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.

last post before thanksgiving

It snowed here this past week, which made me realize that snow is pretty much useless to me now that I'm not a student. My site may be closed on severe weather days since it's university-affiliated, but I'm just going to have to work from home or make up those hours later. If one of the schools I teach at is closed, we'll just have to postpone the lesson for that week and effectively be at their school for one week longer. I don't like driving in snow (sometimes the stereotypes about Southerners are true) or ice, and the bus schedule becomes even more unreliable when there is any kind of precipitation. I actually looked out my window on Friday morning, after oversleeping, and said "eww, gross". It's too early for snow at any rate; that should hold off until mid-December in my mind.

Speaking of schools, the teaching is going pretty well so far. Sure, you get your share of kids who don't want to do the lesson or are still wondering why you're there, but they're middle schoolers. Of course they want to rebel. I'm considering it a triumph when they quietly doodle or draw instead of talking out, and am absolutely stoked when they participate. I still have no plans to enter the field of education, but am pleasantly surprised.

2 months in

Things have calmed down here considerably, so it seems as though there will be no more parades or marching in the street for a while. Temperatures are dropping and appear to be staying this way (no more freakishly warm highs in the 70's), so I suppose autumn is finally here to stay. With that comes drier air (other than November rain), biting wind (would wearing a balaclava be too weird for my every day commute?) and fewer people loitering around outside. I may be switching up my public transit way to work to include longer stretches of sitting in warm buses and subway cars, and shorter periods of time standing on street corners waiting for the bus. It will be longer travel time overall, but I sure do get a lot more reading done while sitting down, not worry about missing my stop.

Due to a series of strange (but certainly not unfortunate) events on Friday, my likeness may be part of a photo mural at 1845 Walnut St., an office building downtown by Rittenhouse Square. The planned day of surveying middle schoolers at a charter school went down the tubes; the project director called me at 8:30AM to tell me not to go there and I showed up 10 minutes later, much to the confusion of the school's staff). My colleague and I ambled back to Broad St., where cheery Starbucks employees were handing out $5 gift certificates. We each took one and found the nearest location (not too difficult, though I'm pretty sure Dunkin Donuts would be easier to find), then took our lattes and pastries to Rittenhouse Square where we sat chatting for a while, enjoying the mild weather. Then one of several people taking photographs of the area asked if we wouldn't mind moving benches to be part of their photo mural. We obliged since they were clearly professionals, and attempted to look natural while sipping our drinks and chatting. I'll have to follow up there in a few months to see if my likeness really is in the lobby.

Finally, I am getting better at finding cool free stuff to do here in the city. Last week's election party, tonight's Drambuie-sponsored event with free drinks and hors d'oeuvres, free Sundays at The National Liberty Museum, and of course First Fridays.

The latest installment of Philly food:
Tastykake Sugar-Free Sensables Cream Filled Koffee Kake Cupcakes: That's right, I dared to try the sugar-free version of my favorite packaged sweet snack here. They came in a 6-pack of pairs at Super Fresh, have an impossibly long ingredient list, and leave a weird faux-sugar residue in your mouth. Also, its beyond me why they spelled sensible that way. 10g of sugar alcohols, still too many calories, and no feelings of real Tastykake satisfaction. Never again.

I finally visited some legitimate restaurants here, but still have yet to eat a Philly cheesesteak at one of the big 3 places (Pat's, Geno's, Jim's). Maybe I'll go on a weekend cheesesteak and Miller Lite bender just to test my limits.

excitement

THE PHILLIES WON!

OBAMA WON!

HALLOWEEN HAPPENED!

I SPENT A WONDERFUL 24 HOURS IN DC!

I'M TAKING A TRAIN HOME FOR THANKSGIVING!

now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

things I have learned in the last 1.5 weeks

- Yes, a city's collective mental state can be put on hold by a rain delay. Game 5 (5.5?) of the World Series resumes tonight. I have joined the masses not allowed to discuss possible outcomes (a collective desire not to jinx anything), but I'm still hopeful.
- Nissin Cup Noodles is the work lunch of champions. The styrofoam makes me cringe, but they're cheap and only require a microwave or the hot water function of our water cooler. Plus, miniature shrimp.
- Water cooler jugs are 5 gallons, which is surprisingly difficult to lift. I have done my strength training for the day.
- Middle schoolers are a handful. After I was introduced, one boy shouted out "Hilary Banks!", which was a nice change from the usual Clinton remarks. Also, we were legitimately in West Philadelphia, so it was very geographically appropriate. Then a seventh grade girl told me I looked like Hilary Duff. Hmm.
- After a grease-heavy lackluster coffee cake this morning, I may put myself on a Tastykake moratorium until further notice.
- Loud office chitchat is best avoided by closing the door (if possible), or attempting to concentrate solely on your work. I think bringing in my iPod would be a little unnecessary and rude, but I guess I like working in silence or at least ambient music.
- You can successfully construct a Halloween costume for $15 that will hopefully be a winning combination of witty, cute, and unique. Pictures to come.

I went to Terror Behind the Walls last week, and it was incredible. I guess we went by Al Capone's old cell without my realizing it, but there was a lot of other stuff to see (zombies, cadavers, a 3-D glasses area).

I finally added some new photos from late September - early October to my picasa account. I still need to upload about 125 pictures from my camera and make executive decisions about which ones are facebook and blog appropriate (flowers and harvest festival, yes). But after work today I'm making a quick trip downtown to complete my costume with a single piece of yellow felt.