i'm heeeeeeeeeere!

dad and i drove up to connecticut to see and stay with my aunt and uncle yesterday, and 12 and a half hours in the car actually went by pretty quickly.  this morning we drove into the city and moved me into my dorm room.  things i learned today:
(a) my room is actually the perfect size - i will no longer be talking badly about my 109 square feet.  it's a perfect 109 square feet!  everything fits and it's very cozy.
(b) it doesn't take you very long to unpack when you packed for 109 square feet.  i feel moved in already.
(c) it is hot.  why is today the day of the 90 degree heat wave?  i do not approve.  my little fan works well, though.
(d) cell phone service is traaaaaagic in my room.  ugh.  we're talking: i can't place a call, even when i lean my body out the window.  text messages appear to work okay.  verizon, we are fighting.  how do i have better reception in rural north carolina than in NEW YORK CITY?  (anyone have any secret tips for improving service?)

i found a drug store, a chipotle, and the westside market (aka "heaven"), so i'm all set.  i'm having dinner with talia tonight, because i know someone in this city!  hoo-ray!

a photo a day, part 1

Thanks, Dadders, for moving me up to New York!!

Conversation that preceded this photo:

me: We need a picture of you in front of the Seinfeld diner.
Dad: Oh, nah...
me: Yes! Act casual and I'll pretend like I'm not taking a photo...

um, yeah...i've been bad about posting recently.  it just doesn't feel like there's anything going on in my life...like the last two weeks have been me on a little treadmill running in place, waiting to get off and get in the car and go to new york.  i'm both excited and scared about my new adventure, and i'm tired of the treadmill, so bring it on.

okay, full disclosure: there are some problems with this treadmill metaphor.  have i been exercising?  um, not really.  i think that's part of my unsettled feeling - i don't have a routine because i don't need a routine because there's not a lot i need to get done.  (could exercising be part of my routine?  why yes of course, but it's hot outside and i don't want to.)  i complete one task of some sort a day so i can feel useful (don't we all want to feel this way?) and then spend the rest of the day reading or cooking or watching tv.  (i may or may not have watched two and a half seasons of breaking bad in the last two weeks.  that's, um, 2 or 3 episodes a day.)  when my one task of the day goes awry or isn't completable...well, then i just spent all day and i have nothing to show for it.  this is incredibly frustrating, since why the hell else did i wake up than to complete this task?  it's time to listen to this song again; this is how i feel.

so...something exciting ought to happen soon, and i'll keep you updated when it does.  onward, to new york!

my NC driver's license arrived AND MY PHOTO IS AWESOME.  yesssssssss.  this pleases me.  when the woman was taking it the light indicating she was taking the photo was on for like 10 seconds straight, and you know how a smile starts to fade and look really fake after about 3 seconds?  ugh.  my fake smile is...very fake.  i was so worried that was what the picture was going to look like.  but it doesn't - victory!

what i'm listening to right now

"be careful," by patty griffin:


love. her. voice.

(another tragic homemade video.  ugh.  why won't youtube cooperate with me and give me better videos than this?!)

a little trivia question that i liked, from ken jennings' trivia site:

Name one of the two American candidates since the Civil War to lose a presidential election both as president and vice president on a major-party ticket.

i could think of one!  anyone want to take a shot at it?

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.”
--Mother Teresa

random thoughts

1. most of the time i very much prefer books to their movie remakes.  like, if you enjoy a book you should never see the movie because it will ruin the experience for you.*  exception to the rule?  the remains of the day.  really loved the movie; thanks to jen for encouraging me to watch it!

2. my parents leave for work every morning by 8am; i roll downstairs between 9 and 10:30.  it is glorious.  initially, it took the dogs a while to realize i was here and thus they should bark and scratch at the door to be let in.  then they got wise to the fact that this was going to happen EVERY DAY and were much quicker on the uptake.  this morning?  both dogs were inside when i woke up; abby greeted me in the kitchen and stella appeared a little later from under mom and dad's bed.  it's like they told my parents this morning, "no need to let us out - claire will be up in a couple hours!"

