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September 30, 2005
Sore.
Man, everything is sore today. Damn exercise. But yesterday, I got to my 3.5 miles which is awfully close to where I was at when I fell off the exercise-wagon. Now if I can just keep with the whole working out thing, we'll really have something. (And hopefully part of that something will be a smaller number on the scale, because today I had a "yikes" moment, although I broke one of the cardinal rules of weighing yourself: Thou shalt not drink like 32 ounces of water before getting on the scale.)
I'm looking forward to the weekend. How beautiful is the weather today??? I would love to take a walk outside after work. Is it 5 o'clock yet?
In random job news, I got an email from my undergraduate mentor today. He'd seen my resume online & wanted me to know that my alma mater is hiring for next year. I was seriously flattered that he wanted me to know. I never quite have a sense of how competitive I'd be on the real job market since I didn't have to search for my current job. Was nice to know that I could maybe get a job somewhere else if I needed to.
But just to be clear: I'm not moving back to Seattle. :-)
I think I'm just too settled in Athens to go back. I've got a really sweet gig right now--it pays really well, I can wear jeans & a t-shirt every day, and I pretty much decide what work I'm going to do everyday. And now I've got my 2-year research project, and possibly another 3-year project coming. And I'm in a great relationship (yay!), have awesome friends, finally have a church home, and love my house. Tacoma can't even come close to competing with Athens.
However, I'm still flattered that he even mentioned it.
In other news, I applied for a fellowship to learn how to edit a journal, and I'm on the short list. It's me versus some other guy, and we each have to do a phone interview on Monday. Again, I'm so flattered that I made it this far, as they had 40 applicants for it. It would be a great chance to work with probably the most famous guy in my field & has some great networking potential. I submitted my application with a "this could be kinda cool" attitude, but now that I know I'm competing with someone else, I want it soooooooooooooo bad.
I'm totally fighting the urge to go check out the vending machine. Sigh.
Anyway, I'm stoked about the weekend. Am going to see Heidi Hensley play tonight at the Melting Pot, which is the new performance space over at the Foundry Park Inn. Will report back on the venue & the show. I'll be in L-ville for the rest of the weekend, where I'm looking forward to some time spent chillin' and maybe getting to see Serenity.
And finally, if you are not watching Everwood this season, you should be. It was really good last night. The writers & the actors have the remarkable ability to rip my heart out, but in a very good way. Watch. This. Show.
Posted by hannah at 2:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 29, 2005
Muppets!
...are now on stamps! And they look freakin' great!!!
Love them.
Anyway, not much else going on. Had fun at choir last night. We sing in two weeks, and the song is coming together, so yay! Watched Commander in Chief last night, which was okay but not great. But I also know that it's really hard to make a kickass pilot since so much time has to be spent laying out characters, etc. I'll give it a couple more weeks before deciding if I'm in for the duration.
Posted by hannah at 9:57 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 27, 2005
Hello, Dolly!
So I was reading EW this morning before work when I came across a full-page ad for Dolly Parton's upcoming concert tour. She'll be at the Gwinnett Center Arena, the Friday after Thanksgiving. WHOO HOO!!! I have always wanted to see her perform, so I headed off to Ticketmaster (oh how I hate them, but what can you do?) and got tix for A & I to go. I CAN'T WAIT.
In other news, I went to Clocked for lunch with Carrieoke. Good food & awesome company...it doesn't get much better. I had a yummy, yummy burger & tots and ate it all. I guess I have a date with my treadmill now, but it was worth it. As penance, I made myself walk back to the office and climb the 130 steps between the Tate Center and my building. I'm pretty much over the guilt now.
Anyway, must get back to the paper that I want to finish this week. I still think it's possible, if I just get moving a little faster. I wish I had time to babble about TV, as I watched Lost & Desperate Housewives last night (both were good! yay for fall TV) but work is calling...
Posted by hannah at 2:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 26, 2005
Looking up...
So the day is looking up. My boss gave back one of the two articles that he's had for a while, which means that I now have something to do. Maybe I'll even get this paper submitted this week, which would be great.
And I just made a deal with a co-worker that effectively pays for the artwork purchased yesterday. Said co-worker needed to get to Providence, Rhode Island on short notice for a funeral, & Delta was quoting ridiculously expensive fares. I said, "Let's see if there are flights using Skymiles." And the flight she wanted was only 25,000 miles, so I traded the ticket for cash. Given Delta's tight times, it seems better to use the miles sooner rather than later anyway.
