Vacation: Part Two

It seems really cool to be the graduate assistant on a really cool research project. And it will be, I'm sure. Right now, though, it means I really have to do all of the work. In a basement office. With cockroaches. Mostly dead.

Vacation: Part One

Having spent every day of last week in the Pacific Northwest with Dave and my usual travel gas, it was a nice surprise to receive a message from him yesterday telling me that he missed me. "I miss you?" it read. So, naturally, I replied, "You miss me is a question? Are you unsure?" His response: "Jesus Christ. This is romance. Not English."

Still Kicking

I'm in such a state of rebellion against anything remotely academic at this point in my summer I can hardly even stand to put a few words together about my day on this blog. In just a few short weeks, though, I'll have so many other things to read and write that stealing away time to write on the blog will be just what I need. Patience please.

Going To

We worked on the future tense in class tonight. Students had to write sentences by choosing the ending that made the most sense and adding it to the correct future form. More than one student created this combination:

I have a headache. I am going to major in psychology.

Why not. The form is correct, and under the right circumstances, it makes a lot of sense.

Question

Is it normal for a post office worker to ask: "What are you sending today?" The woman working at the branch near campus asked customer after customer -- and they all answered! Am I correct in thinking that our mail is private? I wanted to say, "None of your damn business!" when she asked me, but instead said, "Something for my dad." Help me out. Is this being asked from branch to branch or is she just nosy?

Dedication

When I have to be on time, I'm on time. When it isn't going to make or break anything, I'm typically five to ten minutes late. It's how I roll.

My department's library falls into that second category. I'm the 9 am opener, which usually means we open at 9:05 or 9:10. No one has ever been waiting at the door for me.

Due to a new construction project on my route, I reached the door today at 9:15. Again, the hallway was empty.

The sign on the door, however, had a handwritten note just for me. "You're late . . . again," it read.

Yes. I've been on time only twice since I started three weeks ago and I have no excuse for such tardiness except for ass dragging. And maybe I deserved a little wake up call. But for some reason, I'm feeling rather nonplussed by the whole thing. I don't really plan to get up or leave any earlier on Friday. In fact, if anything, the note has me feeling a little punchy. And I realize -- I'm quickly becoming that employee who really can't be bothered to do her job. You know the one.

Peeing in the Men's Room

The Indigo Girls at the zoo has become a favorite landmark of summer. Brandi Carlile as an opening act brought things up a notch this year. And a woman wearing this t-shirt made it an especially perfect night.

"This was more stressful than an eBay auction!"

Although it's a few days overdue, I want to thank Bryan for his dedication to the blog. When I neared the 25,000th visitor mark, he assured me that he would be that 25,000th visitor regardless of the steps he'd have to take. He considered hiring someone to do the site monitoring, but decided that would be playing dirty. In the end, having done all of the hard work on his own, Bryan accomplished his lofty goal. This picture is his proof.

Congrats, Bryan. Congrats.