3. i have received my first email from a professor...with about 100 pages of reading attached that i need to read for our first class.  i've done about half of it - it's both exciting and daunting to think about this year ahead.  i've also made the transition to doing my reading on my computer, highlighting and making comments to myself right in the document.  welcome to 2012, miss claire.

4. you know how apparently the whole country is in a drought?  um, not our little corner of the country.  it's lush and green and gorgeous here, and hasn't been too hot - i remember august being the WORST in terms of heat and humidity when i was younger, but it's perfectly fine this year.  highs in the 80s, pretty humid, but i can sit inside without air conditioning and be just fine.  hoo-ray.

5. and yes, these ARE the only things going on in my life right now.  a little boring, yes, but i'm enjoying the ability not to be ON all the time.  disconnecting for a little while is a good thing.


*next up in my netflix queue: pillars of the earth.  anyone seen it?  i've heard mixed reviews about the miniseries version...

what i'm listening to right now

"red right ankle," by the decemberists:


great band name...really distinctive sound...love the lyrics to their songs.  HOORAY.  i'm a big fan!

packing

because i am me, i am already packing and organizing myself for my move in 10 days.  some people would say this is too early.  whatever.  organizing is fun.

i decided which books i'm going to take to new york with me!  people like nora will understand the importance of this decision.  though...i do have my kindle, so i can really read any book i want...but physical books are a comfort to have on the bookshelf.  i still love physical books.

four new york city travel guides - yay!

i have read all of the other books.  in my new life i don't imagine i'll have much time for reading for pleasure - probably just the couple minutes before i fall asleep at night.  my cousin nate said last weekend that he likes to re-read books at night, because they require less concentration - you already know what's going to happen, so if you only get through a couple pages it's easy to pick it back up the next day.  this is genius.  this is what i'm going to do.  i also thought that nonfiction would be a good move, as they don't have as much of a plot to follow.  (feel free to say that i'm overthinking this.)

these three books are all set in new york, so they seemed important to bring and re-read while i'm there:
frank mccourt, teacher man
julie powell, julie & julia
truman capote, breakfast at tiffany's

these books are others that i've loved and fit the above-mentioned requirements:
mindy kaling, is everyone hanging out without me? and other concerns
stefan fatsis, word freak
good poems for hard times (this is the only book on this list that i haven't read, but a book of poems is excellent for quick nighttime reading.)
roald dahl, matilda
michael pollan, the omnivore's dilemma

i'm getting more and more excited about the move as each day passes!

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”
--Abraham Lincoln

i made both versions of mark bittman's asparagus salad last week and they were DELISH.  so easy, really flavorful, and a great change from ordinary, lettuce-based salads.

i'm increasingly - as my move to new york approaches - thinking about easy stuff to make when i get there.  i'm planning to bring minimal cooking supplies - one frying pan, one pot, one big bowl.  complex recipes and any serious baking is going to take a one year hiatus.  this asparagus salad would work perfectly on my new adventure!

grandma's jewelry

when my grandma died, she left behind a LOT of jewelry.  she was never rich - or even close to it - so there was no discussion of whether any of it was worth a huge amount of money, but she loved jewelry.  it's amazing how much of it is timeless - things that we, her 30-ish year old granddaughters love and were happy to have.

my grandma had one daughter, my aunt monica.  monica had taken a couple special things for herself, but she generously brought most of it for the granddaughters to share.  she spread it all out on a table last saturday afternoon and we looked through it all.  my cousin sara proposed a draft; each of us would take one piece per "round," assuring that we didn't feel like others had taken everything we wanted.  my first round draft pick?  this cameo ring:

after that it's a blur - i don't know which piece i took when.  a couple months ago i have decided that when i am an old lady principal i want to have a brooch collection.  here are three to add to the...one...i already had:

horrible picture wherein i demonstrate how i will wear said brooch:

a ring i remember grandma wearing a lot - it's the end of a spoon bent around on itself - and necklace.