And finally, I had lunch over at the Georgia Center coffee shop with my boss. I had this ham & spinach noodle casserole that was really tasty. Very comfort food-ish. And I could not resist a cornbread muffin because they are always so good. Yay for yummy lunches!
Posted by hannah at 1:50 PM | TrackBack
Monday, Monday...
Man, the clouds & rain are making it really hard for me to wake up today. It makes me feel like I'm in limbo. Which I kind of am. I'm waiting, waiting, waiting to hear about whether my grant application got funded. I know that it went through a bureacratic loop on the 21st. Ordinarily, I'd say it was in great shape, but with all the hurricane spending & the federal gov't being all, "Hell no, we're not rolling back the tax cuts on the wealthiest 1 percent...it's time to cut spending some more instead!", it's anybody's guess what that means for research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The waiting is so. painful.
And I'm waiting for my boss to get back to me with feedback on two papers. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I want them DONE and off my desk. Sigh.
I need to work on that patience thing.
In happier news, the weekend was good. Lots of time puttering at A's house. I love to putter, so I was a happy camper. We bought a smoker & did ribs with a dry rub. And we went to a benefit in Atlanta on Sunday. Open bar + silent auction = dangerous, especially since I haven't been shopping much lately at all. Got a really beautiful black & white framed photograph that I can't wait to hang in the house. I really love b&w photography, but have never really bought any before. Will try to post a picture of the picture tomorrow. Yay for new artwork!!!
And now I need to figure out what I'm going to do with myself today. I'm not liking my choices yet, on the work front.
I know that we need some rain (and my lawn is v. thirsty), but at the same time, I really wish the sun were out. It would make this whole Monday-ness a little less painful...
Posted by hannah at 10:24 AM | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
More reasons to love Athens...
It's gotta be for the headlines at the Banner Herald. I'm so amused that today's top story, on their main webpage, is this:
Francois Granted Froggy Freedom.
Heh.
There's nothing like that over at my hometown paper, the Tacoma News Tribune. They're all serious & shit about the hurricane. (And have a webpage that nearly makes my eyes bleed from all the stuff crammed on it.)
Anyhoooooooooo...there's so not much going on in my world. Worked like crazy yesterday (first draft of my paper is nearly done, hurray!), didn't even turn off my laptop til 6:30, ordered Chinese, talked to my friend who just bought a house in Charleston, and watched Gilmore Girls. I thought it was a pretty good episode, although they may have been trying a little too hard with all the recent pop culture references. (I like the classic pop culture references much better.) However, the best joke of the night had to be at the Gilmore dining table when Richard says he'll make a call to Scooter Libby (Evil VP Cheney's Chief of Staff) and Emily just says so casually that he "better hurry before an indictment comes down." BWAAAAAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA!!!! It was priceless.
Posted by hannah at 8:50 AM | TrackBack
September 20, 2005
Political...
Beware: A rant follows.
Hurricane Katrina was obviously a horrible, tragic event that disrupted the lives of a million people. The rebuilding process is going to be long-term and expensive.
The Bush administration has revoked the Davis-Bacon Act, so that employees that help with Katrina reconstruction under Federal contracts won't have to be paid their usual, prevailing wages. That sucks for two reasons. First, good wages attract good workers, which equals better reconstruction. Second, good wages means those workers have money to spend, which can only mean they buy stuff & stimulate the economy in the area.
The Democrats in the House have introduced a House Resolution to oppose Bush. It has 171 co-sponsors tonight, but John Barrow ain't on the list.
That's not cool.
So, tonight I did something I haven't done before. I emailed my Representative. And look! It's easy. Just go here.
Posted by hannah at 6:15 PM | TrackBack
Athens all over.
In doing my usual morning routine, I've come across three articles about the coolness of Athens.
At CNN...
And then an article in the Banner Herald talking about a new article out in Kiplinger's magazine, although I can't seem to find it.
Anyway, went last night to the 40 Watt to see M.I.A., which was interesting. I feel like my mom as I type this, but I really couldn't understand anything she was saying. But I liked the background music. Was super glad that the show was over by 12:15 though, so today is significantly less painful than it might've been...
