because i feel that this insanity needs to be shared... this is the story of my travel experiences for my on-campus interview at U of I this week.

on my way to the airport, i got to navigate clumps of sod that had been dropped on the freeway by some goofy truck driver. it was quite entertaining to see all the cars suddenly swerving around on the 836. not a big deal though, no accidents, just amusement. i got to the airport and parked my car, and had no trouble getting to the gate. some guy commented on my bare feet going through the metal detector, but.. that attempt at flirting fell rather flat. which is not to say i have flat feet. my feet, like certain other members of my family's, are perfect.

the first plane, from miami to chicago, had no air conditioning. two and a half hours with no air. the second plane had no functioning bathroom on board. thankfully that was a short flight, but sheesh!

the interview on tuesday went really well, i think.. it was a long day, but i answered some questions exactly how i wanted to, and got a really good vibe from the staff. i also got to have pizza and beer with one of my juggling buddies, so that was enjoyable as well :) i'll be hearing back about the job next week sometime. keep those fingers crossed!

on wednesday, i got up at 7 CST for breakfast, got picked up at 7:45, and was at the airport, by the gate, by 8:10. first flight left at 9:10, right on time, w/o a hitch. it had functioning bathrooms. excellent. however, the gate we pulled in at was on the complete opposite side of the airport from where i was leaving, so i didn't have much time to work my way through the crowds to get to my gate before its scheduled boarding time. turned out that didn't matter, b/c we had to wait 20 minutes for the flight attendants to show up. and then once we got on the plane, it took another 20 minutes to get the baggage loaded and take off (why weren't they loading while the flight attendants were coming??). at this point i'm like.. ok. we're running a little late, but this airplane has air conditioning, and the guy next to me smells pretty good, so it should be a nice flight.

flight was fine. pleasant, even. i read harry potter the whole way :) but after we landed, the jet bridge we were supposed to use to get off the plane was broken. so they started unloading the baggage while we waited for someone to come fix it. they tried, and failed, so we were told we'd have to switch gates. it took 20 minutes to reload the baggage and then get to a new gate, and finally deplane... by this point we'd been sitting on the plane *on the ground* for an hour and fifteen minutes. i got off the plane almost exactly 2 hours after i was supposed to. many people were disgruntled.

but the story, my friends, does not stop there. because of the delays, i now had to drive home in rush hour traffic. but this was no ordinary rush hour traffic! no! this was rush hour traffic in a magnificent thunderstorm, with driving rain and hail! by this point, i was actually glad for the storm. it cracked me up. i called my mild mannered meteorologist to report the hail, and just enjoyed the clear panic in the other drivers' movements. the amusement of that storm made me just tired, as opposed to tired and crabby. by the time i got home, it was 6pm, and i hadn't eaten in 10 hours. i passed out, and didn't really wake up until dinner was done. sometimes it's really nice to live with someone :)

anyhow, that's my story of disgruntled travel.. it was quite the adventure. not really one i want to repeat, but an adventure nonetheless.

today we are starting our journey up to spend a week in VA. i'm excited to see another new part of the country :) camping, canoe'ing, driving... it should be good!

update on the job stuff: i have an on-campus interview with u of illinois next monday - tuesday! it sounds like it's going to be incredible. so.. further crossing of fingers is requested for those days :)

i haven't posted in a long time, again. you should be getting used to that ;)

i have a phone interview for a job in about 10 minutes. while researching their site, i found this. i like it:

“What is it, “Kokoro”?
It is the sound of the pine breeze there in the painting.”

Above is the poem by the priest Ikkyu, one of the greatest Japanese Zen monks in the 15th century. “Kokoro” is the Japanese word inclusive of heart, mind and spirit, which is like the sound of the pine breeze in the painting. Thus, we cannot see nor hold it, but if it is executed well, we can hear it.
~Kimiko Gunji
Director of Japan House, University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana

wish me luck!

it was a fairly big van, with 'watch for children' in paste-on red letters on the back. the van.. was what you could refer to as a 'rapist van' - you couldn't see through the windows. the sliding door was open, and visible was the only thing that told you it was an icecream truck. just inside the door (as in, you'd have to lean into the van to get to it..) was a cardboard stand with the types and prices of available icecream. they were driving around with the sliding door open, no music, just.. on the prowl. i shuddered and turned the corner, once again vowing to never raise children in miami.

it's been almost a month! sorry 'bout that.. been lots going on, i guess. umm. let's see.. i graduated! YAY! you may now all call me 'master' ;) my mom and lil bros came down for graduation weekend.. it was amazing to spend time with them. i haven't been back to WI at all this semester, so i definitely cherished the opportunity to have some family time.

had to be moved out by the day after graduation. i'm now living with my mild-mannered meteorologist, until i move away from miami.

..unfortunately i dont know where that 'away' is, yet. don't have a job, yet. which is a little frustrating, but i'm not freaking out about it at this point. i've got a couple feelers out.. am just waiting to hear back so i can figure out what is up.

am still working at FIU for another month or so, so i can get stuff set up for the woman who is taking my position next year. gotta clean this place up a bit so she can make sense of it.

that's all i've got for now.

i know i've been bad about posting. and there are a couple people who have expressed curiosity about what i've been up to. but. the whole virginia tech thing. holy crap. i feel that it pales in comparison to any news i could write on here about myself. my partner's little sister goes to VT and one of her favorite teachers is thought to be dead. she wasn't near the area where it all happened. i think my heart skipped a couple beats when i realized the shooting was at her school. thankfully she's ok.

it's interesting the different reactions people have to the whole thing. given that i study higher education, some classmates and colleagues have started talking about the effect this event will have on colleges and universities around the country. higher security in residence halls? more cameras in classrooms? more police on campus? but then how can you possibly react when something happens so incredibly quickly? i have an interview with a school on monday. i had been planning on asking about their plan of action for crisis situations, in light of what happened at bluffton university.. but now with this having happened, it makes it even more relevant. the two events are traumatic in different ways, but students will certainly have some similar needs to help them cope. anyhow. to get off the geek pedestal and reflect on another reaction.

some people have asked why no one did anything to stop the guy. someone i knew in high school posted the following in a myspace bulletin:

"Ok, the Virginia tech thing. First of all, very sad, really.
But GIMME A BREAK, that fucker managed to shoot 50 FUCKING PEOPLE and no one tried to take him down? It would be wrong of me to say that it is their own fault, but I will tell you right now, in IL the guy would have been lucky to even raise his gun before someone was taking him down. I find it strange that absolutely NO ONE acted the hero, at least trying to stop the gunman. The worst shooting incident in US History? Well, maybe next time someone will react when they see 30 of their classmates die and try to put a stop to it. I am sorry, and I am sure I will get flak for this statement. But it wouldn't have been the worse shooting in history if people acted with the survival instinct they are supposed to, aka ATTACK.
And for those who think I am hypocritical and would run away just like all those other people, I learned a long time ago that I can't run fast and I can't hide behind things. All that leaves is offense, so there."

i still dont know what to make of that. ..i think it's going to take me a while to process it all. ..i think it will take a lot of people a while to process.