By the Way...

By the way, did I mention I am a grad student now? Yay UW-L!

Here's a Good One

So, today I'm driving (big surprise, I know) in the Appleton area, and I saw the greatest thing ever. I really wished I had my camera with me.

I drove down a fairly crappy road, no gutters or shoulders or anything, but on one side there was a really nice set of apartment buildings. They looked pretty new, maybe built within the last five years or so. The name of the complex was "Sky View Apartments." The view? Not so much sky. In fact, on the other side of the road was a giant landfill! Ha! Sky View...I think not.

I bet the rent's cheap. Man, I should make a coffee table book.

Green Beer, Goose Talk, Boom!

The past few days have been some very exciting ones.

As you know, Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. Now I've never been big into this holiday, being neither Irish or Irish history savvy, but I was invited to a parade this year, so I happily attended. When invited by my friend Alisha, whom I will lovingly refer to as 'Smith, you know that an adventure will probably ensue. 'Smith's grandma, mom, and cousin all came along. We went to a soul food joint in Mad-town. Soul food? Really? Five white women come bustin' into a soul food place to have a little lunch... Now, I love soul food as much as the other guy, but how weird must that have looked? Anyway, after some good eats, and some great coffee, we watched a nifty little parade decked fully in green and all the accompanies St. Patrick's Day. (Oh, and we didn't get the chance to enjoy any green beer, but that was alright with me.)

After gathering minimal amounts of candy, 'Smith and I took off for home, but along the way we took a detour to Governor Dodge State Park. It was a cool day, but the sun was warm, and I had been itching to get outside and experience some adventure for a few weeks already. At first, 'Smith wasn't really into it, but I drug her out on a path or two, and then the mood hit her, and we were off. We headed for a rocky, dare I say mountainous, peak that overlooked the thinly frozen lake. We sat there on that peak for probably an hour or more. While we were there, two geese came to check us out. It turns out that goose wings make a horrendous amount of noise when flapping. Something like a baseball card in bike spokes. Who knew? Anyway, watching geese interact became quite comical and entertaining.

Sunday was rather uneventful, church, choir, babysitting...nothing too noteworthy.

But today, oh Monday...I was going about my business, entering a school's main doors. There seemed to be a bit of commotion, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The lady at the front desk promptly stated, "I cannot let any visitors in at this time." Um...what? I need to just walk across the hall to the guidance office...this is weird. "May I ask..." "Bomb threat. We've had a bomb threat, and we're evacuating the building." That was all I needed to hear. I turned around, and walked at a near sprint to my car, got in, and peeled my way right out of that parking lot. Now, as far as I know, the school did not blow up, and no bomb was found, but still. Holy crap.

Nothing Like a Little Drive

Did you know that it is just about 300 miles from Platteville to Sturgeon Bay? And it takes just over four hours with no stops. You know when a drive like that is fun? When you're, say, going on vacation, traveling with a friend, going to sightsee... You know when it's not fun? When you drive all that way to talk with students about UW-Platteville and no one shows up to talk to you. That is no fun. No fun at all. I hope tomorrow fairs better. If not, I may just give up and go home.

Feeling a Little Savage

One of my favorite types of dining, a fairly new concept, is the carside-to-go of a few smart and delicious restaurants. This travel season, I have had more carside meals than ever before. Typically, I have had decent luck with the services, however, there have been a few mishaps. Once, a few weeks back, I ordered from an Applebee's, but after I placed my order, I couldn't find the place. I was almost a half an hour late, and my food was beyond just cooled off. But tonight was the worst luck of all when it comes to this usually amazing service.

The food: delicious; the service: prompt; the silverware: ? Well, there wasn't any. Now, perhaps I was expected to request them, but I don't recall ever having to do this before. So, I didn't ask for any while on the phone. And I didn't check for any until back safely in my hotel room. After realizing the mistake, I had a few different options: go all the way back to Applebee's...well, that was out right away; go down to the front desk or the hotel lounge and ask for some...well, this one was definitely feasible, but the food was so hot and smelled amazing....so nah; eat. This option won me over because I was so darn hungry, and once you get a whiff of sirloin, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli. I couldn't wait any longer.

Ok, so it was a little savage to say the least. But what's a hungry girl to do? I sure did scoop individual fingers full of mashed potatoes from plastic dish to drooling lips. And I sure did pick up that entire nine ounce stake, dripping with natural juices, and ate it without setting it back down once. It was, needless to say, a delicious but messy meal.

Moral of the story: ask for silverware, but if you forget, improvise.

It's Official!

Well, after much ado, it's finally official. I signed a lease today for a beautiful two bedroom apartment with a huge kitchen, laundry on the floor, water included....just a fantastic place. I cannot wait to move in.

I think Belmont will treat me well. It'll feel just like being home. After all, moving to Platteville back in the day seemed like heading for the big city. Belmont is just the place. There are gas stations and a post office, some little downtown businesses, and even it's own school. Perfect.

Well, I move in May 26th. So if you're interested in getting sweaty and lifting some super heavy furniture, you be sure to give me a call.

Appleton...Ugh!

After a very long week on the road, seeing very few students, we had a reception for students last night in Waukesha. It went pretty well with only a few no shows. Today we headed up north (der, eh) to Appleton where the weather got a little nasty with freezing rain, rain, and snow.

We debated if we wanted to cancel the reception here in Appleton, figuring that no one would show up anyway, but we were already here. So we ate a happy dinner and set up for the reception. Right at 6:00 we figured that no one was really coming and we happily started to eat all the food (not that we ever could consume that much food...cheese and fruit for 100). But shortly after that, we did have a few (a very few) students and their families show up.

But now we are tragically stuck in Appleton staying at yet another hotel. And with a Preview day lurking around the corner this Saturday, I would kill for a good night's sleep in my own bed, a shower in my own bathroom, and a meal cooked with my own hands. But I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow...hopefully tomorrow.

Sleep well everyone.