Posted by hannah at 8:36 AM | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
Weekend update.
Had a good weekend, but am very sleepy today. This does not forbode well for going to the 40 Watt tonight. Must take a looooooong nap after work, or I'm never going to make it.
The big news of the weekend is that I convinced my dad to come visit in November. Angela has to the work the weekend of the UGA vs. Auburn game, so I was thinking about who I'd go with, when I thought, "I wonder if my dad would fly out from Seattle for that if I used my Skymiles to get him here." The answer: A definitive yes. It will be a whirlwind of a weekend--he'll get here at like 7:30pm on Friday night & fly back at 5pm on Sunday--but I really can't wait. He's been wanting to go to a game, and now he's going to get to. YAY!!!
It's such a great feeling when you can make something happen that somebody's been wanting to do for a long time. And I could totally tell that he's touched by the offer. My mom was all, "Now he can't go to work on Monday to tell everybody that he's gets to go to Georgia to see a big game." Hee!
Other highlights of the weekend: Farm 255 and the International Farmer's Market in Gwinnett. It was my first outing to Farm, and I enjoyed it. We went with another couple from church & I think they liked it too. I had the Italian crepe, which had the yummiest proscuitto inside, and a side of fried eggplant. Yummy. I'm definitely willing to go back. Spied while there--Peter, who I got to say a quick hello to, and also my choir director.
Sat. was football day. We stayed at the game until the 4th quarter, then headed home. Had a few people over for margaritas & pizza & general lazing about. Football, I must say, is hard work. I was still wiped out on Sunday from being in the sun all afternoon & having a little too much to drink. I hate getting old.
Sunday was church, then drove down to Lawrenceville. We headed down into Gwinett--around Pleasant Hill Road & I want to say, Breckenridges (?)--where there's an international farmer's market. It was a lot of fun to wander around. They sell lots of Asian & Latino food products, all kinds of stuff that I have no idea what you do with them. And they have a great selection of fresh produce, seafood, and meat with really low prices. They had this huge sashimi platter for like twenty bucks that we're totally going to get next time we go. We brought home a bunch of veggies to grill (and tossed with balsamic vineagrette & gorgonzolla cheese), artichokes, and corn. Yum, yum, yum.
Posted by hannah at 10:03 AM | TrackBack
September 15, 2005
Boil-ing.
So I was in the mood for an easy supper tonight & decided to give a low-country boil a whirl. Am pleased to report that it was tasty, although I will definitely use more crab boil next time (I followed the instructions on the bottle, which resulted in it being not nearly spicy enough. I'm thinking at least 3 TBSP for about 5 quarts of water. I bought the Healthy Choice smoked sausage, which is at least a little better for you, and a pound of medium shrimp, three ears of corn, and some small-ish red potatoes. Easy-peasy, and yummy. I can't decide if I'd go so far as to say "healthy," but did you know that a quarter-pound of shrimp only has 80 calories? I did not. And since there's no other fat involved, unless you rub a little butter on your corn at the end, I think it's not a terribly unhealthy dinner. Now I only wish that I had a propane burner and a big ass pot to cook it outside like my friends did when they had a low country boil party at their house (my dad's beer brewing set-up would be perfect, since he's got about the biggest pot known to humankind to go on his propane burner), because now the house is a little pungent, but with any luck, it'll dissipate soon.
And the best part? Total time spent cooking? 45 minutes. I'm never going to be a 30 Minute Meal girl (I don't know how Rachael Ray does it...I swear that I can't even get everything chopped & prepped in half an hour), so I was kinda proud tonight.
Posted by hannah at 7:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Wine-o.
I forgot to mention that yesterday I bought some of Gosford Wine's "Wine of the Week," and it is quite wonderful. It's a Spanish red called Finca Luzon Luzon 2004. Sells for $8.99, which is fairly reasonable. A wine critic recently gave it 90 points, and while I don't know jack about wine other than some I like & some I don't, this is one that I do enjoy. The first sip was a bit of a shock (and sometimes I forget that you should never judge on the first sip, something about palatte-cleansing...anyway, I had a brief moment of panic), but on the second sip, I thought to myself, "Oooooohhh...this is goooooood."
