Can I just say "Oy Vey"?

Man, I'm happy this semester is so nice and easy. Not too many classes, easy teaching, simple research, all the makings of a nice semester. Oh. Wait. That was just a cruelly blissful dream and I'm awake now. Seriously, this is probably the worst semester of my life. I've got three classes, I'm moving into my EEG phase of research, and I'm teaching statistics and research design to undergrads. Oh yeah, and I'm moving this weekend and all next week. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Too much!!!!!!!!!

I suppose if this semester doesn't kill me it'll make me a PhD...in another 3 1/2 years. Proof positive of my dire term: the date of my last post. I enjoy adding to my blog yet I've not had the time to do so for over a month. More proof positive: my multiple panic attacks (and at least one of these is not an exaggeration).

But enough about my currently sad existence. The new apartment Nathan and I are moving into is quite nice. It's actually the lower part of a person's house and it's in the really nice part of Berkeley up in the hills overlooking the Bay. It's two bedroom, has a washer/dryer, access to a cute backyard garden, and a 4-window panoramic view of the Bay! I'm very optimistic that we'll be happy in our new home and will not have to move again the rest of our time in the Bay Area.

The move's not coming a moment too soon either. Our current cruddy apartment has again been overwrought by a horde of vicious ants. The battle has been waged and I was victorious, but it was a hassle none the less. Our apartment complex has also been involved in a tête-a-tête with the neighboring house regarding recycling. I don't want to go into it, but it's rather funny if you can get over how petty it is.

Well, I'm off to fix lunch and write up a lesson plan for next week. I'll post pics of the new place when I get a chance.

Back from vaca, the weath was great

I save actual seconds each week abbreviating words. It's phenom!

Nathan and I are back from our trip to AZ and Disneyland. It was pretty fun, and I've got pictures to prove it!!! I believe I shall do this in snippets, because there are many pictures from the many phases of our trip.

Phase 1 - The drive to AZ, Jan 1st, 2009

As much as I often detest this place called home, AKA the Bay Area, it really is quite beautiful.

It was soooo foggy on our drive that morning. All the way from our home in Berkeley to just before LA. Fog fog fog fog fog. Kind of scary in some places actually, because we'd be driving up a mountain with very low visibility and people would still be zooming around. Dangerous a-holes.

Wide open and amazing. Get a load of that vanishing point!

Yup, that's snow. This was somewhere still in CA called Tehachapi. We visited a fine establishment in this town. You may have heard of it, Walgreens.

Phase 2 - The fam, Jan 2nd to Jan 7th, 2009

From left to right, mom, Piggy, Nathan.

Awww, Piggy loves Nathan. Frickin' adorable!!!!

Oh, poor old Floppy. She's got no hearing, hardly any vision, but a strong sniffin' snout. This old puppy loves to mooch, and the habit has gotten more aggressive with old age. Perhaps she thinks she's alone in the room since she can't see or hear us, and so she thinks, "Why don't I put my cute little puppy paws on this table and try to get Allison's food? She'll never know it was me. Woof!"

Mom and G-ma. My mom insisted on getting some family portraits taken when we were in town. They turned out pretty funny because my mom has her mouth open and laughing in all of them (I'll have to scan in a couple maybe). In her defense, my nephew Daniel, 2, was cracking her up the whole time.

My little Pigglet. Piggy loves laying on laps. It's probably her favorite thing in the world. Other favs of Pigglet include chasing the Trash Truck Monster, barking at hot air balloons, mooching, sleeping, and barking at the neighbor dogs. Oh Piggy, you're so cute!

Phase 3 - DISNEYLAND, Jan 9th to 11th, 2009

Here I am outside of Splash Mountain in Disneyland. Nathan got the brunt of the splashing that day, but out of the shot my pants are soaked. I didn't mind, it feels nice when you're walking around in the sun. Yes, it's warm to hot even in January. Add to that my sissy-hood when it comes to heat. Equals, SPLASH FUN TIME!

Big Thunder Railroad broke down when we were on it. Not just temporarily either. We were stuck sitting stopped on the tracks for a good 10 or 15 minutes and then had to walk through the attraction to get out. There were two pre-teen girls sitting in front of us who kept talking to us and were pretty funny.

We had a very delicious lunch in Downtown Disney at this place called Naples. It was pretty expensive (thank you, greedy corporate such-and-suches), but did I mention delicious? It was delicious. There was a really creepy chef/clown thing projecting out from the restaurant that this picture is supposed to show. But you can't expect too much from a random person taking your photo, at least they got me and Nathan in it.

I'm sad here because Nathan didn't want to go where I wanted to go. I don't remember where I wanted to go, but it was somewhere, I know that much. You can see Nathan trying to worm his way into the photo, heh heh. I also like that you can see the big ship in the background and all the crazy people.

