Hey everyone,
I don't really think anyone will possibly read this blog entry, but just in case here goes -
I have returned to New Jersey and am finding just about everything difficult to handle again. The traffic is insane, people seem just always unhappy, and you better be in a liberal mindset OR ELSE!
I'm considering attending the two week long Wilton cake decorating workshop in Illinois and starting my life over as a cake decorator...Does this make me crazy?
I keep trying to remember why I went to grad school in history in the first place. And for the life of me, I just can't remember why it was...or at least none of the reasons seem like reasons anymore. They just seem like excuses.
More later.
-Rebecca
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Friday, November 23, 2007
when life gives you lemons...
You find the organic co-op!!!
Ok first I would like to apologize for being the absolute worst blogger in the history of online diary-making (that sounded dirty)
I recognize that I have a tendency to neglect my blog posting, but acknowledge that i am not perfect (though close to it) and this is one of my few faults.
Now onto an update about my life...
where to begin?
well I would like to say that things in Jackson have been picking up lately. Not quite to the glory days at the University of Virginia, but moving closer...
Things started off rough (as you will perhaps remember form my previous posting (over 3 weeks ago).
Nearly every white male in Mississippi between the ages of 15 and 40 seems to drive a big truck. My apartment complex is teeming with Chevys, Dodges, Z71s and other vehicles that I will never personally own (though I secretly do enjoy listening to Johnny Cash and drinking wine inside of them). Anyway these monstrously large vehicles not only take up way too much space but absolutely destroy a parking lot. Close to my apartment, you can see the havoc that these huge trucks have wreaked. On average half of the spaces become nearly unusuable because these trucks have knocked the concrete barriers diagonal to the actual space.
My poor little Honda has been beat up so badly by these dumb bully trucks. First, my car got stuck on some reebarb (not sure if this is even a word) - you know the metal that sticks into the ground that secures the concrete barrier that the car pulls up to...some stupid truck had knocked the concrete bar about a foot in front of the rebarb and my car got stuck on that crap when i unsuspectingly pulled up to the concrete block.
I was hoppin' mad, and threatened to sue my apartment complex for negligence (because it was reasonable for me to have pulled up to the concrete block, not suspecting the rebarb to be there...) but was soon comforted by a nice Mississippi College of Law student who helped free my car. This person's act of kindness made me less angry at the apartment complex and I happily forgot my angry threat to sue and went on my merry way to the Organic Co-op, where I met another nice person...
Anyway, back to the parking lot problems. Again, as I said the trucks hit these stupid diagonal concrete blocks around, so a few nights ago I came back from my running club, with many nice people, and pulled my car into the only (ok the closest) available space. Unfortunately, the block was diagonal, so my car was pretty far back in the space. I didn't think anything of it, because it wasn't that much farther back than the huge ass Excursion that was parked a few spaces down from me...
Well...I have learned my lesson.
Some stupid huge ass truck (no doubt with a drunken driver at the wheel) came by in the middle of the night and hit my cute little Honda (probably b/c I have NJ plates) in the back passenger rear of my car which then pushed my back driver side of my car into the truck next to me and fled from the scene...my car then took out the truck next to me's tailight, but my car hit this truck in between my tail light and where you put the gas into the car, so actually I came out pretty well in the whole thing. Oh yes and a nice person that I know from the apartment complex then inquired about the sad state of yours truly...
Anyway the car seems to be doing ok, especially with the help of so many nice people in Jackson, that I seem to be settling in just fine these days...
oh and research is going ok too...
i'll blog about more soon...i promise...sort of
Ok first I would like to apologize for being the absolute worst blogger in the history of online diary-making (that sounded dirty)
I recognize that I have a tendency to neglect my blog posting, but acknowledge that i am not perfect (though close to it) and this is one of my few faults.
Now onto an update about my life...
where to begin?
well I would like to say that things in Jackson have been picking up lately. Not quite to the glory days at the University of Virginia, but moving closer...
