Boston, Cape Cod, end of some things...beginnings of others...

So, I got another year older last month. Yup. It was a pretty pithy showing on the celebrations side of things. Not even a cake. I received one single card (Nate) and one single book as a gift (thanks Bob!). Is this what happens when you start to get old? I got alot of really nice email/Facebook/text birthday wishes and my mom and dad (and Bob) both called me several times. :) Steven sent me a nice birthday text-- I guess that's the next generation thing to do. My parents, who have always (and I mean ALWAYS) been on the ball about birthdays, sent me a nice, fat check about 2 weeks later. I forgive them because they had their hands full with a couple garage sales and selling/closing on my Grampa's house in St. Paul. I haven't been around in MN lately for all the hectic'ness, but it has been palpable when I've talked to them on the phone in between everything. My point of the whole matter is that as a kid birthdays were fabulous, full-day celebrations (from which I have many great memories), but now that I'm an "adult" things are starting to change to a more laid-back style of things. We make our own fun I guess! Oh, growing "pains".....

Now don't be feeling bad for me or anything; Nate and I had a grand trip to Boston and Cape Cod over the weekend of my birthday. It was pretty fun and nice to get away from Philly and work and the routine for an extended weekend of 5 days or so. We did the "Freedom Trail" which is about a 6ish mile long walk through the city along a pre-destined path at and between various historical sites such as the Bunker Hill monument, Quincy Markey, historic cemeteries, wharves, Paul Revere's house, and the Harbor. We also visited the Harvard University campus, stopping in at the Natural History Museum. We walked around the famed Harvard Yard (Hah-vahd Yah-d, as they say) and rubbed the bronze toe of memorialized Mr. Harvard. We also went to one of the many meccas of my academic world, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I didn't drag Nate around toooooo much.....I swear. We took the T to and from our hotel and around town everywhere we didn't walk, which was great. I swear I am going to miss great mass transit the most about the east coast. Oh, Twin Cities.....your myopia is so pathetic.... At least the LR is expanding--- finally....

After Boston, we drove down along the coast, stopping in Plymouth, Massachussetts. There we saw the enshrined Plymouth Rock and picked up some delicious salt water taffy before moving on to the Cape. We took the full drive down the Cape through the National Park as far as you can drive without a 4-wheel-drive vehicle and a special "drive-on-sand" permit. There were plenty of Cape regulars with their jeeps and SUVs plugging along the sand to get out closer to the solitude of the lighthouses and farther away from civilization along the seashore. Back on the Park circuit, the road was nearly enclosed on both sides by sand dunes, which I haven't seen since I was west of the Rockies. Very beautiful country and I finally understand for myself the allure of bunking up in a tiny tin, cape-side shack that probably costs thousands to rent for even a week-- just to have a lil piece of the ocean and quiet for a while.

I should add that we probably spent more money that weekend on finding the best local seafood joints we could, than lodging and gasoline. I can honestly say that I had some of the best clam chowder and oysters while we were on this trip. I do have to say, though, that a local place just up the street from us in Philly actually wins the best mussels award so far!

I learned a bit about the arrangement of some more of the New England states, which I could not have explained before this trip. To get to Boston from from Philly (and back), you have to go through New Jersey, then a tiny bit of New York, then Connecticut, then Rhode Island, then Massachussetts. It's crazy how conglomerated so many states are, at least to me, a midwesterner. It -- very literally, because we timed it -- took us 38 minutes to cross the entire state of Rhode Island!!! And that was the LONG way (from SW to NE corners)!!! Myth confirmed! That was pretty awesome. I also have heard (especially now these days since Philly is just over the border from NJ) that New Jersey is often called the "armpit of America," but I found the Garden State to be the most pleasant drive on the trip next to the Cape. The Garden State Parkway was also a great alternative to having to drive through the heart of NYC to get around the Big Apple to get to Connecticut. All in all, our road warrior, the '94 Nissan Sentra held up well and continues to carry us to amazing places. Here's hoping we can get that Ford Fusion Hybrid soon........(we're currently working on that!!)