Here we are on Space Mountain. I love riding this ride with Nathan because he giggles the whole time. Giggling is funny any time, but Nathan giggling is hilarious. He sounds like a mixture of Mickey Mouse (no joke) and a giddy schoolgirl. And for some reason, this ride in particular elicits the giggle fits from my goofy dear. He always looks so funny in these pictures that they take on the rides (here he is making sure nothing falls out of his pockets), while I look calmly happy.

Beautiful Disneyland. It really is beautiful too. The amount of details they have around the place is just amazing. You don't even need to go on the rides to enjoy the place, just keep your eyes open for unexpected decorations around the entire park.

This is over in the other park, California Adventure. Nathan doesn't like this side as much because it's not so Disney oriented. But I love it because it has the biggest roller coaster, California Screamin'. This, however, is their newest attraction, which is the 3D Toy Story Midway Mania. For your line-ly entertainment, Mr. Potatohead. Potato Potato, Potato Potato.

One of Nathan's favorite Disney movies (the favorite?) is Pinnochio. We found this little restaurant within a part of the park we'd never seen before, tucked away in behind the Dumbo ride and some random princess stuff for little girls. I really like this picture, because as Nathan pointed out when looking at it last night, it looks like his thought bubble.

This is in CA Adventure again heading into the Hollywood side of the park, which houses the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror. We finally decided we were going to do this ride though it frankly terrifies us just to look at the building. It's a tall hotel looking building with a flickering neon sign. Our friend Richard and his new lady friend were at the park with us this day, and they were going to ride it together, even though she gets motion sick. Nathan and I thought, if she can do it, so can we. So we did. I was so scared waiting in the line and walking into the elevator where the ride actually happens. But it wasn't too bad at all. The ride shoots you up real high in the elevator and drops you, up, down, up, down, in various stages and heights. BUT, you're inside a building and can't really tell how high you are. The scariest part for me actually was when you get to the very top, there's no wall between you and the outside and you can see just how high above the park you are. THAT was the scariest.

Every time Nathan and I go to Disneyland, we each buy one pin for our lanyards to mark the occasion. This was our 5th trip. I first took him to Disneyland to celebrate his graduating from ASU. He hadn't been since he was a little kid, and was very excited. Needless to say, he loved it! So, when we moved to Berkeley and he started working at a coffee shop, I started saving all of his tip money to fund two year-long passes for us. He made pretty good tips, we bought the passes, and we've been 4 more times. We'll probably only make it back one more time before they expire on June 4th, boo. Anyway, the point in my telling this story is that Nathan's pin for this trip was sorcerer Mickey and we found this statue in CA Adventure of sorcerer Mickey. Picture needed. Picture taken.

If Nathan were here right now (and not on his way to his first day at a new job, to be described at another time), he would say that this is an epic blog post. Yes.

The end.

Conclusion of the raccoon saga

The raccoon has been captured!!!

We've had a raccoon living under our apartment off and on for over a year. Recently, he started chewing at the walls to get in to our warmth, and therefore, he had to go. We had some critter control people come out and set some humane traps to catch the little dude. At first, he proved elusive. Maybe he wasn't interested in the marshmallows with peanut butter or maybe he wasn't interested in being in a trap that smelled like purified skunk stink (true story, stupid critter people). Nevertheless, we did eventually hear little raccoon scuffles outside our bedroom window where the traps were located. Now begins our story.

The setting: A small cruddy apartment in Berkeley, CA, USA

The time: The deep cold of night, the witching hour, 12 midnight

The players: Nathan (brave giver of food), Allison (the photographer), raccoon (the antagonist)

Scene: (There is an eerie noise outside.)
Nathan: Do you hear that?
Allison: Yeah, it sounds like something got caught in one of our traps.
N: Let's go check it out.
(Nathan and Allison grab coats and a flashlight and head outside. They see an animal-shaped lump in a trap.)
A: Look, it's the raccoon!!!
N: Oh, he's looks so sad in there. Maybe we should give him some food. We've got carrots, right?
A: Yeah, but let's use the celery, it's longer.
They head back into the apartment to get the celery. Back outside, Allison takes a couple of pictures of the raccoon.
A: Go ahead and give him the celery.
(Nathan pushes an end of the celery through the slats of the cage. Unfortunately, he keeps on pushing, hoping to make the celery more accessible to the raccoon. The raccoon, however, interprets this act as a threat.)
Raccoon: {snarling and lungeing} Grrrr, I'm gonna get you!!!
N: Ahh! Don't get me raccoon!!!
(Nathan drops the celery and he and Allison run back into the apartment.)
A: That raccoon was angry!
N: I don't feel sorry for him anymore. I could have lost a finger. He bit right through that celery, stringy bits and all!
A: Phew! He's a rodent, not friend...even though he's not a rodent, but you know what I mean.

End Scene

Look at the evil red glint in his eye.

Ok, ok, he's still cute, but don't try to feed him.

Explanation time

I've been preoccupied for the past couple of weeks, hence, no blog posts. Let me explain (by the way, it's all Nathan's fault).

