So after talking with Bryan the other day and hearing that he is now running at the gym, I was motivated to start going again so he isn't better than me whenever I see him next :) I clearly just need to get my competitive juices flowing in order to be motivated to go to the gym!
Two days ago I ran a mile in my neighborhood. Yesterday I ran a mile and a half at the gym at a decent pace. Today I can hardly walk! It is painful, but I wasn't in as bad of shape as I had expected, since it had been about a month since I had been to the gym.
I can't believe school starts next week already! The year of no school went by so quickly, and I'm a bit nervous to start again, especially in a new field. The looks of sympathy I've been getting from other profs when I say I'm teaching Program Eval have scared me! I'm confident I can do it though, even if I have to be the dreaded "mean professor." As for my classes, I'm taking Concepts in Social Science Research and Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in America. That puts me in class on Wednesdays from 4:50pm to 10:15pm. Oh joy! I'm hoping they will both be nice intros into the education world though.
Work is going well around here, although I am insanely busy. I think I could work 80 hour weeks and still not get everything done. I have been fairly dedicated though about only working 40 hours. I don't want them to get the idea that they can work me to the bone (even though they are trying!). I still get to work 2 days a week from home, which is awesome.
I miss you all!
Tia
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Living room, fully furnished!
Yay, my new couches got here today, which motivated me to finish cleaning up the living room. These pictures aren't the best, since I took them at night. The couches look wrinkly, but it's because they are microfiber and the artificial lights catch the fabric strangely. The idea is still there though! I haven't decided about the yellow/orange colors on the wall. While I'm not a big fan of it, I think it will be nice and bright for the long winter here. 
Friday, August 25, 2006
A brief upstairs look
Here are a few of the pictures from upstairs.
This is a view of the long hallway. The stairs are on the left of the banister. The bedroom below is the first door on the left, the bathroom the second door, and my office is straight ahead. The door on the right is just attic space.
This upstairs bathroom that will be Briana's.
The upstairs bedroom that will also be Briana's. Aren't the hardwoods just beautiful?!
Pics of my office to come when it gets organized. The rest of the downstairs should be finished this weekend, so you'll get pictures of that soon. My couches come tomorrow. Yay!
This is a view of the long hallway. The stairs are on the left of the banister. The bedroom below is the first door on the left, the bathroom the second door, and my office is straight ahead. The door on the right is just attic space.
This upstairs bathroom that will be Briana's.
The upstairs bedroom that will also be Briana's. Aren't the hardwoods just beautiful?!Pics of my office to come when it gets organized. The rest of the downstairs should be finished this weekend, so you'll get pictures of that soon. My couches come tomorrow. Yay!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Murders and danger and roommates, oh my!
Well, it has been an eventful past week in the world of Greece, NY. Patrick was in town over the weekend, and he and Shawn and I went out to a British pub and then to a country bar. It was fun and really nice to see a face from home.
I have yet to watch the news out here because I don't get home in time, and I don't get the paper, so I'm not all that connected to what is going on around here. I discovered that is for a reason! Patrick is a news junkie, and he calls me up on Saturday night (as I'm on my way to his house to go out) to inform me that they have just found a body in the park a half-mile from my house! I guess the guy had been shot and his body was left in the park. All I have heard is that he was 24 and it is thought to be gang-related.
Two days ago I was searching the news on the web to find out the weather forecast. The headline story is that two Rochester high schools are now on the "persistently dangerous" list put out by the feds. The criteria for this is more than 6 serious incidents per 100 students. I'm thinking I'm all safe living in the suburbs, as the danger is in the city. Well, one of those high schools is a mile and a half from my house. Hmm. I technically live in the town of Greece, so my neighborhood doesn't feed into this high school, but it's still darn close. I'm beginning to see why the people moved out of my house! When I left 3 years ago, Greece was a very nice suburb. My how things change.
Now after these two not-so-nice pieces of news, it's not really fair to put to new roomie in this catergory! I found a girl to rent the bedroom/bath upstairs (from Craiglist no less!). She's a very sweet 20-year-old who is a nanny. I'm excited to not be living alone, and the extra income is going to be a huge help. She moves in on Tues/Wed, so I'll update you as to how things go. I'm expecting a smooth ride though. She brought her boyfriend over the second time she came, and he seems like a nice guy. I'm hoping it is going to be a good situation for the both of us.
Sorry, no pictures for now as I'm at work. I went to upload some last night, and of course my camera batteries died. I will get them up very soon though. Now that I'm all done with data entry for PRE, I'll have more time in the evenings to get things done.
Keep in touch!