With the cash I got for my birthday, I decided to spend it on an awesome gadget I read about in one of my favorite mags: Wired. I RARELY read about a new techie gadget and say to myself, "I HAVE to have this!!," but for some reason this one just jumped out at me and stuck. I went ahead and bought myself a Nike+. Currently somewhere in USPS or UPS land, my gadget is going to attach to my shoe and another bit my ipod, and then when I go for runs, track data about my running that I can upload to a computer program and track my progress (or lack thereof...). I've always wanted a better way to motivate myself and I've read tons of good things about this gadget, so, here's hoping for an awesome new toy!! If you've tried this thingy, let me know how you liked it (or not). :)

This month is the concluding month of my 10-month long internship with the Near Eastern Section at Penn. I'll be happy to have gotten great professional experience and made some great new contacts, but I'll be equally as happy to get to scratch the itch that is getting away from my supervisor. However, I asked to stay on for the month of September (and maybe part of October until we move) to work (read: volunteer) with the Loans Registrar, whom I've become acquainted with and like. This is one area of museum registration and collections management that I've been dying to more of, that is, work with loans (of objects/artefacts to and from other museum institutions, for ye laypeople). There is alot of work that goes into organizing and making loans happen in a museum, including but not limited to dealing with US (and foreign) customs, (often international) shipping, agricultural depts, etc. For instance, what do you do if it is your job to get an object back that belongs to your museum for which the period of the loan (per the contract) has expired, the borrowing museum has poorly planned finances and now has no money to ship (or courier) it back to you (more than 2,000 miles away across an ocean), and the object is a 1,000 pound, life-sized Buddha statue, and the US Dept of Agric. tells you that you can only ship it in a crate made out of a certain type of wood? Yes, people, this is what I want to learn more about and would love to do professionally, for real. I want to build my skills! So that's what I'll be doing in September and I'm looking forward to it. :)

Nate and I are also apartment hunting in the west metro area for October, so if you know of anything that sounds good, let me know!

Here's some recent pics:

Me, doing a lil dance cuz I'm so happy to be at the Cape!

Nate and Plymouth Rock

Me, at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, one of the Kennedy hang-outs

Boston Harbor and downtown Boston

Nate and I in front of the original (not the replica!) Cheers bar!

Job Seekers: Beware of Long Delays and the Inability to Plan Next to Nothing

Greetings from the anxious job seeker, bride-to-be, soon-to-be graduate, and soon-to-vacate.

I knew July-September 2008 for me was going to be a little crazy, but now that it is actually here I feel more overwhelmed by the day. I am ok day to day, but I definitely have moments where I space out for several seconds or even minutes thinking about all the stuff that is happening between now and October. Yes, October. Seems crazy, I know.

Well, bringing things down to present and near future time, I am working as steadfastly and diligently on my thesis as I can. In addition to that, I am trying to work as much as possible to make ends meet through the summer and fall. Nate does pick up quite a bit of the slack these days financially, but 'ol money-bags has a real job, unlike me at the moment. It is just a phase of graduate school poorness we will get beyond sometime soon. I knew I/we would be poor while I was in graduate school, but it DOES get old-- I promise you.

To remedy my poverty and push my life into its next stage I have applied for more than 2 dozen jobs already. Of course, I'm still pushing through the last of my graduate coursework (my thesis and one internship class with some odds and ends) which is rapidly coming to tight deadlines for completion. I'd like to be able to be completely done with everything before Nate and I get married, but reality tells me that I may very well be 'done', but my thesis may still need some revisions or formatting or something before the official publication/binding process. My defense, no doubt, will take place by this deadline, however. Thank god.

Anyhow, jobs. I cannot even remember all the places to which I have applied, but I finally got one good bite. I have an interview at the end of the month in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology as a 'Keeper of the Near Eastern Section'. This is a Collections Management position, so for those of you not in the museum world, I would assist the curator and registrar in caring for and maintaining the everyday well-being of the museum's Near Eastern objects. If it works out, I can explain more, but... I am trying not to get my hopes up by hoping for the best, expecting the worst. Any of you who truly know me understand that I am a realist. I understand my odds are good at this point (I am probably in a veRRRy small pool of candidates, say 3-4), but it is still absolutely not a guarantee. This particular position would be a big step up for me and I would gladly accept it in an instant, especially since it is pretty much exactly what I want to do. So we'll see. This is all I know at this point, honestly, so that's that. As for all the logistics, hopefully the Museum would get back to me relatively soon so that Nate and I had at least a few days to figure out which direction our moving truck is going on August 14th. *Sigh*... So many questions, so few answers at this point.

