out

You guys already know this, but i am a total dork. I was all packed at like, 10 am yesterday. i have finished all my work (that i am going to do) 45 minutes before i need to leave. i wrote a 3-page note to my house-sitting sister about using the washer, where the cookie sheets are, and best practices for changing the kitty litter.

i'm full-on excited.

layers it is

i got johnny to agree to let me bring her jacket, but i thought it was blue, even though it is grey.

here's a photo of my luggage, fully packed:


I will have to remove the toiletries and then add them back in, but I was test-driving it. I'm pretty proud of myself because this includes my own stuff, PLUS jeans and a sweatshirt for the lady. That gives me room to buy a pair of boots!

Also, have i mentioned recently that i am soon to be an aunt, yet again? my sister-in-law is about to pop, so it could be any day, hopefully tomorrow so i can see him for 1 minute before leaving. i was over there last week and i saw this house, newly decorated for xmas, in their subdivision:

They might have the seasons mixed up.

Also, my sister, at t-day, made (what i interpreted to be) an allusion to possibly being pregnant again. she said, "i'm not drinking caffeine, that's all we're sayin'" and dramatically walked out of the room. you think?

success

The mac and cheese was a hit! Thanks you guys!

The other food was good too, except that the pie I made was too custardy, but luckily I was the only one who tried it (my mom made this wonderful cheesecake that always steals the dessert show) so I just tossed it out. My brother and sister-in-law did pretty much every dish, which was awesome, so I just packed up the leftovers and sent them away.

Why, you ask?

Because I leave for Italia in tre giorni!! Johnny and I reviewed our itinerary today and added two additional cities because there is only one day that we can get in to see the Last Supper non-fresco, and it wasn't the day we originally planned to be in Milan. We will, therefore be adding a quick stop in Verona and La Spazia.

I am so excited.

I started packing up a little today and I am trying to take only a backpack and a small messenger-style bag. It's 18 days though. I'm trying anyway.

Here's a question. Do I take my winter coat (wool peacoat-style) with me or not? It's upper 40s-50s in Milan (north) and in the 60s in Rome and Naples. My other option is to take a denim jacket or something and layer it up. Or maybe I could take Johnny's jacket (lined, I'll have to ask). But the real question is, will I be more mad if I have to carry it around all the time, or if I am chilly?

WWYD?

AMA and me

Okay, so mac & cheese it is!!

I decided (maybe unwisely) to watch the American Music Awards while I grade papers.

Why do the Pussycat Dolls suck so bad?

Eek!! I almost had to change the channel.
The only thing that even remotely redeemed the experience was that Tony Hawk introduced them and he looked kind of cute and seemed nervous.

O-H

The football game was way fun. I went with a group of people to the gayest boy bar ever, and it was bizarrely full of queer men in football jerseys and other fan gear. There was also a local celebrity in our midst. That jerk won the OSU pillow that I completely could have used for my upcoming trip (that, by the way, I leave for in less than 2 weeks!!!). I drank a lot and was in bed by 10 pm.

It has happened that my family is coming to my house on saturday for thanksgiving dinner. I'm brining a turkey, making a pie from scratch (like, from a pumpkin), and steaming broccoli. I am oscillating between macaroni and cheese and this recipe in Metropolitan Home for coconut cashew rice. What do you think, mac & cheese, or rice?

bike attack!

Last night I went to dinner with RedRider at a campus sushi joint and she walked me to the Wex for this beautiful Turkish movie that I'd planned to see. While we were walking, this person on a bike came careening out of No Where and tried to snatch my bag from my shoulder!!

Here's a slow-mo of what happened:
Bag is pulled off shoulder
I keep holding bag
I start yelling "No! No!"
Snatcher keeps holding bag
Bike falls down
I fall down
Hole is ripped in new skinny jeans
My favorite boots from Philly are scuffed
Snatcher is trapped under bike, still holding bag
RedRider's hands come into view, slapping Stealer
I'm trying to hit Snatcher to get her to let go of bag
Snatcher lets go
I start to get up
Snatcher says "My hand just got caught!"
Random guy tackles Snatcher
I stand up
Look at Random Guy on top of Snatcher
Hear Random Guy say "I saw you do it!"
Feel really pissed because she tried to steal my bag
Look at Snatcher still pinned to sidewalk
Pick up bike
Think, "This is a nice bike"
Throw bike over bike rack into short brick wall.

Yes, you can read that last one again.

After all that, Random comes up to see if I'm okay and Snatcher simply gets her bike and rides off, calling us bitches.

The weirdest part about this is that later, I realized that Snatcher looked familiar, like someone I once knew from here, who, coincidentally, used to have a job which involved riding a bike.

So now my knees are all bruised and skinned up, but I still have my license and credit card that I'll certainly need for my trip to see Johnny in two weeks and now I can buy another pair of jeans without guilt. The silver lining.

on television

This is old news, but I'm still relieved that Ohio didn't fail us! Go Dems!

I can't stop watching Heroes. The official site is "unavailable." Is anyone else watching this show? If not, you need to go get the DVDs as soon as they come out. Do it.

And football, there's lots of it! There is non-stop talk about the upcoming OSU v. Michigan game this saturday. They are ranked #1 and #2, so it promises to be exciting, but my main concern is where to go. I certainly can't stay home and watch by myself. I live pretty close to campus and there is a tendency to go a little overboard for this game: excessive drinking, yelling, screaming, burning cars... so I maybe don't want to deal with that.

But now, I'm going to give the dog a bath.

voting in ohio, again

Luckily, I voted absentee before I left for my trip, but I'm already scared by the news I'm reading about how things are going in the OH.

West coast sun

I'm in Emeryville, near San Francisco for a training for work. The weather is marvelous, it is about 70 and sunny - a far cry from the freezing temperatures in the o-to-the-h. I seem to have pretty good luck here with weather -- the last time I came was in June and it was uncharacteristically in the uppper 80s.

There's a full moon and it was shining across the bay as i rode the shuttle to the hotel. it was completely lovely and started me thinking about my upcoming trip to italy, where i hope to see many georgeous things. I woke up early (for here) and saw the sun rise.

At the training, i ran into a certain red-haired person who i used to work with, which was a nice surprise! we might try to have dinner.

does anyone have suggestions for areas of SF to go to for shopping? I'm hoping to go to a few local/interesting stores, but i'm not sure where to go, so if you have suggestions, please comment.

whoa i am not a good blogger

ok, so here is what i have been doing:

• Missing Johnny


• I won tickets to see Tango Fire and while I was there, I saw a guy I used to dance with (we were slated to compete together when I decided to quit -- and I can't remember his name!!!) and also someone I knew from when I was in high school. We didn't go to school together, but our dads were preachers in neighboring churches, so we went on "mission trips" together and had teenager lock-ins. She is a massage therapist in my neighborhood and has the cutest little daughter who wore red glasses.


• Grading papers!! Lots of papers!!


• I'm leaving for the Bay Area on Sunday, for a work training. I'm excited to go somewhere. Zoey is staying with Scootking and Pixelville (Pixelville never updates her blog, so don't bother clicking).


• Went to two Halloween events and didn't dress up for either one. I need to get a good inventory of possible costumes that I can reference in the future. If you have any ideas that I should use sometime, post a comment.


• Got a haircut with new color! Photos forthcoming!


• I forgot: I also moved offices last week. I'll post some photos of that too.