I has a kitty! Sphinx has come to Williamsburg to live with me and Stephen. Now that Kelly is gone, with the way my parents travel, it seemed cruel to leave him all alone. So today my parents brought him to me! I e-mailed the people I'm leasing from and they said it was fine if I had him live here, even though my lease says no pets-- so yay! So far he hasn't come out from behind a filing cabinet, but I'm sure in a few hours he will start to feel more comfortable, and in a few days he will feel at home.
In other news, graduate school has started in full force. I had my first class on Thursday, and about two books of reading due for it by Tuesday. I had a language exam on Friday and I'm anxiously awaiting my results which could be found out anytime between Monday and two week from Monday. We had a graduate student/faculty picnic Friday evening and I got to meet a lot of great people, and then Saturday morning a group of us went to the Farmer's Market and Aroma's. I bought a sunflower and named her Violet for the irony. There are some really great people in the program and I can't wait until I feel like things are more under control and I can actully get to know them.
But I haven't abandoned my golden friends (one is silver and the other gold). Friday evening I went over to Kacey and Megan's for a small party of watching The Room and playing Twilight the Board Game. It was a really fun time-- I'm so grateful that I have some of my best friends still only a short walk from my home. Plus, good things befell my friends that night as several of them got cast as major roles in the mainstage shows!
Alright, back to the books!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Goodbye, Kelly-Cat
Yesterday I took Kelly to the vet to have her put to sleep. It was one of the harder things I've had to do. Kay went with me, which helped tremendously, but having to say good-bye to a cat that I have known and loved since I was six years old was really difficult. She had such beautiful green eyes. She loved being outside, even though she was an indoor cat. Sometimes, if I was lying on the floor, she would come up to me and roll around in my hair. She would paw at my shoes to say hello when I walked in the door. She would curl up on my bed at night and get cranky if I moved and disturbed her. She liked to lay on my lap when I was at the keyboard and sometimes she would help me type e-mails :). She used to play fetch when she was a kitten. She purred more than any other cat that I know of. Her full name was Kelly The Calico Cat Calvert Fine. We called her Kelly-Cat, or Kelly Pretty Kitty, or Kells-Bells most of the time. I will really miss her.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Time to Bring Out the Africa
I'm feeling stressed. When this happens, as it so usually does a few days before class, I bring out the movie Out of Africa, put on comfy pants, and make a cup of tea. This may be the night.
I'm trying to straighten things out with keeping the Bella job still, and I really hope that goes smoothly. Then I got my syllabi for some of my classes, and they expect me to read four books a week or so. Literally. My house still needs some pictures put up, my study needs organization, my computer is old and I need to put my external hard drive onto a different computer, except first I need to GET a different computer, I have no groceries, and orientation this morning was boring and pointless.
To top everything off, my cat is dying. I've had her since I was in first grade, and her kidneys are shutting down. My mom called this morning to tell me. The vet said it's a hopeless case. We will be putting her down within the week. I'm driving up on Wednesday to say good-bye to her; hopefully she will still be alive then, but she isn't eating and has no energy at all.
It's Out of Africa night.
I'm trying to straighten things out with keeping the Bella job still, and I really hope that goes smoothly. Then I got my syllabi for some of my classes, and they expect me to read four books a week or so. Literally. My house still needs some pictures put up, my study needs organization, my computer is old and I need to put my external hard drive onto a different computer, except first I need to GET a different computer, I have no groceries, and orientation this morning was boring and pointless.
To top everything off, my cat is dying. I've had her since I was in first grade, and her kidneys are shutting down. My mom called this morning to tell me. The vet said it's a hopeless case. We will be putting her down within the week. I'm driving up on Wednesday to say good-bye to her; hopefully she will still be alive then, but she isn't eating and has no energy at all.
It's Out of Africa night.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Harvest is Ended
"Harvest is ended, and summer is gone," quoted Anne Shirley.
It certainly is. Today is my last day of summer, although I'm spending it working at Bella. Tomorrow I have orientation for all graduate students, and Tuesday morning a history department orientation. But the Anne Shirley quote is appropriate, as my mother and I just got back from Prince Edward Island a few days ago. We had a beautiful time; we saw two Anne musicals, visited Green Gables, the L.M. Montgomery Museum and Birthplace, took a Matthew's Carriage Ride, and spent a day at Avonlea Village (a bit like Rev City, except with Anne of Green Gables). We ate Beavertails and Cow's Ice Cream, and we wore our Anne Hats, complete with red braids. We had lobster dinners for cheap, and took a coastal drive all over the East side of the Island. We went to a sketch comedy show geared towards Canadians (we got about half of the jokes). We had quality time that we've been missing this summer with me living away from home permanently... how odd to think. We saw stars-- oh, the stars! I've never seen so many in my life, I don't think, not even in Jefferson City! I could see the Milky Way, even! The weather was cool and clear. It reminded me of October, which made me long for autumn, though not for school.
