My Husband is a Professor!

Here is the photo that will soon be adorning the faculty website!  I'm so proud. :)

Birthday update to follow soon!

Philadelphia, I think I love you

Last weekend, DS and I visited Philadelphia to see if I could live there.  As you noticed in the earlier post, I had strong reservations about moving to a big city.  Therefore you may be surprised to learn that I had decided we were moving there on Friday night after just arriving on Thursday.  From the moment I got there, it reminded me of living in Louisville, which I loved.  The city was lacking the crowded, dirty feel I associate with most cities of this size.  I think this has something to do with the decision to not build higher than City Hall until the late 80's, meaning there have only recently been skyscrapers.  That left a lower density, and less of a need to raze entire blocks for building new structures.  As you'll see in the photos, this left the city with lots of trees, and what seemed like entire neighborhoods intact from the Colonial Period.  It was charming, and felt a lot like walking through old villages in Europe.

We arrived on Thursday and walked around the neighborhood just to the west of the University of Pennsylvania.  Then we had dinner at sushi place called Pod, which was very mod.  There were actual "pods" with a single table for 8 or so where diners can change the color of the lights inside.  Behind the conveyor belt sushi bar there was a flat screen tv built into the wall that kept playing a cartoon about a white lion.  As far as I could tell, since there was no sound, the entire show was about the little lion cup running around with other wild animals....  We ended up spending a small fortune on sushi and dessert, but it was so delicious that I don't even care if its not reimbursed.  And as a bonus, it happened to be some sort of charity night, so 30% of our bill was donated helping people who are living with AIDS and HIV.

On Friday, DS spent most of the day in meetings with various faculty members.  I slept in, then strolled around campus a bit taking photographs.  I also discovered that the UPenn Bookstore is really just a Barnes and Noble with Penn paraphernalia, which was nice in that I was finally able to pick up a light for my nook!  (Have I mentioned I got a nook?  Because I LOVE IT!)  We were able to relax a bit, and then were picked up by a faculty member who drove us around the inner city, showing us some of the nicer places to live.  Then we had dinner with him and his wife at Alma de Cuba, a Cuban place that was so much better than I expected.  It turns out Cuban food is actually delicious when you have the resources to do it right.  Poor Cuba...

The first half of Saturday was spent with the Chair of the department, as she lives in the suburbs and was able to give us that tour.  Then we walked from the hotel on the Penn campus all the way to the Delaware River.  We were able to see the Liberty Bell, if only through the window.  Dinner was at some fancy place that was way overpriced for the quality of the food.  By this point we had probably walked several miles, so we took a taxi back.  It was at this point that I convinced DS that we were definitely moving here, so we hiked back over to the UPenn Bookstore and got ourselves some official gear to celebrate!

On Sunday it was so hot and humid that we ditched our original idea to visit the zoo, and went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art instead.  This is honestly one of the best museums I've visited in terms of shear size.  We didn't get to see all of it, but luckily we got there on a free admission day.  It was also the last day of their special exhibition on Picasso, which was interesting, though apparently Cubism is not DS's thing.  I particularly loved the Impressionists galleries, as well as the period rooms, though we had to move quickly through those areas.  I'll definitely have to visit again once we move.  And everyone is welcome to visit us once we get there, which we think should be late July.  So yeah!  My husband will be a Professor at UPenn this fall!!

Photos from the City

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Photos from the Museum

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Tremors

Lots of things brewing this week.  Currently DS is in Philadelphia for his last interview, and on Thursday I'll be meeting him in Chapel Hill so we can be "wooed".  We've been jokingly referring to it as our chance to "live it up on someone else's dime", but in all honesty, I don't know how much time we'll have to do that.  He'll be meeting to negotiate an offer, and we've been scheduled time with a realtor to look at houses.  Let me tell you, going through a website full of houses that you know you can't buy yet so that you can get a feel for the area is... both exciting and scary.  Also, there is a LOT of new construction for sale in Chapel Hill.  It seems like they were hit hard by the housing collapse.  Not that it helps me any, because I want an OLD house!  With acreage.  But after much hand wringing, I chose five for us to see on Saturday.

