the thing i miss least about our old house

below please find pictures of the devil ice maker in our old house. it would randomly make buckets and buckets of ice for a couple of days and then stop for no reason for weeks. this was on one of the overload days. seriously? that much ice?

i am happy to report that in our new house, we have an ice maker that makes ice consistently--not too much--just enough to keep our drinks cold. cheers to the new pad.

usc/vanderbilt

last week travis came out to visit the south. we went to a USC game. i still can't get over how crazy these games are. they fans are so intense. it's louder and more insane than any professional or college game i've ever been to. all hail SEC football...and good friends.

hello the south

yes, this is a mobile church semi-truck. it was parked in a mcdonalds parking lot. i am basking in the rich cultural experience of living in the south. thought i should share.

braves v dodgers, a little late

back in the day (summertime) anna and i went to a braves dodgers game. it was great. we had awesome seats. it rained for the first couple of innings, but we were faithful fans and stuck it out. the dodgers won. and after the game we got a fireworks show.

we also went to the steak and shake and had some of the yummiest food ever. we drove back to columbia until 3 in the morning. then anna got on a plane to california at 5. it was crazy but it was worth it. please see crazy braves fan in costume.

ah, the joys of renting

so, on wednesday our roommate aimee came home with some interesting info. our landlord has apparently sold the house that we are living in and is closing on the 31st of this month. so. . .anna and i spent our fall break looking for places to live. not so much fun. however, we both feel that things have fallen into place for us in amazing ways, and today, we found our new home!

it's new. it's clean. it's gated. it's roach free. it has a pool. we each have our own bathroom. it's perfect!

i will post pics as soon as we move in! in the meantime, any of you who are willing to come out to SC and help us move are more than welcome! wink wink.

and you shall be my phrase. . .

after a long, hard day of conferencing with students in the writing center, teaching, attending young women's activities, grading papers, working online for the university of phoenix, and teaching, i like to sit down to the favorite american pastime of watching endless hours of mindless television.

one of my most favorite shows, so you think you can dance, (really there are only three: so you think you can dance, biggest loser, and criminal minds) is beginning its 6th season. tonight, after one dancer put on a great show, lil' c, in his unique lil' c way said..."i'm clappin' it up for you."

i have decided to pirate the phrase. in the infamous words of dori: i will take you home. and i will call you my phrase. and you shall be mine.

so...to all my peeps...i'm clapping it up for you. officially pirated.

three cheers for flacco

i'm usually one to follow players more than teams, especially in the NFL. the one exception being, of course, my dallas cowboys (yes, i can hear you booing). but, other than the boys in blue, my loyalty usually lies with individual players. this tends to work better in the days of free-agency anyway. and it makes sunday afternoon football much more interesting, because i'm usually invested in a couple of players on each team.

the latest addition to the players of whom i am a fan is mr. joe flacco. i fell in love with his story and his style last year. he was like the wonder kid who came out of nowhere. since when do rookie quarterbacks go 11 and 5? i've yet to watch him this year, but as i'm sitting here watching the eagles silence the panthers, i can't help but get excited about seeing where joe takes the ravens this year! go flacco!

the down-side of usc

so. my excitement over being hired at USC has dwindled just slightly over the last week or so. it turns out that, as anna has been telling me for the last two years, things don't run quite as efficiently at USC as they did at BYU. this has become painfully apparent to me as i have tried to deal with getting my paperwork filed with the payroll department.

here's the deal. i was supposed to get paid on the 1st of septmember, but i had to have my transcript sent from BYU before the dean would pass on the paperwork. fine. i understand that, kinda. like a responsible human, i contacted BYU immediately and had the transcript sent priority mail (which cost me extra)to USC. it arrived in a couple of days, because BYU rocks. so, on my paperwork went, or so i thought.

now, they're telling me that i won't get paid on the 15th of september either, because my name is still not in the system. despite all i've done to rush the process, including emailing professors i hardly know, it looks like i'm going to have to wait even longer to get a paycheck.

needless to say. my pockets and my bank account are feeling frighteningly empty. sigh. pray for a miracle!

the plaxico burress mess

as most of you already know, i'm a fan of guns. not so much a fan of kids with guns, or criminals with guns, or the process of defining gun laws, but i'm a fan of owning and shooting a gun. today, however, i'm coming down on the more "liberal" side of the fence (which ironically feels to me more like a conservative position than a liberal one. whatever...politics are weird).

anyway, to my rant: i've been listening to plaxico burress' explanation of how it was he came to accidentally shoot himself in the leg at a night club. first of all, i don't think he's the brightest of fellows. what kind of professional, athlete or otherwise, packs a gun in his pants in a public place? who are you? tupac? 50 cent? if you want to carry a concealed weapon, for which you have a permit in florida, why haven't you invested in a holster in which you can safely carry said weapon? i imagine you probably have to cut some serious financial corners with your multi-million dollar contract. probably not. and, having that CCW, you should have been educated on how to safely handle a weapon. looks like you failed that test. someone needs to go back to his CCW class and actually pay attention. (applicable movie quote: oh i forgot, you were absent the day they taught law at law school).