Tia
I have yet to watch the news out here because I don't get home in time, and I don't get the paper, so I'm not all that connected to what is going on around here. I discovered that is for a reason! Patrick is a news junkie, and he calls me up on Saturday night (as I'm on my way to his house to go out) to inform me that they have just found a body in the park a half-mile from my house! I guess the guy had been shot and his body was left in the park. All I have heard is that he was 24 and it is thought to be gang-related.
Two days ago I was searching the news on the web to find out the weather forecast. The headline story is that two Rochester high schools are now on the "persistently dangerous" list put out by the feds. The criteria for this is more than 6 serious incidents per 100 students. I'm thinking I'm all safe living in the suburbs, as the danger is in the city. Well, one of those high schools is a mile and a half from my house. Hmm. I technically live in the town of Greece, so my neighborhood doesn't feed into this high school, but it's still darn close. I'm beginning to see why the people moved out of my house! When I left 3 years ago, Greece was a very nice suburb. My how things change.
Now after these two not-so-nice pieces of news, it's not really fair to put to new roomie in this catergory! I found a girl to rent the bedroom/bath upstairs (from Craiglist no less!). She's a very sweet 20-year-old who is a nanny. I'm excited to not be living alone, and the extra income is going to be a huge help. She moves in on Tues/Wed, so I'll update you as to how things go. I'm expecting a smooth ride though. She brought her boyfriend over the second time she came, and he seems like a nice guy. I'm hoping it is going to be a good situation for the both of us.
Sorry, no pictures for now as I'm at work. I went to upload some last night, and of course my camera batteries died. I will get them up very soon though. Now that I'm all done with data entry for PRE, I'll have more time in the evenings to get things done.
Keep in touch!
Tia
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A few more unpacked rooms
Greetings from the right coast! I've gotten a bit more unpacking done inbetween working and sleeping!
This is my room, which is on the main floor. It's not huge, but it's plenty big. There is a closet just past the fan which you can't see. I love the hardwoods, and the window right above my bed is awesome, because the nights here are alive with the sound of crickets and other chirping bugs that are the epitome of summer here (well, that and humidity!).
The other side of my room.
The chinchilla room. Of course, just my luck that it is the only carpeted room in the entire house (it actually used to be the bathroom), so I just bought a big piece of linoleum to make sweeping up much easier.
The downstairs blue bathroom. I love it. I discovered a wasp's nest my second day there in the window above the toilet, between the front panes and the storm windows. I panicked, then realized I was the only one there to deal with it, so I trekked off to the store, bought some wasp spray, and I haven't seen a bee come back. Success!
The shower. Most notable here is the great skylight in the bathroom. The tub is also a jacuzzi tub, which will be great in the winter.
This is my room, which is on the main floor. It's not huge, but it's plenty big. There is a closet just past the fan which you can't see. I love the hardwoods, and the window right above my bed is awesome, because the nights here are alive with the sound of crickets and other chirping bugs that are the epitome of summer here (well, that and humidity!).
The other side of my room.
The chinchilla room. Of course, just my luck that it is the only carpeted room in the entire house (it actually used to be the bathroom), so I just bought a big piece of linoleum to make sweeping up much easier. 
The downstairs blue bathroom. I love it. I discovered a wasp's nest my second day there in the window above the toilet, between the front panes and the storm windows. I panicked, then realized I was the only one there to deal with it, so I trekked off to the store, bought some wasp spray, and I haven't seen a bee come back. Success!
The shower. Most notable here is the great skylight in the bathroom. The tub is also a jacuzzi tub, which will be great in the winter.I'm starting to get more settled here, and I'm not painfully homesick as I was the first week. Everyone keeps asking me about Bryan, so I thought I'd update here. He has a promising lead on a teaching job with pre-K kids, but with the time difference he hasn't been ablet to connect with the director yet to talk more about the position. Keep your fingers crossed though!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Eagle Creek Hike
Right before I left Portland, Bryan and I went on a beauitful hike at Eagle Creek State Park, out in the Columbia Gorge. The weather was perfect, and there were many waterfalls to see. I highly recommend it to anyone around there, although parts of it are a bit narrow (so I wouldn't recommend it for small kids). Although the water seemed WAY too cold to swim in it, we did see a few people who decided that cold meant nothing to them. The last picture is Punchbowl Falls, aptly named because the top of it is shaped like a punchbowl.
Am I finished yet?
My mom and I arrived safe and sound last Sunday at about 5pm. A few things I learned along the loooong drive:
1. DOT crews love to pinch you down to one lane for no apparant reason for miles and miles, and they somehow make sure you're always stuck being a person going 45.
2. 3/4 of this country is covered in corn. Who eats all of this corn? There is enough corn in this country to feed the entire world 10 times over.