Speaking of which, I kind of have classes picked out. It's been a bit of a mess, because one of the required courses for my MA program I took as an undergrad, and there seems to be no point in repeating it, but I have to get it officially waived before I can pick out a second elective, though I easily found two electives that I would love to take-- The Golden Age in Spain, and readings in the American Revolution. The last class came highly recommended. I suppose everything will be sorted by Wednesday (it must be!), but it has been stressful already. Plus, they told me that without approval I cannot keep my job at Bella and have a stipend, so I'm waiting to hear back on that. I really want to keep this job. Although, I have a feeling I will have a very full schedule even without it, so I guess it's really up to what the dean decides. My schedule has gotten even fuller with these frequent trips to Richmond, and God-willing they will continue. :)
In other news, Stephen has moved in, so I have a roommate officially! I think we will have lots of fun, plus he gave me lunch today which was much appreciated-- chicken and mashed potatoes. I certainly didn't have time to cook anything, or any food in the house to cook, so it was good of him to give me food. It's very nice, though, to come home to someone in the house and to settle into an hour of talking and laughing. Much better than being alone all of the time.
And that's about it. Tomorrow I begin the big adventure of graduate school, meeting new students, learning about new requirements, and trying to get back into the academic swing of things. Hasn't this summer flown, yet seemed so interminably long? Looking back to beach week I think that must have been a decade ago, yet the fact that classes are starting again has taken me by surprise.
I suppose alot has happened. I went to lunch with my friend Courtney the other day and he said, "Do you feel as if we've been expected to really grow up alot in these past three months? More than at any other time?" and I think he's right. At graduation I still had that shelter and mantle of childhood, but now-- now I'm a viable adult, a supposedly contributing member of society. Of course, I'm still in school, but I don't have to be and graduate school is so much different from undergrad. Only three months ago things were so incredibly different: much heartache hadn't been suffered, many responsibilities hadn't fallen onto my shoulders, and my closest friends were always no more than a short walk from my bedroom. Not that it's been a bad summer-- in fact, I feel much happier now than I did at graduation. But it's been a summer of learning and growing and adapting and adjusting, and while the outcome has been positive, these are hard times, and I have no doubt that they will only get worse before they get better. Not worse-- that's not the word I want-- I have no doubt that things will only get more challenging before I find my stride. But it's there. I've caught glimpses of what I want from life, and those glimpses are enough for me to keep going on. Maktub.
It certainly is. Today is my last day of summer, although I'm spending it working at Bella. Tomorrow I have orientation for all graduate students, and Tuesday morning a history department orientation. But the Anne Shirley quote is appropriate, as my mother and I just got back from Prince Edward Island a few days ago. We had a beautiful time; we saw two Anne musicals, visited Green Gables, the L.M. Montgomery Museum and Birthplace, took a Matthew's Carriage Ride, and spent a day at Avonlea Village (a bit like Rev City, except with Anne of Green Gables). We ate Beavertails and Cow's Ice Cream, and we wore our Anne Hats, complete with red braids. We had lobster dinners for cheap, and took a coastal drive all over the East side of the Island. We went to a sketch comedy show geared towards Canadians (we got about half of the jokes). We had quality time that we've been missing this summer with me living away from home permanently... how odd to think. We saw stars-- oh, the stars! I've never seen so many in my life, I don't think, not even in Jefferson City! I could see the Milky Way, even! The weather was cool and clear. It reminded me of October, which made me long for autumn, though not for school.
Speaking of which, I kind of have classes picked out. It's been a bit of a mess, because one of the required courses for my MA program I took as an undergrad, and there seems to be no point in repeating it, but I have to get it officially waived before I can pick out a second elective, though I easily found two electives that I would love to take-- The Golden Age in Spain, and readings in the American Revolution. The last class came highly recommended. I suppose everything will be sorted by Wednesday (it must be!), but it has been stressful already. Plus, they told me that without approval I cannot keep my job at Bella and have a stipend, so I'm waiting to hear back on that. I really want to keep this job. Although, I have a feeling I will have a very full schedule even without it, so I guess it's really up to what the dean decides. My schedule has gotten even fuller with these frequent trips to Richmond, and God-willing they will continue. :)
In other news, Stephen has moved in, so I have a roommate officially! I think we will have lots of fun, plus he gave me lunch today which was much appreciated-- chicken and mashed potatoes. I certainly didn't have time to cook anything, or any food in the house to cook, so it was good of him to give me food. It's very nice, though, to come home to someone in the house and to settle into an hour of talking and laughing. Much better than being alone all of the time.
And that's about it. Tomorrow I begin the big adventure of graduate school, meeting new students, learning about new requirements, and trying to get back into the academic swing of things. Hasn't this summer flown, yet seemed so interminably long? Looking back to beach week I think that must have been a decade ago, yet the fact that classes are starting again has taken me by surprise.
