one foot, two feet, feels like new feet

as (likely) expected, it has been a busy week of trying to get my footing in a new place and a new role.  really, this has involved a lot of relatively boring, mundane life stuff. so, apologies in advance that this is not going to be the most exciting blog post you've ever read. sorry. . . life is just that way sometimes.

i'll make it a list so that it doesn't completely overwhelm you with boring details.

SUNDAY: i went on sunday to try out the coffee shop that the buss lab at psu had chosen as my favorite-to-be. okay, possibly not, but they did give me a pretty rockin' gift card to it. i had some reading and writing to try to get done, so it seemed like the perfect place. it was, in fact, adorable. delicious italian sodas and also a pretty great blt wrap. i am a little bit in love with all of the local coffee shops, cafes and eateries here. not that there aren't just as many paneras and starbucks as there are in any other city this size, but there is something about madison and its love for bicyclists, recycling, and food straight farms that makes me happy. i guess the point is. . . it was a great choice by the buss lab (also to be known as the EUFF lab thanks to some barista's awesome post-it note). i am kicking myself for not getting a picture while i was there, but i have a strong suspicion that i'll be back soon :)

also, in the excitement of finally having a tub again, i gave a bubble bath a shot. it was pretty awesome. although, note to self and all others interested: adult bubble bath stuff produces a lot more bubbles than kid bubble bath stuff. apparently you need to adjust your water/bubble bath stuff ratio accordingly. i'm calling it a rookie mistake.


MONDAY: i met with hill on monday and quickly realized that there is a lot, lot, LOT of data here. i could hardly wrap my head around what the projects even were. so, there are more meetings set up for me to talk to different people about the parts of the project that they know about. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that someday i will know it, too.

note: i'm pretty sure it was on monday that i also almost took pictures of the apartment to post. but it just doesn't feel done yet. i'm not entirely sure what that means, but there are still things that i'm thinking to myself, "i need to get one of those." AND i still *might* have a car load of stuff to get from matt when i see him in michigan this weekend. so, sorry lace, no pics yet. i promise i'm working on it, though!

TUESDAY: gave a my kitchen the first real test as far as i'm concerned. i tried out a new recipe. although, as expected, it's a pretty tight space that  working with, i have to say that things turned out pretty well. it's fairly similar to a recipe that matt and i like a lot, but with the addition of scallions and some pan-fried tofu. [i will say, though, if this recipe is of interest to you, i would cut the tofu a little bit thinner unless you really love the taste of tofu].

also, i can't exactly remember if it was on monday or tuesday, but one day this week, i definitely realized that i recognized this picture that now hangs in my office.  the previous post-doc, jeff, told me before he left that he wasn't sure where it came from, but that he thought it looked "arty" and "cool." i agreed and so it stayed where it had been during his tenure here. then, on monday/tuesday, i looked up and realized that i could kind of make out the signature. and it said. . . erik bakken!! none other than kristin's husband. it also said 1991, but mostly just seeing erik's signature was pretty trippy. and if you look even closer, you can tell that he labeled the book that the baby is holding "attachments" and the author is k. buss.

WEDNESDAY: okay, i just realized that today is wednesday, which means that even with only four days to work with, i can't keep track of my goings on. even when there aren't that many goings on to keep track of. and that. . . . is kind of sad. but, i'm just going to plow through and suppose that you don't know the difference anyway.

so, at some point in the past few days - or today - i went to the local borders store. pretty much everything is on case, because it's closing. i perused a bit and found a few things that had been on my "to read someday" list. wuthering heights, which was suggested by my mom after i loved gone with the wind so much. also washington irving's a history of new york, which had piqued my interest when i thought i might be moving to long island. actually. . . the knicks actually piqued my interest around that time, too. so, given that this is the book that gave the knicks their name, it all seems kind of appropriate. then i got a lesser-known book from the bargain pile.

somewhere in the middle of all of that shopping, though, i started to feel a little bit smarmy. like a vulture almost. i had a flashback to an NPR podcast when a hallmark-esque chain was shutting down (coach house gifts, maybe? or paperweight?) and one of the women who they interviewed was asking, of all of the people who were showing up to shop the "going out of business" sale, "where were these people eight months ago? six months ago? where were they when they could have saved everyone's jobs?" and i kind of started to wonder if the borders people kind of felt that way. and so, sooner rather than later, i felt like i was done at porders. i couldn't handle the guilt anymore. but i didn't put the books back, because somehow also not buying them seemed bad. it was a pretty vicious cycle for at time there. . . 

also, definitely in the last 24 hours, i found a parking ticket on my car that i have no idea why i received. and it's for $35. so, i'm in the process of scripting my very first request for review of a ticket. i've scripted a very nice letter, complete with pictures. i suspect this will be a process that takes a lot longer than i want it to. . . and that has a pretty minimal chance for success (and i'm typically the optimist, so. . . ), but i'm going to give it a go anyway. because i've always thought that things should be fair. 

and that's kind of it for now. lots of meetings. lots of e-mail exchanges with jenae, actually. lots of trying to figure out how or where to get things. and an awesome reminder from erin garrett that the new season of project runway is up and running (and looking even more awesome in HD). i'm off to meet matt & co. in michigan this weekend. then it's back to being the new kid at work. . . .