If this job is a no-go, and I hear nothing else by that point (we must vacate our current place on August 14th and we're not staying in Columbia), our default plan is to move back to the Twin Cities and perhaps live at my grampa's old house until we have more definitive plans. Again, there is no way to tell.

Because of all the unanswered questions at this point, I am starting to feel very flakey towards people. It is not without good reasons, but that's how I feel. I don't like being flakey, either. I am really busy between work and working on my schoolwork, and wedding planning, and job searching (and now interviewing), and moving, and whatever else pops up. I always feel like I need to be doing something towards one of the aforementioned goals, so making plans is incredibly tough because I don't want to back out of things. I'd rather just not make plans and play things by ear these days. Some days I'm more stressed out than others and just want to be productive, whereas others I just want to rest. In any case, I hope people understand that I am thinking of them and I appreciate all the help and kindness I'm receiving (esp. towards wedding stuff), and things will calm down eventually. Really! <3

In other news, Nate and I will be traveling again back to MN for Nate's friend Chris's wedding. We're going to be in the cities for a few days at the end of the last full week/weekend of July. That last Sunday we'll travel back to Columbia, only for me to turn around and fly out to Philly that last Monday for a few days to interview and perhaps meet a good friend of mine (Maiden of Honour, fyi) currently living in Baltimore. I'll then come back to Columbia, again, and have 2 weeks to wrap up living here, literally.

That's the crazy update, if it does feel like I'm just posting my schedule in a way!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who is helping Nate and I with all of these activities in our lives. You mean alot to us and it is very much appreciated. :)

Take care,
c

Lost, Kitties, and odds & ends

My friends Nicki and Dusty need to find new homes for their 2 cats, Ptolemy and Ari (6yrs & 2yrs, respectively). Nicki and Dusty are moving to NYC for Dustin to continue his schooling and they cannot have pets where they are going. So if you know anyone who is interested in adopting 2 adorable cats, let me know. Ptolemy and Ari need new homes by August.

Also, I'd just like to point out that the season finale of Lost in on tomorrow night at 8-10pm...(CST)!! So excited for that! For those of you who haven't yet joined the Lost community, I highly recommend it. :)

Other than these two bits of news, I don't have a whole lot but felt like blogging anyway. My thesis is still a thorn in my side, I'm working at the Museum and the Archives, I'm ebbing away at wedding planning details, and I wish I weren't so busy that I could sit by the pool all summer (*add activity to wish list). I haven't heard back from ANY of my many job applications all over the country, but I guess it may still be a little early. The current default plan for Nate and I is to move back to the Twin Cities, for better or worse, if I can't find a job. Seriously, this is possibly the worst economy to trying to find a job, let alone a job primarily in the humanities/non-profit sector. For some reason, people think that it is ok to cut funding for this aspect of life when times are tough. The governor of Florida (? I think, either that or a mayor in FL, I read it recently) didn't think so, and kept all arts funding afloat and the same as previous years despite economic plight. Maybe I should look for a job in the Sunshine state.

In about a week and a half, Nate and I are intending to trek up to Minnesota for about a week to do a ton of wedding planning. Right now there are about 13 items on our "to-do" checklist, which seems like kind of alot...but I think we'll manage...or at least, I'll manage w/my mom while Nate's working during the weekdays. I think one trip Nate will have to accompany me on is apartment shopping while we're in Mpls.... We already have a couple places in mind to look at, but if we want something comparable to what we have now, we are going to be paying twice as much as we do down here in Columbia. Columbia is dirt cheap compared to the Cities, and that is going to be a big re-adjustment after 2 years. Although we are mentally prepared for it after paying the high city prices all through undergrad, it doesn't mean we like it. Regardless of where we move to, TC or not, we'll likely be in a large urban area and rental property prices are just gona be high no matter what. Guess I'll just have to find a real, non-student job.....

That's all for now because I'm tired and don't feel like writing my usual book. Gets tiring after a while!

-c