Thursday, July 01, 2004
Sorry about the lack of updates. I don't have internet in my temporary apartment, and while the office has internet, a) I only recently got a key to use it during non-work hours and b) it's a 56K connection. But I am pumped up to write a really long entry! And as if I need more reason besides that I have a lot to catch up on...
It's my one year blogging anniversary! Sound the trumpets and let the rejoicing begin!
So where was I? Ok, so I got back to the country, albeit with a lot of hassles. Ryan and I spent 3 days at his dad's house in Po-town, mainly hanging around the house and doing errands in town. It was really nice to enjoy some quiet time at "home" after traveling: doing a puzzle, watching TV, etc, without any sort of guilt about things that I "should" be doing instead. Then we drove across the state and spent a night at his mom's house in Homer. We went with Ryan's brother to see the documentary "Supersize Me" in Ithaca. I thought it was really funny and got its point across well...I don't eat at McDonald's more than 10 times a year, but that number will probably still go down.
The next day, Friday, me and Ryan drove up to Syracuse for a little furniture shopping and a mall trip, since we had to head that way to get to Rochester for Adam from PSP's wedding. We (and all the other PSP people) stayed at Helen's apartment, while the ceremony and reception were in Geneseo, where Adam and his wife are from. Her name is Cat, which was a little weird because people kept saying how happy Adam and Cat would be together. The ceremony had a country feel to it, due mostly to the fiddle band. Although it wouldn't be my personal choice, it had a nice down-home feel and wasn't mucked up with gaudy decorations like weddings usually are. I liked the reception a lot. It was at a spa/conference center and had both indoor and outdoor parts (although I really got chewed up by the mosquitoes). Open bar and super yummy food...and a beautiful view of the sun setting in the hills. We stayed til midnight, and I was exhausted.
The next day, Sunday, me and Ryan left Rochester and drove back to Homer to get all my stuff and move it up to Bridgeport. It took 2 trips with his Jeep (though the second one was small). Moving all the stuff wasn't as huge a task as I was fearing. I mentioned earlier: temporary apartment. I'm staying in one place over the summer until the guy I'm replacing leaves; then I get his apartment. The place I'm in now is sort of like a studio- one big room with the kitchen and beds, plus a bathroom. It's plenty comfortable for the 2 months I'll be there, but I'm leaving all my non-necessary items packed so I don't have to box them up again shortly. So it doesn't feel super-homey, but oh well.
I started work and Ryan left for his San Francisco trip the next day. I had a lot of fun on my first day- Mondays are usually sampling days: we take the boat out and circle the lake, taking water readings and samples at 6 sites. It was really sunny and not too windy, really a great day to be out. That took up most of the day; the rest was spent entering data we had collected out there and analyzing some of the samples. The rest of the week wasn't as fun, but wasn't bad. A major part of my job is identifying/counting/measuring zooplankton under a microscope. I've got a decent handle on it now, but trying to learn to tell all the different species apart really tested my patience since the tiniest little features matter and sometimes they're obscured by the way the critter is oriented on the slide, not to mention I kept getting the features and their corresponding species names mixed up. But I'm getting better now.
For my second day of work I had to go down to the Cornell campus for a session on my benefits. I got to drive one of the field station's cars down, actually on the night before. I stayed with Scott/Julie/Hanna/Andre (who are all super nice for letting me stay) and we had a fun game of Cranium before bed. I also picked up my new hamster (Christ's old hamster) from Rachel. I forget if I wrote it in here already, but Edgy escaped in April and was never recovered. But now I have a replacement hamster. She's an albino, and I sort of named her "Oofy." That's because she's white and oval, like an egg, which is oeuf in French. Anyway, she's really active and friendly- hasn't bitten me yet and seems to like being handled, which is good. Back to Cornell... The benefit thing was boring, but necessary, I guess. Then back up to Bridgeport, where I remained for the rest of the week due to lack of transportation. Ryan loaned me his bike while he was gone, so I went for a lot of bike rides on the surrounding roads, which are great for biking since there's not too much traffic and they have wide shoulders. I also played a whole lot of computer games. Talked to Ryan for a little bit each night, and missed him a lot :(
Ryan got back late Monday night, so I saw him Tuesday after I got off work. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner and grocery shopping at Wegman's. Yesterday he got the keys to his apartment and we went shopping for apartment stuff. He dropped a lot of $ yesterday...rent and security deposit, queen size bed and mattress set, desk, and lots of linens & things. Good thing I was around to help him pick out sheets and towels, or else everything would be black, dark green, and navy blue:P In Demetri's words, Ryan "needs a woman's gentle touch." :)
Tonight we went to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. I hadn't been to one before, and was a little disappointed. Wasn't terrible, but I guess lackluster. Ryan had to go back to Homer in preparation for moving a ton of furniture into the apartment tomorrow. I won't be able to help since I've got work, but I'm not too bummed about that. This Sunday is the big 4th of July party down in Homer. Last year it was the pirate theme...this year it's Cowboys & Indians. I don't have a costume yet...thinking of not doing anything special, but then Ryan's mom might get mad at me. That wouldn't be good, would it?
So yeah, I'm working and saving up my money in hopes of getting a car sometime this month. Although me and Ryan only live 25 minutes away, round trip that's 50 minutes and I feel bad that he has to drive so much. Right now I'm thinking that a slightly used car is probably a better choice than a brand new one. I've seen some very temptingly priced 2002/2003 Dodge Neons advertised, so I might hunt for one of those. And if I play my cards right, a used Neon could be half the price of the Mazda I wanted. That would be great since I could have it paid off within a year, probably. Then I could start making dents in those pesky student loans :/
There- I'm caught up. I don't think I'll get so far behind again, though. Now off to hunt for cars on the internet... :)
It's my one year blogging anniversary! Sound the trumpets and let the rejoicing begin!
