New Apartment!

The view from my kitchen window. Hello, Minneapolis!

Look, a kitchen!

Yes, the walls are pink.

Happy August

So now I'm technically 24 years old. Only technically, because I don't mentally age until Allie's birthday a week from now. That's the proof, you see. For two-and-a-half weeks a year I get to party in birthday limbo...

In less weird news, I'll be at the preschool again in the fall (more hours, hooray!). That job plus scrabbling together a few more hours at the Caribouniverse plus (fingers crossed) a shift or two at the horse track should put me in a semi-stable position for apartment hunting. If I the schedule-madness doesn't drive me insane first. Anyway, exciting! The summer has been lovely... snatched a week in Michigan, spent a great weekend at my friend Collin's cabin, passed the Caribou shift supervisor "sexual harassment awareness" online exam. Go me. I've also managed to maintain a quite respectable tan for two solid months. Thank you, outdoor pool at Lifetime Fitness.

Um, that's about it. Since it's sunny, I'm going outside now.

PS. I'm now on twitter. We'll see how it goes. Link is to the left above new link to facebook.

Employment! At Last!

I finally have a job... two jobs, that is... oh, wait, three jobs... okay, three-and-a-half. So much employment is a bit overwhelming. Most officially, I'm a Team Member at a Caribou Coffee tucked away in the corner of a massive grocery store. It's a very boring job title, but the work itself is mostly fun (or at least bustling along): I greet people, make coffee, scrub out whipped cream containers, restock multiple varieties of plastic cup lids, etc. I'm also working at a preschool twice a week in the morning; I help out with the three-year-olds, which is mildly frustrating at times but generally entertaining. It's hard to get too annoyed if they cover themselves in paint when they're so darn adorable. I'm also technically still employed at the horse track (on an as-needed basis that is rapidly turning into if-I-have-any-spare-time), and I'm directing the confirmation handbell choir. Now that's a whole new bag of crayons. I eventually figured out how to conduct in 3/4. About the fifth time we practised that particular song. Good times all around, though. I just need to come up with a more efficient way to answer the "Now, where are you working?" question.

Mission Accomplished

A fantastic update: I just received the final marks for my courses and dissertation and... I passed! The graduation ceremony isn't until February (I hope I can attend), but what a relief to know!

:)

Update

After two wonderful but somewhat hectic final months in Bristol, I've returned to Minnesota. I'm living with the parents (and Leo), job hunting, and still trying to find a home for all the stuff I brought back from England. Good times!

A Triumphant Return

I'm now back in Bristol after a month at home in the States following my adventure in Turkey. To the great delight of all, Allie came across with me to visit for a week :). We went to London, took in the sites, visited my friend Collin, and went to see "Hairspray" (completely fantastic!). In Bristol, we saw all the main attractions: the Cathedral, College Green, various restaurants, and, of course, the Suspension Bridge. We even had time to make a day-trip to Bath including a pilgrimage to the Jane Austen Centre. For those of you keeping track, that makes my third such pilgrimage. I really like Jane Austen. Anyway, Allie and I had a marvelous time and the whole Bristol crowd was sorry to see her go. We nearly tied her to the single chair in my cubby-hole of a room to prevent her departure.

And now, Photos!

Allie and I and my flatmate Caryn who rescued us when we were delayed overnight in Newark. We went to Benihana... yum.

Allie at the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

(2 above) Having fun in the caves near the Bridge... I'm creepy and Allie's fierce.

Sight-seeing in London.

We are sooo good at taking pictures of ourselves!

The Shaftesbury Theatre where we saw "Hairspray".

Inside the Bristol Cathedral. We were appropriately quiet and reverent.

Such a lovely time!

Turkey - Part 5 (PHOTOS!)

right View over Ankara from BIAA hostel.










left Atatürk Bulvarı, a main road in Ankara.









right The Yacht Harbor in Antalya.













left The Theatre at Termessos.
















right At the Düden waterfalls near Antalya.
















left Derek smoking the "water-pipe" at our Antalya hostel.















right Hellenistic Gates at Perge.














left Street in Kaş.












right Harbor at Fethiye.













left Colonnaded roadway at Patara.












above The Butterfly Valley.













right Rock-cut tombs at Tlos, near Fethiye.
















left Saklıkent Gorge.

















right The Library of Celsus at Ephesus.













left The Temple of Apollo at Didyma.












right Inside the Haghia Sophia.













left Istanbul.















right From the courtyard of the Blue Mosque.














left Atatürk's Mausoleum in Ankara.

Turkey - Part 4

I am now safely back in Ankara having visited Selçuk and İstanbul since my last post. Selçuk was a very nice town, and I was able to tour the Artemision, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (not so much now, sadly) and the site of Ephesus, a bit overrun with tourists but cool nevertheless. I also undertook a complicated dolmuş journey to the town of Didim, which contains the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. The temple was wonderful with columns huge beyond belief although the equally complicated trip back to Selçuk was not quite so much fun.

Derek and I took another over-night coach to İstanbul (a 10-hour journey), and spent a few days there visiting the fabulous archaeological museum, the Haghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and admiring the Grand Bazaar and the seaside fish markets. We also watched a performance Whirling Dervish at a little outdoor cafe and had a bit of fun with the other, mostly international, students and tourists at our hostel. We took an afternoon bus to Ankara on Thursday (only a 7-hour trip), and will probably spend our remaining time finishing up research in the British Institute library. Derek has another week or so here, but I'm returning to Bristol this coming Tuesday and then going on the States on June 16th.

Turkey - Part 3

I know, I know, still no pictures... they are coming as soon as I get back to my own lovely computer. I'm currently in Fethiye, a fairly major tourist town down on the southwest Mediterranean coast. Unfortunately, the city museum is closed for restorations and it's been a bit difficult getting transport to all of our 'key' sites, but Derek and I have managed to stay optimistic (with the help of a boat tour at Ölüdeniz and a hike through the Saklıkent Gorge, both completely fantastic). Tomorrow morning we move on to Selçuk ('Sel-chuk'), which is the city adjacent to the ancient site of Ephesus, an important site for my research, and close to ancient Didyma, another important location. After that, it's off to İstanbul for a few nights and then back to Ankara for some concluding research and perhaps a visit to Gordion, the site of a Phrygian city ruled by, allegedly, King Midas (he of the golden touch and the ass's ears).

Turkey - Part 2

From Ankara, Derek and I travelled by overnight coach to the seaside city of Antalya. It was beautiful - completely Mediterranean - and our hostel was very friendly and picturesque. We ate dinner there during our 3-night stay and got along very well with the Turkish owner and several fabulous German tourists who were the only other guests. While in Antalya, I visited the Archaeological Museum (much larger and more relevant than the one in Ankara) as well as Termessos (an ancient city high up in the mountains with an utterly breathtaking theatre and several temples dedicated to the goddess Artemis) and also Perge (another ancient city site with very well-preserved Roman baths and a long colonnaded roadway).

From Antalya, Derek and I caught a 'dolmuş' aka mini-bus to another coastal town, Kaş. It is west and a bit south of Antalya, and from here (it's currently our first day here) we can visit several sites containing Lycian rock-cut house tombs (the subject of Derek's research) before going northwest along the coast to Fethiye, a larger city close to several important sites as well as a 'Butterfly Valley'. spiffy. Well, as our hotel in Kaş has a pool, I'm off for a dip and some text-reading in the sun before the storm clouds that are hanging menacingly over the mountains behind me decide to descend into the town.

And don't worry, those of you who do, I'm not badly sunburned yet... just a lot more freckled with pretty pink shoulders and knees. :)