It's funny...I was talking to my dad on Sunday & he was all excited about all the wine purchases he's made to restock his collection (16 bottles so that now he's back over 50 bottles stored under the house, the lush...), so when the email update came out this week & they were featuring a reasonably priced red, I felt like I needed to go because my fridge was looking rather thin. I find it funny that my dad is a bad influence...
And I have to say that I really like going by Gosford. The guy that's usually working is friendly & doesn't have any of that "wine guy" snobbishness going on. And yay for locally owned businesses!
Posted by hannah at 10:37 AM | TrackBack
Baby steps...
So I'm making tiny bits o' progress on a couple of fronts this week. The big news--I got back on the treadmill yesterday after work. After at least 3 weeks of saying I was going to do it, I did. Whew. I am seriously out of shape, but I'm trying to ease myself back into to it so that I hate it less. It's all about the baby steps. It did help that I got to watch one of my favorite eps of Felicity entitled, "Gimme an O". Heh. It still makes me laugh out loud, especially when the tree catches on fire. Good times....
And I'm writing a new paper at work. We're in like the fifth year of one of our research projects & have ZERO publications to show for it. That is soooooooooooo not good. So I've made it my mission to write at least a couple of them. After several days of wading through data, I think I finally have something that has a shot at being published, so yay! I'm hoping to have the first draft done soon, soon, soon. Yesterday I wrote about 7 pages and made a gigantic table of statistics. Whee! Today I've got another table to make & unfortunately, the hardest part: writing the introduction. I'm probably going to need to do some serious reading over the next few days in order to pull it off.
And that's about the it. I seem to be on a crazy balsamic vinegar kick this week...balsamic marinade on tuna on Sunday, the black bean salad, and last night, a huge salad with a grill chicken breast with balsamic dressing. Weird. Anyway, I've got choir practice tonight & I'm hoping that we get out early so that I can watch the Gilmore Girls premiere. I'm all about shows that are starting in September this year instead of October.
Alrighty roo...off to write some more.
Posted by hannah at 9:03 AM | TrackBack
September 12, 2005
Fall.
It feels like fall has just suddenly arrived. Maybe it's just that I missed the more subtle changes. Anyway, I'm loving it. I spent time yesterday out on my deck, and just ate dinner out there (props to Angela for mentioning I should do that. She was soooooo right...).
So I had a cold supper out on the deck with a glass of cab-merlot, brie, pita chips, and this simple marinated salad. Have I blogged about the salad before? I have no idea. Anyway, all you would need is:
a can of black beans, rinsed
a can of diced tomatoes, slightly drained
one clove of minced garlic
green bell pepper (1/2-whole, chopped)
onion--take your pick of red onion, green onion, whatever, maybe like 1/4 cup chopped
balsamic vinegar--a couple of tablespoons
olive oil--maybe slightly less than the vinegar
seasonings like salt, pepper, dash of sugar, crushed red pepper (if you're into the spicy).
Mix it up & let it set for at least 30 minutes. It's good on nearly any kind of chip. My favorites are corn tortilla chips or pita chips. It is the perfect thing to eat when you just can't bear to cook but want something with at least a little nutritional value. Good times.
Am thinking about turning on the TV. My brain is all melted from work today (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many lines of numbers upon numbers upon more numbers) so I'm thinking some mindless entertainment is in order. Is anybody watching Prison Break on FOX? I haven't yet, but have a couple eps on my TiVo. Will report back on how it is...
Posted by hannah at 7:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 9, 2005
Siesta.
So I finally have my fall vacation planned. Yay! My parents own a timeshare in Mexico & they usually go to one in Puerto Vallarta. I've never been, but this year I get to go. It's been highly dramatic because we wanted to go the week of Thanksgiving, but airfares were outrageous & my mom was already freaking out about getting tickets. (If anyone ever wonders where my control freak-ness comes from...there you go.) Anyway we've moved up the dates and are now all set. Bought my plane ticket today which still nearly caused me to hurl. So much for being out of credit card debt. But a vacation is much needed. And what with it coming two days after I get back from LA, it'll be like 2 weeks out of the office. Hurray!
Well, I can hear everybody heading out for the weekend, so I'm off to join them. Am excited for the game tomorrow. Who'd have thought I'd get into football? Not me, and yet I just like it. I was talking to a friend at lunch & was like, "Where else do you just get to yell & be loud?" I think it's an excellent way to get some aggression out. :-)
So, goooooooooooooooooo Dawgs!