For my birthday, Nathan bought me a new book, "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. I was hesitant about the book because the author is mormon (yes, yes, I should be more open mided and/or accepting...) and because of it's crappy movie trailer. But Nathan said the book was right up my alley because it is "about a teenage vampire." So I gave it a try. As I began the book, my first impression was, "You can really tell this is a first-time author." It was not very gripping initially, and the chronology of the first person telling was muddled because of the author's stylistic choices. But that rapidly changed into an amazing book (and I don't know if it's my imagination, but the writing got a lot better too). The story is written from the perspective of a teenage girl, and the way it's written you really feel like you could be that girl. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that when the girl experiences an emotion, the reader experiences the emotion. For myself, I could really feel as if I was in the story and not just sitting on my bed reading a book. Oh, by the way, I finished the book in two days (498 pages).

So naturally I wanted to read the rest of the books in the series. Nathan and I walked up and down Shattuck and looked in two or three bookstores, but this being the sh*thole that is Berkeley, they didn't have the second book. Especially irritating is the fact that it took us about 15 minutes just to find a parking spot, but that's life in Berkeley. When we got home I hopped on Amazon, and much to my delight, I found the next three books all on sale. I ordered all three and spent the next few days anxiously awaiting my delivery, which got here last Thursday or Friday. Much to Nathan's chagrin (though it's all his fault, remember), I dove into the second book. And finished it. I dove into the third book. And finished it. I dove into the fourth book. And finished it just last night. So....um.....that's why I haven't posted anything for a long while. I've been reading reading reading, 2,442 pages of reading.

Here are the four beautiful books.

Apparently, I'm not the only on in the family who likes the books.

George does too! Although Fred feels they're "below him"...

...really they're below George (heh heh heh)

Anyway, I loved all of the books. Stephenie Meyer was able to write the characters as growing, but in a satisfying way, so that the reader is just as happy with each subsequent book even though the characters are not exactly the same, but changing. That probably sounds silly or "d'uh!" but I would imagine it's very hard to do. I loved the first book for one reason (and in the attempt to not ruin the reading experience for anyone else, I'm not going to say what that reason is), the second book for a similar reason but also many different reasons, etc. I see my generalities in attempting to hide the plot of the books is making my explanation a bunch of vague gobbledygook, so I'll stop here. Suffice it to say, I loved the books, and I want more!

Check out Stephenie Meyer's website here, did I mention she's from Tempe and does signings at Changing Hands? (I know I didn't, but I am now). Another reason to miss AZ, I'd love to get a signed copy of one of these books.

Also, I saw the movie "Twilight" and it's very "eh". When I first saw the preview (before I knew anything about the books), I thought to myself, "Wow, another crappy vampire movie. Great! Oh look, it's the guy that played Cedric Diggory in 'Harry Potter'." After I finished reading the book, I really wanted to see the movie. It was bad. I knew it would be bad. But it was bad. Neither of the two leads could act. Period. And the vampire special effects left a lot to be desired. I will say, however, that the guy that played Edward looked that part. So whenever he was quiet, he did a decent job, you know, just having a face and being seen. I'll still get it on Netflix when it comes out, but not for itself, for the book.

Is Berkeley actually pure evil?

I have to ask myself this question practically everyday. Today, I ask it because of my alleged insurance. I was trying to buy new frames and lenses after my appointment, when I was told that I don't have insurance. But I do. As a graduate student in the psych dept I get full tuition and fee remission, including full health insurance. But since Berkeley is pure evil, they're claiming I don't have this. This is one of about a dozen problems I've had with them this semester. Last year was fine (they were fresh out of the wooing me to their school phase), but this year I've spent so many hours in various departments across campus, I could cry. First there were issues with my residence, then financial aid, then getting my friggin bus pass, then registering for classes, and now insurance.

Don't let the picturesque campus deceive you. It seems Nathan was correct in suggesting that I should combine "Berkeley" and "complaints" into a single malicious post label.

Bugs, what are they good for?

Nathan and I started composting about 6 months ago. We like to pitch in (no pun intended), though we'd probably be shunned by the community if we didn't. That's just one of many "great" things about Berkeley. A result of this composting is bugs. This is partially our fault, we didn't take the compost out for like 2 weeks. But now there are little gross flying bugs all over the apartment. This means I'm on a rampage. I'll lie in wait in the kitchen, armed with Raid, and when one of my foes lands, I pounce... and always feel bad after they die. I don't particularly dislike bugs, except when they're in my home, and then it's war. Berkeley has a lot of bugs too. There are spider webs on practically every car and bush outside, and plenty of spiders inside too. And I'm not just talking about daddy long legs. I'm talking about black-bodied, have-some-substance-to-them, look-like-they-could-kill-you-in-your-sleep spiders. And ants... oh ants, the bane of my existence. I find ants in random places throughout the apartment throughout the year. Ugh! There's no winning, but I shall continue the fight!