charm for a necklace:

awesome earrings that i will probably never wear - they are made from 1940s dimes!  do not ask me how someone did this.

also, FDR isn't on the dime!  wikipedia informs me that it is "mercury" or "winged liberty," and this is what the dime looked like from 1916 until 1945.  i mean, makes sense, right.  you don't put a current president on your money...

another ring - love this one, too:

and then there was my grandma's owl collection - 14 owls that she'd collected over the years.  we split them up among the family members.  i definitely got the best one.  (shh - don't tell.)

i'm really excited about having these things of my grandma's - she'll always be with me!

(ugh, vomit - too cheesy.  but TRUE, people.  sometimes cheesy is TRUE.)

i have my new (temporary) north carolina driver's license!  going into the DMV brought back weird memories from 2001...of failing driving portion of the driver's license test the first time, crying on the way home, and then going back the next day and passing.  nerves, i tell you!  nerves!  but, ugh - bad memories.

today was different - i only had to pass a written test (which i did - flying colors).  and yo, i'm a registered north carolina democrat now.  woo!

next step: wait 7-10 days to get my physical license in the mail, then take it to the car registration bureau people and change my car's registration to north carolina.  then, friends, i'm official.  (i think.  anything i'm forgetting??)

this afternoon i've been going through all the boxes i moved to north carolina from atlanta and deciding what to move with me to my 109 square feet in new york, and what will stay in north carolina until i move again (prettypleaseletmefindajob) next summer.  the pile to take to new york is very small so far, but i'm not too nervous about that.  if i've learned anything from going to england for the past four summers it's that i can survive on very few physical belongings.  each summer i've taken only a carry on suitcase and a backpack, and i've been able to survive very comfortably for as long as 7 weeks.  the most important belongings - the ones that make all the rest unimportant?  a cell phone and a kindle and a laptop.  we don't need much in order to be happy, and in this consumer-focused society it's so easy to forget that.*

and that, people, is your moment of zen.


*which is not to say that i don't like things.  I LIKE THINGS.  this post is all over the place, but I DON'T CARE.  this weekend my aunt monica brought my grandma's jewelry to the farm and all the granddaughters went through it and picked out a couple things to keep.  i got some good stuff.  i'll show you later.  GET EXCITED.  you better believe i'm taking all my jewelry to new york.  and tons of clothes.  there is a place for these things...

mushroom pizza for dinner - and i made my own pizza dough for the first time!  thanks, mark bittman!  (this video was great, in addition to the recipe - seeing it come together in the food processor was helpful.)  it was delish!  exclamation points everywhere!

i also made a great salad - peaches, walnuts, and goat cheese over lettuce.  yummmm.

i am eating well on this here north carolina interlude.

want to know the REAL secret to saving money on your car insurance?  move from atlanta to rural north carolina.  i just went in to transfer my policy and it is literally half the cost of what it was when i lived in atlanta.  HALF! THE! COST!

life is so good.

tomorrow: north carolina driver's license and registering to vote in this state.  the electoral college means my vote for obama in 2008 didn't mean much in georgia...but it might this year in NC!

i'm loving this, and i will definitely be following along in the less than 90 days (eek!) until the presidential election:

90 days, 90 reasons

90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted—in short, Twitter form, with a longer essay available here. Please spread the word.

i'm home in north carolina!  i've been here for a week now, but it was a very busy week, full of getting the house ready for 18 of our relatives to visit, which happened this weekend.  that's the reason i haven't posted in an embarrassingly long time...i've been very busy.  apologies!

to fill you in on some of our excitement: last week mom was weeding on a hillside near the house...and out slithered a copperhead!

eek!

dad came up from the shop with a tool that is apparently called a bush axe (shown on the right).  he killed it with one hack.

i stood on a picnic table for safety.

then it dripped blood everywhere.  i did not like that part.

the end.