So where was I? Ok, so I got back to the country, albeit with a lot of hassles. Ryan and I spent 3 days at his dad's house in Po-town, mainly hanging around the house and doing errands in town. It was really nice to enjoy some quiet time at "home" after traveling: doing a puzzle, watching TV, etc, without any sort of guilt about things that I "should" be doing instead. Then we drove across the state and spent a night at his mom's house in Homer. We went with Ryan's brother to see the documentary "Supersize Me" in Ithaca. I thought it was really funny and got its point across well...I don't eat at McDonald's more than 10 times a year, but that number will probably still go down.
The next day, Friday, me and Ryan drove up to Syracuse for a little furniture shopping and a mall trip, since we had to head that way to get to Rochester for Adam from PSP's wedding. We (and all the other PSP people) stayed at Helen's apartment, while the ceremony and reception were in Geneseo, where Adam and his wife are from. Her name is Cat, which was a little weird because people kept saying how happy Adam and Cat would be together. The ceremony had a country feel to it, due mostly to the fiddle band. Although it wouldn't be my personal choice, it had a nice down-home feel and wasn't mucked up with gaudy decorations like weddings usually are. I liked the reception a lot. It was at a spa/conference center and had both indoor and outdoor parts (although I really got chewed up by the mosquitoes). Open bar and super yummy food...and a beautiful view of the sun setting in the hills. We stayed til midnight, and I was exhausted.
The next day, Sunday, me and Ryan left Rochester and drove back to Homer to get all my stuff and move it up to Bridgeport. It took 2 trips with his Jeep (though the second one was small). Moving all the stuff wasn't as huge a task as I was fearing. I mentioned earlier: temporary apartment. I'm staying in one place over the summer until the guy I'm replacing leaves; then I get his apartment. The place I'm in now is sort of like a studio- one big room with the kitchen and beds, plus a bathroom. It's plenty comfortable for the 2 months I'll be there, but I'm leaving all my non-necessary items packed so I don't have to box them up again shortly. So it doesn't feel super-homey, but oh well.
I started work and Ryan left for his San Francisco trip the next day. I had a lot of fun on my first day- Mondays are usually sampling days: we take the boat out and circle the lake, taking water readings and samples at 6 sites. It was really sunny and not too windy, really a great day to be out. That took up most of the day; the rest was spent entering data we had collected out there and analyzing some of the samples. The rest of the week wasn't as fun, but wasn't bad. A major part of my job is identifying/counting/measuring zooplankton under a microscope. I've got a decent handle on it now, but trying to learn to tell all the different species apart really tested my patience since the tiniest little features matter and sometimes they're obscured by the way the critter is oriented on the slide, not to mention I kept getting the features and their corresponding species names mixed up. But I'm getting better now.
For my second day of work I had to go down to the Cornell campus for a session on my benefits. I got to drive one of the field station's cars down, actually on the night before. I stayed with Scott/Julie/Hanna/Andre (who are all super nice for letting me stay) and we had a fun game of Cranium before bed. I also picked up my new hamster (Christ's old hamster) from Rachel. I forget if I wrote it in here already, but Edgy escaped in April and was never recovered. But now I have a replacement hamster. She's an albino, and I sort of named her "Oofy." That's because she's white and oval, like an egg, which is oeuf in French. Anyway, she's really active and friendly- hasn't bitten me yet and seems to like being handled, which is good. Back to Cornell... The benefit thing was boring, but necessary, I guess. Then back up to Bridgeport, where I remained for the rest of the week due to lack of transportation. Ryan loaned me his bike while he was gone, so I went for a lot of bike rides on the surrounding roads, which are great for biking since there's not too much traffic and they have wide shoulders. I also played a whole lot of computer games. Talked to Ryan for a little bit each night, and missed him a lot :(
Ryan got back late Monday night, so I saw him Tuesday after I got off work. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner and grocery shopping at Wegman's. Yesterday he got the keys to his apartment and we went shopping for apartment stuff. He dropped a lot of $ yesterday...rent and security deposit, queen size bed and mattress set, desk, and lots of linens & things. Good thing I was around to help him pick out sheets and towels, or else everything would be black, dark green, and navy blue:P In Demetri's words, Ryan "needs a woman's gentle touch." :)
Tonight we went to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. I hadn't been to one before, and was a little disappointed. Wasn't terrible, but I guess lackluster. Ryan had to go back to Homer in preparation for moving a ton of furniture into the apartment tomorrow. I won't be able to help since I've got work, but I'm not too bummed about that. This Sunday is the big 4th of July party down in Homer. Last year it was the pirate theme...this year it's Cowboys & Indians. I don't have a costume yet...thinking of not doing anything special, but then Ryan's mom might get mad at me. That wouldn't be good, would it?
So yeah, I'm working and saving up my money in hopes of getting a car sometime this month. Although me and Ryan only live 25 minutes away, round trip that's 50 minutes and I feel bad that he has to drive so much. Right now I'm thinking that a slightly used car is probably a better choice than a brand new one. I've seen some very temptingly priced 2002/2003 Dodge Neons advertised, so I might hunt for one of those. And if I play my cards right, a used Neon could be half the price of the Mazda I wanted. That would be great since I could have it paid off within a year, probably. Then I could start making dents in those pesky student loans :/
There- I'm caught up. I don't think I'll get so far behind again, though. Now off to hunt for cars on the internet... :)