Things started off rough (as you will perhaps remember form my previous posting (over 3 weeks ago).
Nearly every white male in Mississippi between the ages of 15 and 40 seems to drive a big truck. My apartment complex is teeming with Chevys, Dodges, Z71s and other vehicles that I will never personally own (though I secretly do enjoy listening to Johnny Cash and drinking wine inside of them). Anyway these monstrously large vehicles not only take up way too much space but absolutely destroy a parking lot. Close to my apartment, you can see the havoc that these huge trucks have wreaked. On average half of the spaces become nearly unusuable because these trucks have knocked the concrete barriers diagonal to the actual space.
My poor little Honda has been beat up so badly by these dumb bully trucks. First, my car got stuck on some reebarb (not sure if this is even a word) - you know the metal that sticks into the ground that secures the concrete barrier that the car pulls up to...some stupid truck had knocked the concrete bar about a foot in front of the rebarb and my car got stuck on that crap when i unsuspectingly pulled up to the concrete block.
I was hoppin' mad, and threatened to sue my apartment complex for negligence (because it was reasonable for me to have pulled up to the concrete block, not suspecting the rebarb to be there...) but was soon comforted by a nice Mississippi College of Law student who helped free my car. This person's act of kindness made me less angry at the apartment complex and I happily forgot my angry threat to sue and went on my merry way to the Organic Co-op, where I met another nice person...
Anyway, back to the parking lot problems. Again, as I said the trucks hit these stupid diagonal concrete blocks around, so a few nights ago I came back from my running club, with many nice people, and pulled my car into the only (ok the closest) available space. Unfortunately, the block was diagonal, so my car was pretty far back in the space. I didn't think anything of it, because it wasn't that much farther back than the huge ass Excursion that was parked a few spaces down from me...
Well...I have learned my lesson.
Some stupid huge ass truck (no doubt with a drunken driver at the wheel) came by in the middle of the night and hit my cute little Honda (probably b/c I have NJ plates) in the back passenger rear of my car which then pushed my back driver side of my car into the truck next to me and fled from the scene...my car then took out the truck next to me's tailight, but my car hit this truck in between my tail light and where you put the gas into the car, so actually I came out pretty well in the whole thing. Oh yes and a nice person that I know from the apartment complex then inquired about the sad state of yours truly...
Anyway the car seems to be doing ok, especially with the help of so many nice people in Jackson, that I seem to be settling in just fine these days...
oh and research is going ok too...
i'll blog about more soon...i promise...sort of
Thursday, November 1, 2007
when the white walls of loneliness finally get to you...
you do this -
Yes, I'm afraid that what began as a research trip of such great potential has devolved into a sad situation. Instead of the "historian-at-large" (HAL) engaging in glorious escapades (thus giving hope to future generations about the possibilities for fun-filled encounters during one's research year) HAL lives alone in the suburbs of Jackson, MS. HAL has recently decided to put her dissertation up on her walls in order to learn at all hours of the day (and to add some color to the white-washed, institutional walls, because she is too cheap to buy real pictures). HAL's main concern at the moment is whether or not it is possible to overdose on peanut butter and baby carrots. But true happiness filled HAL's soul today when her DSL modem finally came so that she can now be connected to the rest of the world outside of the hell-hole known as Flowood Mississippi.
Yes, I'm afraid that what began as a research trip of such great potential has devolved into a sad situation. Instead of the "historian-at-large" (HAL) engaging in glorious escapades (thus giving hope to future generations about the possibilities for fun-filled encounters during one's research year) HAL lives alone in the suburbs of Jackson, MS. HAL has recently decided to put her dissertation up on her walls in order to learn at all hours of the day (and to add some color to the white-washed, institutional walls, because she is too cheap to buy real pictures). HAL's main concern at the moment is whether or not it is possible to overdose on peanut butter and baby carrots. But true happiness filled HAL's soul today when her DSL modem finally came so that she can now be connected to the rest of the world outside of the hell-hole known as Flowood Mississippi.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Happy day of mass destruction!