Posted by hannah at 4:27 PM | TrackBack
September 8, 2005
Torn.
So I've been going into escapist mode lately, because there's only CNN a girl can watch before losing it completely. Thankfully, season 2 of Once & Again arrived last week, so that's been my brain candy this week. It was just such a good show. I just feel like every actor is completely perfect in their part. LOVE IT.
Also have been reading the fall TV preview issue of Entertainment Weekly. Most nights are fine, but there are some tough dilemmas. First up: The OC or Alias? I'm leaning towards The OC because I know they'll get Alias out on dvd fast, and I think I actually prefer watching a whole season in like two weeks. Although there is the whole "I'm not Michael Vaughn" thing to consider. It was by far the coolest cliffhanger of last season. Hmmmmm...
But probably the bigger decision: Lost or Veronica Mars? I am in deep hate that those two shows are on at the same time. I watched all of S1 of Lost, but only saw a few eps of Veronica Mars because my plan was to get the dvds & then watch the second season when it came on. And now I've been foiled! I'm leaning towards Lost because I've already invested in a season of it...but at the same time, would it be better to just do the whole dvd thing like with Alias?
I remain torn.
Anyway, not much else going on. Went to choir practice last night which was fun. My allergies are killing me today. What is up with that?
Posted by hannah at 8:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 5, 2005
Vacationing in Athens.
I've been off work since Friday (whoo-hoo!) and won't go back until Wednesday. Hurray!
Between the price of gas & trying to pay off my last credit card (so. close.), we decided to hang out in-town this weekend. It's been a lot of fun. On Friday, we ran a bunch of errands & spent a bunch of time at Hair Loft. Since I hadn't been cut or colored since May, it was long past time. We went to eastside DePalma's for dinner (mmmmm....pasta DePalma...) with friends from church.
Sat. was game day. Yay! Stopped at Molly O'Shea's for a beer (quite dead in there...it's just not the same now that my roommate isn't there), puttered around downtown shops, and then to the Globe. We met this hilarious woman from Mississippi who joined us for a beer. She's a Democrat too, so there was much commiserating about the state of things. Game was fun, but HOT. I've got seats this season in the east endzone, and there wasn't much relief from the heat until the 3rd quarter.
Yesterday was the church thing. We've got several people with families affected by Katrina, so church has been collecting things for their trips. Went to lunch at Buffalo's with about 14 folks from church which was fun. And then had friends over for a casual supper. Angela oversaw the grill--brats & dogs--while I cooked tater tots, tried not to burn the sauerkraut, and sauteed some Vidalia onions. And margaritas--yum! We watched a dvd of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (the second one?) and it was really, really funny.
And today we're going to picnic by a covered bridge. Will update later with the exact location, because I'm not sure where it is. And we've still got another movie; one of the Vacation movies. It's time for the funny, I think, after a generally depressing week. It really does feel good to laugh.
Happy Labor Day, everyone!
Posted by hannah at 9:02 AM | TrackBack
September 3, 2005
Katrina in Athens.
Just FYI. I got an email this morning saying that UGA is likely to begin housing Katrina evacuees in Red Cross shelter set up at the Ramsey Center, perhaps as early as Sunday.
Posted by hannah at 9:37 AM | TrackBack
September 1, 2005
Untitled.
I'm too tired to come up with a snappy title. I must say that I am sooooooooo glad that I'm taking tomorrow off from work. I've had enough of this week.
I keep reading the news from New Orleans, and it's just worse & worse. Sigh. If anybody was wondering whether "we" are ready for a large-scale urban terrorist attack, the answer is pretty much, "NO." What a mess. And I'm tired of reading about Bush saying that "help is on the way," with pretty much no details to back that up. They're saying that there are 50-60 thousand people in the Superdome/Convention Center area that need to get out. Holy shit.
Was reading earlier about how the Bush Administration has tried to gut FEMA in recent years. Oh, and Louisiana's most recent request for grants to help mitigate disasters? Denied. Here's an article from last year that talks about it. It's long but worth a read.
Holy crap. I just got an email from MoveOn.org about an effort to link hurricane victims with people that have spare beds in the Southeast. Wow.