The Art of Distraction

You know how the internet is addicting because there’s so much interesting stuff out there? Like, an endless amount? And one awesome website will link to another, and it can go on forever? And you get into a really bad habit of keeping TONS of tabs open for days? I mean, a ridiculous number that should probably make your computer crash? Tab after tab, beckoning to you, waiting to be looked at, until you nearly suffer a panic attack and close them all out at once? No? Oh, maybe that’s just me.

You probably have some idea of how the first week of my spring semester went: The same as usual. The most productive thing I’ve done is look into summer jobs. Note – This doesn’t help me get my homework done (though I did come across an amazing opportunity that I’m convinced is my destiny). How have I come this far in school? What kind of grad student AM I?

I’ve been hoarding photos from Christmas vacation, since I knew I wouldn’t have time to take as many now that I’m back in school, let alone edit, upload, and post them. Going even further back in time than my previous post, these are from the drive to Ft. Lauderdale, when I had my whole break ahead of me. Nothing to do but watch the sky change color. This is me forlorn.

PS – Thanks to my friend Ashley for telling me she reads this blog, it helped motivate me to update :)

Turn Back the Clock

I am SO not ready for school to start tomorrow. What I’d give to be back in South Florida, walking around Ft. Lauderdale with Patrick, enjoying Christmas break. This is me whining.

January 1

The new year snuck up on me, or maybe I’ve just been feeling apathetic about resolutions. Nevertheless, I have a few I’d like to get down (more short-term to-do list than the result of introspective soul-searching):

1. Get completely prepared for new semester; finalize internship plans, clean house, do laundry, figure out bus route, order books, prepare for TAing, etc.
2. Apply for summer job at UF.
3. Complete UN resume and internship application. Look into other possibilities for the summer.
4. Get Canadian passport.
5. Try to get US passport.
6. Plan a vacation or even explore studying/ volunteering/ interning abroad.
7. Apply for scholarships and fellowships.
8. Sell items on Etsy.
9. Go to gym – start out with personal training sessions.
10. Make all doctor’s appointments.
11. …Pursue possible driving therapy.
12. Monitor Herman’s diet & exercise; stay on top of check-ups.
13. Think about thesis/ non-thesis project ideas.
14. Try to present or publish work.

Ok, that’s all the to-doing I can handle for now. Here are some photos I took at a glorious butterfly garden yesterday. Unfortunately I only brought my point-and-shoot camera, but I’ll go back with my DSLR eventually. It was so beautiful, definitely a place where I felt utterly happy and ‘in the moment.’

Later Christmas Day

Christmas Morning

We distribute all the presents and go around in a circle, opening them one by one…makes the morning last longer.

Patrick’s Family Visits: Part II

These are from our morning with Patrick’s parents and sister. Downtown was gray and pretty empty. Guess that’s a college town during the holidays for you (though finals aren’t officially over until next week).

Patrick’s Family Visits: Part I

What a jam-packed weekend…we were all over Gainesville in the past 24 hours, and that included lots of walking. These first photos are from the amazing Historic Homes Tour we went on yesterday; I finally got to go inside some of the houses and bed & breakfasts I’ve been admiring for months, like I was here. Most stops provided hot chocolate, apple cider, fresh baked cookies, and live Christmas music, and I took my first carriage ride. How much more quaint can an evening be? After last night, any job besides running a B&B seems totally crappy. Seriously. I can’t imagine anything better.

There are more pictures on my Flickr but unfortunately many of them turned out blurry due to the low-light.

One Mississippi

Few things:

1. Hung some stuff.

(Cube shelves over the tv. I hate taking pictures of tvs. They’re so ugly.)

Finally re-hung the chair prints after rearranging.

2. Patrick does his thing.

3. I got a hair cut.

Just a trim.

4. It feels a little bit like fall.

5. Back to work.

Every Day Food

I caught the PBS show Every Day Food recently and really enjoyed it, so I checked out the website about a week ago. This recipe for making your own frozen burritos stuck in my head, since, well, it seems like my kinda meal – beans, rice, and convenience. Based on my own preferences and what I had in the house, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I used Spanish rice, red and black beans, and mixed some tomatoes, spinach, avocado, and lime juice together for a nice topping. One ingredient I definitely kept was the corn–a nice addition I hadn’t thought of eating with tacos/burritos previously.

Freshly assembled the mini burritos (I only had small tortillas) were totally savory; I froze three more so we’ll see how those turn out reheated later. Even though they’d be good for three months, something tells me they’ll get eaten much sooner…

Orange You Glad…

My neighbor knows someone who grows tangerines on his own tree; he gave her a bunch and she brought us down a couple. Delicious :)

I don’t yet know what I’m wearing or where I’m going for Halloween…but I’m pretty sure I’ll have fun. I have so many vintage clothes I can easily do a decade themed costume, but I wonder if I can figure out a way to be more specific; a character or famous person? Depends on what I’ve got lying around, I suppose.

TGIF!