now, don't get me wrong, i feel for the guy. it must suck to be a poster-child for stupidity, harsher gun laws, and the reason athletes get a bad rap. i know his good buddy steve smith was robbed the night before at that club, but i agree with mike and mike (in the morning). if you have to pack heat to go to a certain establishment...don't go there. or, don't take the gun. you're a stinking professional athlete. invest in a bodyguard. i mean, what are you going to do if someone tries to rob you? shoot him? oh yes, that's a much better scenario. now, along with your illegal possession of a firearm, you're facing manslaughter charges. is this explanation supposed to make us understand why you were packing heat? cause it doesn't. and, by the way plaxico, you're a pretty big dude. i'm sure you could handle yourself. stop trying to be a gangster and just play football.

or, go to jail. while i do think, in some ways, the system is using plaxico burress to send a message and i'm sure that his celebrity status hurt him in this case, i sincerely hope that it will encourage people to obey gun laws that are clearly in place to protect people from others and from their own stupidity. that said, good luck plax, and good luck winning without him giants.

the new job

here are my new colors. (don't worry dad, i still bleed blue). in an incredible set of unforseen circumstances, i was offered a job adjuncting for the university of south carolina. it's so great being back in a classroom again, and although i do miss TGASID, it's so fun having a real job again. so...go gamecocks!

the bravest little lizard i know

ok. so, i've always been a fan of lizards and such. it probably comes from chasing them in our backyard when we were kids (alexis and keill, i'm sure you remember). but, after my latest experience, i have a new-found respect for the little guys.

about a week ago, i went out to my car before work. got in, started the engine, and noticed a little green gecko on my windshield. i poked at him from the inside of my car, he jumped down further on the windshield. i poked at him again, and he jumped onto the passenger-side windshield wiper. naturally, i was concerned for this little guy's life, but i was going to be late for work. so, i backed out of the driveway, assuming he would jump off at the first opportunity.

i drove up my street to the stop sign. he didn't budge. then, to the stoplight on the first major street. he didn't even flinch. i turned onto highway 1, which is pretty much just a normal sized street in las vegas, but with a speed limit of 55 mph. i slowly accelerated until i hit about 50. i could see the little guy holding on for dear life. his legs were fully extended and shaking in the wind, and it looked like he wasn't going to make it. i was so sad and totally pep-talking him through the windshield.

i had to stay with the flow of traffic and was slowly reaching 60 mph. i didn't think he was gonna make it. all of a sudden, he bounced from the windshield wiper onto the windshield. the force of the wind was then pushing him against the car. smart little bugger. i was so excited that i actually cheered for him out loud!

a few more blocks down the road, i pulled into work with the green gecko superhero still on my windshield. i gave him some props when i got out of my car. when i came back out after work, he was gone. i'm sure he retreated safely into the forest at the edge of the parking lot. all i know is he was the bravest little lizard i've ever seen. part of me wished he was still there when i came out.

2009 Beach Tour: Stop 3

so, stop three on our beach tour wasn't the greatest day at the beach, but it was a very relaxing trip out of columbia. aimee couldn't come with us, so it was just anna, rachel and i. we took a little trip down to beaufort and went over to the adjacent hunting island (which i kept calling huntington island, for obvious reasons.)

the drive out to hunting island was amazing! it's like a rain forrest in the south. we saw an alligator that lives (naturally and uncaged) outside of the ranger station. it was creepy and cool. there is also the oldest lighthouse in south carolina on the island. we took a drive over to peek at it. there is something about lighthouses. haven't figured it out yet, but i want to live in one (or near one) someday.

one of the highlights of the trip was a parade for the water festival that apparently is a big-to-do in beaufort this time of year. it was like i accidentally walked on to the set of steel magnolias. rad. please see pictures below.

beach tour: stop 2

it being the 4th of july and all, we thought we should certainly spend the day in the sun by the water. so, we packed up our beach stuff again and headed to lake murray. we spent the day laying on the sand and swimming with 10,000 other people. we were careful to not swallow any water, as we were sure every kid in the state had peed in the lake several times. we had a bbq around 4 and headed back to the lake for fireworks. i took these pictures while waiting for the fireworks to start. couldn't imagine a better 4th. (unless my family was here, of course)

stop 2: murray lake, sc
4 july 2009

the 2009 summer beach tour

we have decided to take advantage of the great state of south carolina by creating the 2009 summer beach tour. bring on the sunglasses, coolers, towels, books, snacks, and suntan lotion, or in rachel's case, the 70spf! i invite you all to come along...if only through pictures.

stop 1: folly beach, sc

3 july 2009