I suppose alot has happened. I went to lunch with my friend Courtney the other day and he said, "Do you feel as if we've been expected to really grow up alot in these past three months? More than at any other time?" and I think he's right. At graduation I still had that shelter and mantle of childhood, but now-- now I'm a viable adult, a supposedly contributing member of society. Of course, I'm still in school, but I don't have to be and graduate school is so much different from undergrad. Only three months ago things were so incredibly different: much heartache hadn't been suffered, many responsibilities hadn't fallen onto my shoulders, and my closest friends were always no more than a short walk from my bedroom. Not that it's been a bad summer-- in fact, I feel much happier now than I did at graduation. But it's been a summer of learning and growing and adapting and adjusting, and while the outcome has been positive, these are hard times, and I have no doubt that they will only get worse before they get better. Not worse-- that's not the word I want-- I have no doubt that things will only get more challenging before I find my stride. But it's there. I've caught glimpses of what I want from life, and those glimpses are enough for me to keep going on. Maktub.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Highlights
So, I haven't posted in a long time so I'll give you a run-down of the highlights of the past few weeks, in mostly chronological order.
*Saw Art at VSF with my mom! The show was good, though the actors weren't the best I've ever seen. They weren't bad, but the script had much more potential than they lived up to. We saw God of Carnage in London last year, a play by the same playwright, and the scripts had a similar feel-- both start out innocously and then reveal human nature underneath it all. Except that the God of Carnage actors included Ralph Fiennes, so the acting was a notch better. Still, it was so good to see a play again!
*Got to see Katie Crandol! We got some drinks and talked late into the night. It was so nice to catch up with her. I need to get to Staunton to see her and Callie again soon.
*Quit my job at the Wren! It's over, and I never have to go back. I'm still working at Bella, though, and I've been going to my internship at CW. Although that ends on Wednesday. And I have to return my colonial clothes. :( The internship has been great. Bella lately has been slow. I love it, but slow days suck. Plus, we just got in a lot of new pretty things and I want to buy them all, but I can't due to finances. But if I could... oh, if I could. Sitting there looking at them all day with nothing else pressing to do is divine torture.
*My pre-birthday, birthday, and birthday party! The day before my birthday I saw Mike M. and he gave me Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on DVD and made a great dinner. On my actual birthday I got to hang out with Mike S. and got How I Met Your Mother Season 2 and got to make crabcakes and potato balls and drink wine. 'Twas lovely. Then my birthday party!!!!! Kacey hosted a party at her place and we had drinks and played Apples to Apples during the afternoon. Kacey and Kay and I also made Funfetti Cupcakes to share with the group, though we ate a fair amount of the batter split between the three of us. That night, went to the White Dog for dinner. I had a half-duckling in maple glaze with mashed potatoes. SO TASTY!
*Got a facial at the Spa!
*Watched lots of How I Met Your Mother with Mike S. I am seriously addicted to this show. It might become a problem once I'm supposed to be paper-writing.
*Got to see Dez! He was in Williamsburg, so we got dinner and talked and it was wonderful.
So that's that! The past few weeks in a very short post.
*Saw Art at VSF with my mom! The show was good, though the actors weren't the best I've ever seen. They weren't bad, but the script had much more potential than they lived up to. We saw God of Carnage in London last year, a play by the same playwright, and the scripts had a similar feel-- both start out innocously and then reveal human nature underneath it all. Except that the God of Carnage actors included Ralph Fiennes, so the acting was a notch better. Still, it was so good to see a play again!
*Got to see Katie Crandol! We got some drinks and talked late into the night. It was so nice to catch up with her. I need to get to Staunton to see her and Callie again soon.
*Quit my job at the Wren! It's over, and I never have to go back. I'm still working at Bella, though, and I've been going to my internship at CW. Although that ends on Wednesday. And I have to return my colonial clothes. :( The internship has been great. Bella lately has been slow. I love it, but slow days suck. Plus, we just got in a lot of new pretty things and I want to buy them all, but I can't due to finances. But if I could... oh, if I could. Sitting there looking at them all day with nothing else pressing to do is divine torture.
*My pre-birthday, birthday, and birthday party! The day before my birthday I saw Mike M. and he gave me Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on DVD and made a great dinner. On my actual birthday I got to hang out with Mike S. and got How I Met Your Mother Season 2 and got to make crabcakes and potato balls and drink wine. 'Twas lovely. Then my birthday party!!!!! Kacey hosted a party at her place and we had drinks and played Apples to Apples during the afternoon. Kacey and Kay and I also made Funfetti Cupcakes to share with the group, though we ate a fair amount of the batter split between the three of us. That night, went to the White Dog for dinner. I had a half-duckling in maple glaze with mashed potatoes. SO TASTY!
*Got a facial at the Spa!
*Watched lots of How I Met Your Mother with Mike S. I am seriously addicted to this show. It might become a problem once I'm supposed to be paper-writing.
*Got to see Dez! He was in Williamsburg, so we got dinner and talked and it was wonderful.
So that's that! The past few weeks in a very short post.
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