winter "break"

I am currently about to enter the second week of my office being closed (the university is saving money by impairing productivity, it seems) in what can only be viewed as a work-from-home holiday bonanza. After my last post, I only had to make it through another week of teaching classes and only at 2 of the schools. I also managed to battle a cold that struck that weekend and lasted several days. Speaking of cold, Philadelphia's temperatures dipped below freezing on several days and nights. There was snow, ice, and the inability to open my car door for several hours one morning. I think the wind chill factor is what really made it difficult to leave the house. I enjoyed 65-degree temperatures when I went back to Virginia for Christmas, and today was unseasonably warm enough up here to warrant a run. We'll see how the rest of the winter treats me in the Northeast.

The first week of January will mark 4 months since I moved to Philadelphia, which is pretty impressive. I'm not getting lost all the time (hopefully my Christmas gift Garmin will take care of the rest). I know to wear leggings under my pants, multiple layers on top, and to never forget a scarf and my earmuffs when going outside. I'm still not good at driving in snow, but maybe I'll figure it out.

The Eagles won tonight, which means that they secured a spot in the playoffs. They'll be playing the Vikings next week, and needless to say, we're all excited around here. I am not able to further comment on the situation until next week, but I'll probably have a weird dream about McNabb, Jackson, Dawkins, Westbrook and company. I'm still going to try and make it to a Flyers game later on in the season once I make some money from being a server that doesn't go directly to our house's gas bill. But if nothing else, we'll always have this year's Phillies.

Philly food review: I finally tried a cheesesteak from one of the 'big 3' (Pat's, Geno's, Jim's) when a friend came to visit. We went to Jim's on an evening chock full of snow and rain. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of my cheesesteak with onions and peppers and white American cheese. The price was less fun. I enjoyed getting American cheese more than provolone (have yet to try Whiz) because it provided a sharper flavor to stand up to the bread and steak. The grilled peppers and onions added to the texture and moisture content pretty nicely. I would definitely recommend splitting a cheesesteak with a friend, as I could only eat one half.

minuses and pluses

My socks are wet, and I spent my morning teaching 30 Catholic school 7th and 8th graders about values. I just had the 'energy green tea with guarana + yerba mate' from teany but I still want to take a nap. I woke up with a sore throat that has persisted despite my tea and water consumption.

Buuutttt.....there are so many good things right now, too. The office is empty and quiet, so I can actually get some work done (or write in my blog). My roommates and I all hung out together Tuesday night and picked out a house Christmas tree. I actually like driving in and around the city of Philadelphia between the hours of 10AM-2PM. 7th and 8th graders actually seem to like and respect me, and some of the girls treat me like a cool older sister who has all the answers. I had one of the best salads of my life from Grocery at lunch (the other top contender is the goat cheese/spinach/bacon salad at Clementine in Harrisonburg). This weekend, I have a fellow AmeriCorps member's birthday party, the JMU vs. Montana national semi-final football game to watch, new job orientation, and a day of making cookies for everyone. Plus, tomorrow is payday!

See how much bigger that second paragraph was? I won't find out my home-for-Christmas schedule until after job training (I got hired as a server at a new Asian tapas restaurant near me) but as long as I get a few days back in Virginia, I'll be happy. I'm debating whether or not to send out holiday greeting cards, or if it's feasible to just track everyone down and hand out cookies/brownies/cupcakes in tupperware. We shall see.

More Philly food review coming in the next installment!

Thanksgiving break review

Going back home to Virginia really made the differences between here and there all the more obvious. Of course, VA means old friends and family, while Philadelphia equates to over a million strangers and a few dozen acquaintances. But there are other things. Driving in Virginia is fun, for one. Even with a stick shift. The amount of traffic in Richmond and its suburbs is incredibly smaller than Philadelphia and its suburbs. I rode around with my Dad on Friday and braved the Black Friday crowds to buy greeting cards and my first pepper spray. Dad actually reached for the enormous can of Bear Repellent first (we were at a hunting/fishing geared outdoors store). On Saturday, my Mom lent me her car and I zoomed around, listening to Talking Heads and Bob Dylan. I slept a tremendous amount, going to bed around 11PM and waking up around 9AM each day. I helped cook and bake food for Thanksgiving, much to my Mom's surprise and delight. Despite having no cell phone reception at home, I still managed to take a long-distance call and dial out to other people. I neglected to take any photos, but rest assured they all would have been of family, friends, adorable pets, and late autumn in the woods. One caveat about Richmond: people can still smoke in bars, which leads to everything reeking of smoke. Then again, the beer there is at happy hour prices in the city.

I was fortunate enough to take a train in between RIC and PHL both ways, which made my vacation that much more relaxing. No stop and go traffic on I-95, no driving late at night to avoid said traffic. Just me, my iPod, some books, and many other passengers. It was a step up from last year's epic 14-hour rail journey on the Vermonter.

I posted more photos from the month of October: Enjoy.