Thursday, November 20, 2008

Gainesville Bucket List

Now that I am officially leaving Gainesville, I have to say a proper goodbye to the town I've come to love. So I created a "bucket list" of things i have to do before I leave town (or maybe to do when I visit) and I'm posting it here, per Jodi's suggestion:
Restaurants to eat at/Bars to patronize:
Satchel’s
The Top
Leonardo’s
Jeff’s Deli
Tim & Terry’s
Market Street
Flaco’s
Floyd’s
Trombone charlie’s
Café gardens

Before I leave I have to have dinner with:

Aubrey & Charlie

Hannah, Will & Joey

The Eubanks (Both sets)

The AEC gang

Jodi and the girls

Places to see / things to do:

Millhopper State park

Payne’s Prairie

Melrose (yay Thanksgiving!)

Fishing (hopefully Thanksgiving)

Micanopy

Canoeing/Kayaking on Springs/River/Gulf something water related

bats (the campus bat house) 

golf

Ward's Grocery

Farmer's market

Urban Thread (Ok, so this is shopping... a little different)


Hopefully I will get to everything on my list. I have a lot of stuff to do and not a whole lot of time. If you think of anything else to add or would like to help me accomplish anything on the list, let me know! I will try to put up pictures as I go along. 

Monday, November 17, 2008

Ruby Tuesday 11-18

Don't question why she needs to be so free
She'll tell you it's the only way to be
She just can't be chained 
To a life where nothing's gained
And nothing's lost
At such a cost...
Time for a Ruby Update.

Ruby had her first kennel experience, first (and hopefully last) surgery, and first real encounter with wildlife in the last few weeks. 
She got to go to the Micanopy Animal Hospital when I went to Indiana on a work trip. She seemed to enjoy it, but was glad to come home. We forgot Vernon, her pink octopus, but he was in bad condition so I just bought a new one. 
Ruby's spay went well, she milked it for everything she could, whining, caring on and only eating out of my hand. But the next day she was fine and I had to go to work so she would stop playing. 
Her first encounter with real wildlife was an armadillo in the backyard. she cornered it under the dog house and didn't know WHAT to do with it. 

Her favorite game right now is sitting on the couch, dropping
 her toys and chewies on the floor and barking at me to pick them up. She is a two year old! 
Not a great picture of me, but I love the expression on her face!

ch-ch-ch-changes

A change is blowing in the wind. I'm leaving the literal swamps of Florida and headed for the political quagmire of Washington, DC. I've been offered a job working with the USDA in the CSREES . I guess I'm going to start talking in acronyms (even more than I already do!). This is the building I will be working in:
And this is what is directly across the street:
I'm looking forward to eating my lunch on a park bench looking at the river. 
I've started looking for an apartment, and boy is it going to be a headache. Housing prices are extraordinarily high anywhere near DC, but luckily I will be getting a significant raise. Taking Ruby will be a challenge also, but I'm pretty sure it can be done. It seems like everyone has a friend that lives in DC or has lived there themselves, so I'm getting a lot of advice.
 I am NOT looking forward to going through all of my things and throwing out the majority of it. I need to prioritize my belongings and figure out what I might be able to sell and what is worth taking with me. Most (if not all) of my furniture is disposable, but I like it and don't want to start from scratch. But honestly, it doesn't need to travel 800 miles. So, anyone need any household items?

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

+ running list

things I like:

People who are nice and don't have to be. I was leaving work one day last week and on the stairs of my building a girl passing me said "I love the color of your sweater! It looks so good on you!" Out of the blue. I've never seen the girl before. Makes me go "aw, people are all right. Humanity is going to be just fine."
I should really do this more. Occasionally I will tell the random stranger that I like their bag or shoes or dress. I usually get a shy smile of surprise and a quizzical thank you. But mostly I think it in my head and never voice my positive thought. It feels good to have people acknowledge you. Other random good deeds also qualify under this, like: holding the door/elevator for some one, returning a dropped item, letting people cut in the grocery line. So basically I am awed at common courtesy.
Free trips. Yay! I get to go to DC for 24 hours! for free! Oh yeah, I do have to interview for a job in that time period. and explore the city to see if I can mesh with it.

This is the first post in my + (positive) running list. I might add a -(negative) running list, but I have to think about it. I want to think good thoughts and highlight what is right in the world. But I might want a place to rant. We will see.