible. Oh, and a bellydance show. A bit going on.
That said, blogging may be very meager until we're settled in PA. We'll see. Wish us luck!
11 May 2010
Right now I have...
...a speedy army-crawling baby who has on several occasions pulled himself up to standing next to furniture. ACK!
...a three year old who is missing one of her very favorite grown-up friends.
...a frantically dissertating husband.
...a Master of Science degree!
...a manuscript submitted to a scientific journal, currently in review.
...an abstract submitted to present a poster at a pollinator conference this summer.
...a bunch of wonderful friends on my mind.
...a growing pile of yard sale ready stuff for this weekend. Anyone want a tarantula or 9 foot long turquoise couch?
...a missing dishwashing fairy. Seriously, he hasn't been by in weeks. If you see him, please send him to my kitchen.
...sparklies to adjust and music to edit before my next improv solo.
...far too much laundry to fold.
...a pumpkin pie to finish for Doodle, because pies are great on rainy days. And on mornings curled up next to the heater. Or really, anytime at all. Especially if you're three.
...a messy chaotic house, but a full and happy heart.
...a three year old who is missing one of her very favorite grown-up friends.
...a frantically dissertating husband.
...a Master of Science degree!
...a manuscript submitted to a scientific journal, currently in review.
...an abstract submitted to present a poster at a pollinator conference this summer.
...a bunch of wonderful friends on my mind.
...a growing pile of yard sale ready stuff for this weekend. Anyone want a tarantula or 9 foot long turquoise couch?
...a missing dishwashing fairy. Seriously, he hasn't been by in weeks. If you see him, please send him to my kitchen.
...sparklies to adjust and music to edit before my next improv solo.
...far too much laundry to fold.
...a pumpkin pie to finish for Doodle, because pies are great on rainy days. And on mornings curled up next to the heater. Or really, anytime at all. Especially if you're three.
...a messy chaotic house, but a full and happy heart.
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