3. Cleveland has the craziest freeway system. What town makes a freeway with multiple sharp turns that require you to slow down to 35?
4. Fast food options have greatly improved since I last did this drive. 3 solid days of eating nothing but fast food, and not one stop at McDonald's!
My mom and I ran a million errands the half day she had before she left. Thanks to her, I have a brand new TV and a shiny new lawnmower (my new enemy...more about that later). We also got 2 A/C units to cool this place down.
After my mom left I had this sudden realization that I was all alone for the first time in my entire life. This place makes me horribly homesick and if I didn't have this house I'd probably turn around and come back tomorrow. But in an effort to keep this posting mostly happy, I'll talk about all that some other day.
So I know you'd all like some pictures. All you get for now is the outside, since my house is a mess with boxes everywhere inside!
The first picture is the outside of the house. Sorry you can't see the right side very well, but the big maple tree makes it shady. The next two pictures are the backyard. Note the freshly mowed grass. That lawn looks nice and flat, but really it has invisible potholes that catch the wheels and ram the handle into your abdomen. I have a huge blister on my thumb and very sore hands and gut today. I'm no sissy, but mowing the lawn is man's work!
The last picture is my other enemy.....the pool! This thing is just a huge mystery of chemicals, pumps, hoses, and filters. I got a quick lesson for the guy at the pool store (after he said I needed $80 worth of chemicals). Not sure if this is going to stay up after this year!
That's all the pictures for now. Thank you to all of you who have been calling and easing my lonliness. Thanks also to all of you who gave me gift cards....they have all been put to great use! The one bright spot about here is that the weather has been a beautiful 75-80 in the day and 55-65 at night. I haven't looked at the weather in Portland, but hopefully is has cooled down from when I left. I miss you all so much!
1. DOT crews love to pinch you down to one lane for no apparant reason for miles and miles, and they somehow make sure you're always stuck being a person going 45.
2. 3/4 of this country is covered in corn. Who eats all of this corn? There is enough corn in this country to feed the entire world 10 times over.
3. Cleveland has the craziest freeway system. What town makes a freeway with multiple sharp turns that require you to slow down to 35?
4. Fast food options have greatly improved since I last did this drive. 3 solid days of eating nothing but fast food, and not one stop at McDonald's!
My mom and I ran a million errands the half day she had before she left. Thanks to her, I have a brand new TV and a shiny new lawnmower (my new enemy...more about that later). We also got 2 A/C units to cool this place down.
After my mom left I had this sudden realization that I was all alone for the first time in my entire life. This place makes me horribly homesick and if I didn't have this house I'd probably turn around and come back tomorrow. But in an effort to keep this posting mostly happy, I'll talk about all that some other day.
So I know you'd all like some pictures. All you get for now is the outside, since my house is a mess with boxes everywhere inside!
The first picture is the outside of the house. Sorry you can't see the right side very well, but the big maple tree makes it shady. The next two pictures are the backyard. Note the freshly mowed grass. That lawn looks nice and flat, but really it has invisible potholes that catch the wheels and ram the handle into your abdomen. I have a huge blister on my thumb and very sore hands and gut today. I'm no sissy, but mowing the lawn is man's work!The last picture is my other enemy.....the pool! This thing is just a huge mystery of chemicals, pumps, hoses, and filters. I got a quick lesson for the guy at the pool store (after he said I needed $80 worth of chemicals). Not sure if this is going to stay up after this year!
That's all the pictures for now. Thank you to all of you who have been calling and easing my lonliness. Thanks also to all of you who gave me gift cards....they have all been put to great use! The one bright spot about here is that the weather has been a beautiful 75-80 in the day and 55-65 at night. I haven't looked at the weather in Portland, but hopefully is has cooled down from when I left. I miss you all so much!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The last day
Today is my last day in Portland. Mom and I are headed out tonight after work, to hopefully make it as far as Boise. I hate goodbyes. I've never been good at them, and I've never dealt well with change. A wise man told me something very helpful though: "It's not goodbye, just 'see you later'" That is a much easier way to look at things. I can't believe I'm going back to Rochester. I hope that it's the right thing. I think that when I get there and get acclimated it will be fine, but now it's a scary thing to leave everything and everyone that you know and love.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
To follow my NY exploits
So many people have asked me to keep in touch while I'm in Rochester. While I would love to email all of you individually, the reality is I'm terrible at doing that, and I'm going to be really busy :) I decided that a blog is a nice way to keep in touch with everyone in one central place. I'll be sure and post pictures of the new house as well. You're always welcome to email me (tia.neely@gmail.com), and I'll do my best to respond. I'd love to hear how all of you are doing as well. I'll miss all of you in P-town!
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