Hello there readers,
As I am living with my parents right now, my productivity level has dropped to nil. Usually I spend my mornings involved in the incredibly non-productive routine of looking at my calendar and trying to decide when I will go to what archive and for how long. My mind gets so cluttered that when I try to remember what exactly it is that I was attempting to do in the first place, I can't remember anything anyway. So I give up and start reading some book that is loosely related to my dissertation topic in bed and fall into a deep sleep after only reading 5 pages or so. All of this happens before lunch time.
But this morning I had something concrete to do - I had a mission - I was to go to the post office and mail off some cds to some buddies lucky enough to receive mix cds from yours truly (could you be the next one to receive your "tunes by tuuri" cd?)
Anyway, I went to the post office expecting to accomplish SOMETHING today, but alas alack, I wasn't even successful at running a small errand, much less writing a complete paragraph for a grant proposal or skimming through a book...
Why was I unsuccessful? The post office was closed for a holiday.
What holiday?
Columbus day, or
day for which we celebrate the introduction of a host of diseases into the indigenous populations in the Americas which then decimated most of the people native to these areas.
Why are we celebrating this guy again?
As I am living with my parents right now, my productivity level has dropped to nil. Usually I spend my mornings involved in the incredibly non-productive routine of looking at my calendar and trying to decide when I will go to what archive and for how long. My mind gets so cluttered that when I try to remember what exactly it is that I was attempting to do in the first place, I can't remember anything anyway. So I give up and start reading some book that is loosely related to my dissertation topic in bed and fall into a deep sleep after only reading 5 pages or so. All of this happens before lunch time.
But this morning I had something concrete to do - I had a mission - I was to go to the post office and mail off some cds to some buddies lucky enough to receive mix cds from yours truly (could you be the next one to receive your "tunes by tuuri" cd?)
Anyway, I went to the post office expecting to accomplish SOMETHING today, but alas alack, I wasn't even successful at running a small errand, much less writing a complete paragraph for a grant proposal or skimming through a book...
Why was I unsuccessful? The post office was closed for a holiday.
What holiday?
Columbus day, or
day for which we celebrate the introduction of a host of diseases into the indigenous populations in the Americas which then decimated most of the people native to these areas.
Why are we celebrating this guy again?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Better late than never
Hi there new readers (or in some cases of those who confusedly checked "freckled art" for the 5 months after I stopped posting, loyal-to-a-fault readers)!
Last year, I was often inspired by the words of wisdom that two good friends passed along to me as they did research for their dissertations.
Now that it is my "dissertationyear," I too strive to be as witty with my words as my two friends have been as I attempt to recount my experiences while researching for my dissertation on American history in the South. Of course, I have been on my official research journey for a good 2 and a half months now, but I am only now getting to actually creating a blog to enlighten my readers about the trials and tribulations of research, especially how to live out of a 1992 Honda Accord for 3 months.
But don't worry. I'll recount for you all of the interesting times that I have had so far - like the time in South Carolina where I was driven not by an urge to break the speed limit, but to throw trash out of my car, just like a local!
So do tune in loyal readers, and I promise that it will be illuminating.
Last year, I was often inspired by the words of wisdom that two good friends passed along to me as they did research for their dissertations.
Now that it is my "dissertationyear," I too strive to be as witty with my words as my two friends have been as I attempt to recount my experiences while researching for my dissertation on American history in the South. Of course, I have been on my official research journey for a good 2 and a half months now, but I am only now getting to actually creating a blog to enlighten my readers about the trials and tribulations of research, especially how to live out of a 1992 Honda Accord for 3 months.
But don't worry. I'll recount for you all of the interesting times that I have had so far - like the time in South Carolina where I was driven not by an urge to break the speed limit, but to throw trash out of my car, just like a local!
So do tune in loyal readers, and I promise that it will be illuminating.
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