(file this under "things that do not happen when you live in atlanta.")

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
--Marilyn Monroe

i'm back from mike's birthday adventure in colorado, and i haven't posted in days (oops - there was too much fun to be had!).

until tomorrow, here is this awesome video from the new york times about the history of the 100 meter dash in the olympics.  VERY VERY COOL.

oh dear lord i love this - my oxford friend liz sent it to me saying, "this reminds me of us watching gymnastics in the office."  it's basically how i watch gymnastics ON STEROIDS.  the dad at the end is the best part.

(i am now laughing out loud just thinking about this video.)

july: 19, 20, 21, 22, & 23

july!  every summer when i come to england i forget how much i read when tv isn't an option.  here i read during the time when i would be watching tv at home.  i was about to say "when i would read or watch tv at home," but that is a BIG FAT LIE.  i'd be watching tv, let's be honest.  while i'll be happy to go back to the world of television, i do really enjoy all the reading i'm able to do in england during the summers.  this month i read:


the weird sisters, by eleanor brown (a good, light-ish read - the story of three sisters whose father is a shakespeare professor - lots of shakespeare references throughout, but nothing too confusing if you don't get them all [i didn't].  the sisters are all very different in a kind of contrived way, but i did still enjoy it and it kept me entertained.  i'd recommend it, though not glowingly.)

mama's boy, preacher's son: a memoir, by kevin jennings (when i went up to teachers college for admitted students day in april, kevin jennings was the keynote speaker.  he founded GLSEN, is a teachers college graduate, and was really inspirational, talking about the power of teachers to prevent bullying in schools and to advocate for students, particularly gay students.  the fact that teachers college chose him as their keynote speaker - and the school i used to work for won't even allow students to start a gay-straight alliance IN 2012 FOR GOD'S SAKE - this dichotomy made it so apparent that i was making the right choice in going to teachers college.  i knew immediately that i wanted to read this book, a memoir of his life.  i'm a sucker for memoirs, and he writes eloquently about his tough childhood and his experience as a new teacher.  teacher-friends: you MUST read this book.  such an amazing story, and an important reminder of what we, as teachers, can do to help make our students' childhoods different from his childhood.  i loved the epigraph to the book - it spoke to my understanding of history: "one person's truth, if told well, does not leave anyone out." [paul monette])

the leftovers, tom perrotta (becky recommended this book to me, and i really liked it.  as with a lot of really good books, it starts with a great premise: one day some people just disappear, rapture-like.  the story is about those who are left on earth and how they cope with the loss of people they know.  some go on like normal, others join cult-ish religions of varying kinds.  there are 4 or 5 narrators that tell their version of the story.  really interesting, and i thought about it a lot when i wasn't reading it, which is often a good way to judge whether i like a book or not.  i'd really recommend it!)

the remains of the day, by kazuo ishiguro (i liked never let me go better.  is that bad to say as i start off this mini review?  well, it's true.  but i'll back up a bit...  this book is told from the perspective of a butler at a fancy english estate in the 1950s, as he reminisces about his career as a butler.  the remains of the day is subtle, and i definitely liked it and read it quickly, but it didn't compare in my mind to how much i loved never let me go.  i do want to see the movie, though, and maybe seeing it on screen will raise it in my estimation.)

the marriage plot, by jeffrey eugenides (ugh, another book i was excited to read because i'd loved other books by that author...and then it wasn't as good as the other books.  this book was fine and all - and again, i had no trouble getting through it, but it was no middlesex.  it's the story of a woman and two men involved in a sort of love triangle throughout college and in the years immediately afterward.  i enjoyed it, definitely, but i wouldn't send you rushing out to buy it.  the characters weren't ones i could relate to...that was part of the problem with it, i think.  shout out to vin for giving me her used copy, though! - and it was in her pile of books to give away for probably precisely the same reasons i've listed here.)

aaaaand i've been up since 5:45am.

jet lag is silly.