After a month of letting them gather on my camera, I finally got all the photos into my computer.  I'm hoping I have time tomorrow to go through them, clean them up, and then put them on here for your curious eyes.  But just in case the packing and the last minute errands keep me from it, I wanted to at least post this one.  Almost all of my photos of DS are of him scowling.  Maybe he thinks it's funny?  It often is. But sometimes I just want a good one, and here it is.  I had to tickle him to get it, and he was momentarily irate, but it was so worth it.

And in answer to all the wonderful notes I've been sent regarding my last post, let me just say that I have been reminded that I don't have to work when we get there.  Which means I'll be able to do things like volunteer, and take classes, and generally get a feel for what makes me happy.  It's so strange to be in that position, after years of toiling just to make ends meet.  Thank you all for being so supportive, and giving me truly helpful advice.

Yes, lots of things on the horizon.  But no earthquakes.  Sorry Mom.  I know you keep calling to ask if I'm still alive, but honestly, we've felt nothing.

Professor Science for Real

Every time I talk to real people, I spend the next three or four hours feeling like I said something wrong, but I have no idea why.  It's very troubling, and makes me think it's a good thing that I'm a hermit.

That being said, I love my book club, and it's one of the things I will miss when I leave Santa Barbara.  Which, by the way, will before the fall semester, because my husband has a job offer.

Every time the universe delivers a solution to a problem of mine right as it's close to spiraling out of control, I sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Right now though, we're still in celebration mode. Say hello to PROFESSOR DRAGONSLAYER!

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Professor Science?  Remember when I bought him this shirt?  The one I had him wear under his suit for his PhD defense??

Musings

1. It's September 1. What? I seriously don't understand how time can move so quickly here.

2. This is the last week of my 2 week temp job. It's a shame, because I enjoy it. I also don't have anything lined up for after, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

3. I had a very weird dream last night. Weird in terms of both storyline and characters. Why was I dreaming of people I've known since 1st grade but haven't seen since high school? Not sure, though I would guess that the pictures showing up on Facebook of my skipped 10 year reunion have something to do with it. The weirdest thing? I dreamed of this guy, Buddy Sampson, who in fifth grade I had a huge crush on. I remember I sent him one of those notes in class with the yes and no check boxes. He checked no. He seems sorry he couldn't make me happy, but I did not forgive him.

I don't remember much about him from high school (I'm beginning to find I don't remember much about high school period, but that's another story), and I certainly haven't seen him since. So why dream about him now, 10 years after seeing him, and 20 after caring? Who knows, but the dream was at least fun. There were speed boats and seals and beluga whales. So thanks for that Buddy!

4. In a normal place, September would bring to mind aspects of Fall, such as harvest, pumpkins, colored leaves, and cooler temperatures. Here we're having a heat wave, sleep with THREE fans in the bedroom, and all the palm trees still looks like their normal stupid selves. Fall is my favorite season, and I'm a little afraid of how spending one here will affect me. Time makes no sense without seasons! Maybe that's why I feel flabbergasted over it being September.

5. My husband and I watched Major League last night. I had never seen it, and that upset him very much. I have to say, it's a great movie. I think it made him very happy to listen to me getting excited about it.

6. Which reminds me, married life is awesome. I don't think I say that enough.

19 Days 'til Christmas

Dude.  I am a horrible wife....  Somehow I forgot to announce that DS gave his defense on Monday, and is now officially Dr. DS!!  (Maybe not so horrible, I did go watch it, and carry all that food he bought and no one ate up 3 flights of stairs.)

Sometime ago, maybe this summer, I bought him a shirt from Dinosaur Comics.  My only caveat was that he had to wear it under his suit during his defense.  He did :)

I present to you:

Professor Science!!

This image and Dinosaur Comics are copyright Ryan North.  

Go read it, it's totally awesome.

This is an old picture, but you get the idea.