Attempted Curling

Two carloads of Princeton folks headed up Rt. 1 and North on 287 with high hopes of getting a chance to curl at Plainfield Curling Club's open house yesterday. By the time we got to Exit 4 on 287 there was a line onto the highway that stretched all the way from the Curling Club, and a line of people (visible from the highway) waiting outside the club to get a chance to curl. We decided to stick it out and see what was going on.

By the time we got to where a representative from the Curling Club was directing traffic he told us that it would be a 3 hour wait outside in the long line. He also told us that because of the unexpected massive turnout that they were planning another open house in April. We decided to turn around and headed home to watch the Canada/USA gold medal hockey game instead.

Who knew curling was so popular in NJ?

Olympic Walk into Work

You know you've been watching too much Olympic coverage when the narration in your head on your way into work goes something like this (to be read in your best "Olympic Annoucer" voice):

OK, well, she was a little late out of the starting gate, and I see she decided to stick with the snow boots that she's been wearing for the last few weeks. Let's see how she handles her first challenge. The driveway was shoveled yesterday leaving a thin layer of ice, which can be tricky, and her landlord has left only about 8 inches of space between the cars that she needs to squeeze through... but yes, she has gotten through that with no problem. As she turns the corner she realizes that she's too late to have a crossing guard at her first street crossing, but as we've seen on many walks before, she boldly crosses that intersection, staring down the guy in the pick-up truck and reminding him exactly who has the right of way.

We're moving into an easier part of the course where speed is the main concern. Most of these sidewalks have been cleared, with just a few tricky spots here and there. This morning the course is especially deceiving with patches of black ice in some places. Oh! There I saw a little foot slippage, but as you can see she's regained her balance and is trucking along at a brisk clip. I think she might actually make in into work on time folks. We'll have to see how she handles the downhill.

The course so far has a slight incline, but now that she's approaching the Arts Center and downtown we can see that she's into the downhill portion of the course. The first obstacle is that she needs to decide wether or not to jaywalk while the light is not in her favor here. She looks both ways, waits for that blue car and WOW! Did you see that? She is so bold in her street crossing, what an obvious jaywalk that was! This is not a move we see very often from her, she must be really late. Thankfully no cops were around to write that jaywalking ticket that so many Princeton pedestrians live in fear of. Her next big challenge will be to avoid the bakery, and yes, she does that without even a glance. She is on a record-setting pace here, folks. There are a few icy patches on this side of Witherspoon, but she seems to be paying attention and avoiding them with ease. There's one stroller obstacle that she's avoided, and now, here's the toughest move left in the trip, avoiding Small World Coffee, and yes, she's done it! You can see she's unzipped her coat and she's starting to feel a little warm from the above-freezing temps and amazingly fast pace she's been keeping since the starting gate.

She reaches the light at Nassau St. and again it is not in her favor. With a quick glance at the clock at Hamilton Jewlers she realizes she needs to go now if she's going to make it to work on time. Again, she looks both ways, the cars part in her favor and there she goes! A second jaywalk! I can't believe it! She's home free now that she's made it to campus. The only thing that could slow her down now is running into someone she knows, but her head is down and she's picking up speed. She's in the home stretch, down the stairs outside McCormick Hall and into the elevator. In a stroke of luck the elevator is waiting for her and with her standard push of the "door close" button she avoids running into anyone and makes it to her desk by 8:43! With plenty of time to spare she takes off her coat, changes into her orange flats and is "at her desk, ready to work by 8:45"!

Another successful walk into work!

Sadly, no one gave me a standing ovation or gold medal when I sat down at my desk.

Broomball!

So a bunch of the engineers that are also on the Pub Quiz team that I'm on decided to join the Intramural Broomball league on campus. In order to play in the co-ed league they needed to have some girls on the team, so I was eagerly recruited, not for my broomball skills, but more for the fact that I'm female.

Since I've mentioned this to a few people, many have said "What the heck is broomball?". So I took my camera onto the ice last night and took a few shots just to give a sense of the goofiness of this game. We play on half of the hockey rink (or more like a third of the rink), so two games can go on at once, with the middle left empty for those that are on the sidelines. Only five people play on each team at a time, a goalie and four other people.

As you can see, everyone has sticks and the ball is actually like a little soccer ball. The sticks and helmets are provided, but our captain recommended knee pads, since you are bound to fall slipping around on ice in your sneakers and grippy gloves to hold onto the stick. So I went out and bought some volleyball kneepads and batting gloves, which work perfectly. Although I still have a bruise on my hip about the size of a coaster.

I also decided to take a little video, just to give you a better sense of the game:



Last night we played the PU Band team and they were pretty aggressive, much more so than the first team that we played. Both games ended in a 0-0 tie and went to a shoot out. The first game we won, last night's game we didn't.

Next game is Monday night! Game On!

Snowpocalypse!

That's right folks, New Jersey gets snow. And sometimes we get a lot of snow, like this week. We got a nice dose of snow on Saturday (maybe a foot or so) and then another dose on Wednesday, probably another 15 inches. The University was closed on Wednesday and I spent the day being ridiculously productive around the house. It snowed like crazy all day, and the most outside time I had was to do a little shoveling in the morning, some more in the afternoon, and doing some laundry, which involves walking across my small front porch.

Above is a view of the driveway. I was smart enough to park all the way at the end closest to the street so that I didn't have to shovel out the entire length of the driveway. But I did have to make a little path for walking, which you can barely see there.

This is the old, mostly dead crabapple tree in the front yard. I was afraid the weight of this heavy snow was going to bring it down. Only one big branch came off, the rest stayed upright.

And this is my back yard and neighbor's back porch. This isn't even the worst of it. These photos were taken on Wednesday afternoon before another 6 -8 inches fell that night. By the morning you couldn't even differentiate the individual steps across the way.

Cheddar Dill Bread

For some reason, the flavor combination of Cheddar & Dill is perfect to me. I decided to make a loaf of bread on Tuesday night, right when the big snow storm was starting. It seemed a good way to warm the house and have a tasty treat to get me through a snowy, dreary day on Wednesday.

I ended up using the same half whole wheat recipe that I usually use, and kneaded in the cheddar and dill at the final shaping just before letting it rise in the pan. It turned out wonderfully and it's been great as toast with just a little bit of butter. What a treat!

Finally...

Where to begin...

Well, I guess a little explanation is in order. At the end of December my next door neighbor moved out and took his internet hook-up with him, so since then I've been without the internet at home. And while it's easy enough to check my email at work, it's really not that easy to post photos and blog.

So what have I been up to? Well, I've been applying for jobs which is one of the most daunting things I've done in a long time. And I haven't heard anything from anyone except when I heard that a job I was interested in at Princeton had 200 applicants in the first 2 weeks. That was a huge reality check and made me realize what a tough market it is out there. And every once in a while I realize that the end of May is fast approaching! This should be interesting, folks...

I've been continuing to work at the Paper Source on the weekends. They have decided to keep me on for my one or two shifts a week, which is great for me. I've been putting all of those checks straight into my savings account and I enjoy the work, so it's a win-win situation.

I've been watching Syracuse kick some serious ass in basketball! These games are so fun to watch, and since I only have the most basic cable I don't have ESPN, so I've been catching some games at a local sports bar and trying to convert my Princeton friends into Syracuse fans. Or at least convince them to come out for a couple hours on a weeknight and have a few drinks while I keep and eye on the game. They are currently 20-1 after last night's romp of Georgetown! Go 'Cuse! I even picked up a pair of bright orange flats to go with all of the orange clothing that I've accumulated over the years. They're quite fun.

Speaking of Syracuse, I also applied for a Certificate of Advanced Study program through Syracuse's iSchool. This is another back-up plan depending on how things pan out job-wise. I should hear by the end of February whether or not I was accepted.

The Empire State Building: no lines, no waiting on a chilly Sunday night in January.

I've had two little trips in January, one to NYC which included a trip to the Guggenheim, the HighLine park and the top of the Empire State Building! It was super-cold, but very clear and not crowded at all. I also made it to Boston to catch up with tons of library friends who were all in town for ALA's Midwinter meeting. We all made it out for candlepin bowling, which has somehow become the thing to do when I'm in Boston.

Bowling Librarians!

Here's my team: Miriam, Matt, me, Lee and Allison

I've also been doing a lot of cooking. My friends Kim and Ann are both doing home-cooking challenges and blogging about them, so I've had some good inspiration to try some things in the kitchen. I've been continuing to bake bread about once a week and have had great success with a half-whole-wheat sandwich loaf that comes out well every time. This is partly due to the realization that my radiator is the best place to let it rise.

Rising on the Radiator

The finished product!

Oh speaking of radiators, I had a few days there with no heat. I even woke up one morning to find my apartment at a brisk 53°. Thankfully my landlord (who has the only thermostat in the whole building) came back from being out of town and turned it up to a reasonable temp and now all is well.


Whew... It's been an interesting month, that's for sure. I still don't have the internet at home, but I am going to try to be better about posting more often.

First Footer

It has long been a tradition in my family and my mom's family before that, that the youngest dark-haired male be put out onto the front stoop immediately following the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve with a loaf of bread and bottle of wine. They are then let in after they knock on the door. A quick little internet search has varified that this actually is a tradition (with some variations) not just in my family. It is called First Footing and refers to the first foot to cross the threshold in the New Year. As stated on this website:

"In Scotland an old tradition that still is relevant today is that of the first footer which is said, that whoever the first person to set foot into your home on New Year's day decided the family's luck for the rest of the year. This was based on the belief in the magic power of beginnings. The start of the New Year controlled its future course.

The person most welcome on new year's morning was a tall, dark haired man and especially if he bought a gift as this was considered magical as his handsome features would make the year a pleasant one and his gift of a loaf of bread, or a shovel of coal would ensure that there would be no lack of food or warmth in the household."

This year I was at Kim's apartment in Philly, so her boyfriend Mike was who got sent out with the wine and bread. Kim's son, Alex, has participated in this tradition many times over the years, but he was at his own party this year, so Mike was forced into doing it. So many of my male friends have been part of this tradition over the years, most notably Mark in Minneapolis, as seen here in 2009. So thanks to all of you who have looked at me funny as I hand you a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine and shove you outside at 12:01am on Jan. 1. Here's hoping this trick continues to work and 2010 turns out to be a great year!