Let the Intern Do It

First off here's the little cutie on the front porch after his haircut. I always let him get too long and I forget how adorable he is with a shearing. Alissa always puts that little scarf thing around his neck which I leave on for a day or two because it is so silly.

Speech should be good. My first impression of the professor and classmates is very good. She teaches at the University as well. Have I mentioned that the community college I attend is considered one of the top ten in the nation? Recently the New York Times
ran a piece that included Valencia. My experiences have been mostly very positive. If I had this blog a while ago though you would have had to read my rants about my Comp II professor. He was a man around my age, has his doctorate, and is worthless. I won't go into all the details, but he gave me a B which I felt was undeserved. So much so that I went all the way to the Provost. If you could have seen me trying to fight City Hall you would have laughed. I knew I wasn't going to win that fight when she said, "Now, you've earned a B", and my response was, "No, he gave me a B, I earned an A."

After Speech I headed over to the museum as tomorrow is opening day. I may have mentioned that the curator is extremely laid-back. She is very confident it will be ready by 10 in the morning! I spent some time cutting Velcro and placing it on the back of info plaques. She said she was sorry, she knew it was no fun cutting Velcro, but I said no problem. I'm going over in the morning to man the front desk for when visitors arrive. I've no idea how to run the cash register, I suspect I'll have to learn very quickly. Today's entertainment section of the paper ran a full page article about the show but neglected to mention it opens tomorrow. Apparently people were stopping by to see it, but as stated earlier, not ready for prime time just yet.

I've not heard from Jonathan how the new job is going; I'm assuming good things. Matt went to a Northwestern alumni event in London the other night. He met a couple there who lives just around the corner from him--very cool. As well, a student in the PhD program with him is studying abroad in Paris with a stopover in London to visit our Matthew. I know he will be excited to see familiar faces.

Proving Once Again...

It's not what you know, but who you know. Here are the new shoes with accompanying black skirt. Notice--no hose; it's Florida for goodness sake. I had a small crisis while getting dressed. I put on this lovely white blouse with lace on front and around the cuff line. I had forgotten that whilst ironing it the iron seared the lace a tad making a small hole. Off with that blouse. Next up--lovely ivory silk blouse--my goodness, is that a spot? No spot--only a hole left by a pin (you know, the jewelry kind). Next up--a lovely light grey silk blouse that Matt gave me for Christmas many years ago--perfect, but kinda low. Now what? Small strand of pearls to the rescue. Furthermore, once on the road I was stopped by a pesky railroad crossing that seems to get stuck on occasion. I knew I left in plenty of time....indeed, I did. I arrived early just as I'd planned with time off for good behavior. Really--I did have some time to do a small bit of photography!! Yeah!

Two women were walking toward me and I mentioned that I was looking for Karen. "Oh, I'm Karen, come on up." They were wearing very casual clothes to say the least! She said--"So, when can you start?" End of interview. Actually, she spent time telling me what she had in mind for an intern to assist with and it all sounded right up my alley. They are planning sixteen separate installations (that seems very ambitious to me) for the season; help is needed in a variety of ways. I really can't get credit until the fall, but I told them I would come on Thursday to help de-install an Asian art exhibit. Thank God for Professor McNair. Apparently, they had become so fed up with various interns not showing up etc. that they were completely turned off at the prospect of another one, no matter how much they need help. Keep your fingers crossed that I can stay perky and not let them down. Now I can plan my final classes at community college; at the end of December I will have my AA.

So--the new shoes were not needed. I'm not sure I could have worn a flip-flops, but, shoes in my closet would have worked just dandy.

I never know why pictures upload sideways and I never know how to change them--please forgive me.

Circumventing the System

Because the folks at my community college who are supposed to be helping me get this internship seem to be too slow for me I decided to go straight to the museum with my resume, and see what happened. As it turns out, there are two interns for the summer already, however, there is an opening in the fall. The woman I spoke to said my maturity would be a bonus. As well, I wrote to my humanities professor to see if I might use her as a reference. She wrote back and said she would contact the director and put in a good word for me. To our left is the sculpture museum--isn't it pretty?

Yesterday I didn't get up until after 8 because I had taken a nausea pill the night before and it makes me very sleepy. I try not to take them, but after retching for many minutes, Bruce talked me into it. I was pretty slow moving all day. Today was another story though. The phone rang before 6 AM--naturally it wasn't handy. Bruce was already showering for his departure, so I dragged up, and answered it. Bruce's direct flight to Boston was canceled, and they put him on another flight through Cincinnati putting him in Boston much later than planned. After his workday he is going to a Red Sox game! I'm totally jealous that he gets to go to Fenway. Did I mention he has 711,000 frequent flier miles with Delta?

My sweet Jonathan calls me every day on his way home from work to check up on how I'm feeling. I used to talk to him only once a week, but since I've been sick, he calls every day. This week is an exception because he is on his cruise. I do so hope they are having good weather as he was super excited. Our rain seems to have returned, and that is great news. Not only do we need it to keep things cooler, but our aquifer, lakes, rivers, and lawns need it badly. Today it stormed like crazy--the wind was blowing the palms every which way, and the rain was coming down in buckets. I'll post a picture tomorrow for those of you who have never seen a Florida afternoon rainstorm. Some people are afraid of the lightening, and thunder, that comes with it, but I kinda like it if I'm inside--not so much fun driving though. I was wondering how many accidents it caused today.

Our paper is paid through June 17 so we are still receiving it. Someone wrote a letter to the editor saying they would cancel, but they were concerned for their carriers livelihood--good point. Ours drives an old van that always sounds as if it might die in front of the house. Until I no longer receive it, I will continue to find things to amuse, or irritate me within it's pages. No disrespect intended, but in a 53 year old man's obituary today (yikes, I'm 53!), it said he liked to clean his mother's pool as a hobby. Can you imagine someone paid to include that? Seriously though, it might be nice if Bill or Dave decided that was a worthy hobby.

Lawlessness

I realized yesterday that I seem to have been writing about some form of lawlessness in recent posts. If someone came upon my blog without knowing me they would think I live a fairly exciting life what with all these brushes with crime. Nothing could be farther from the truth most days.

Speaking of which, my friend Dean recently wrote in his newspaper column about reading Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road; I read that stunning book last fall in my World Literature class. I mention it because if ever there was a state of lawlessness, that book describes it. A father, and son, are the only two good guys left in a world left desolate from some sort of apocalyptic event--they are traveling on a road to nowhere. It is worth your attention if you have time, however, I will warn you that it is very bleak.

The newspaper continues to deteriorate almost daily. Yesterday I found the obituaries in the business section! A family had placed a loving tribute to their beloved mother describing in detail her life, and accomplishments; just below, there was a story about the decline in fortunes for the Krispy Kreme doughnut company--yikes, make them stop! Aside from Dean's column, there is almost no reason to subscribe anymore, and in fact, I'm going to try and convince Bruce of this plan.

We've got company coming!! Jonathan, and Alissa, will be making a quick stop on their way down to Ft. Lauderdale where they will board a ship for a week long cruise--graduation gift from her Mom. On Sunday, my sister Carol, and her dear husband Hank, will be arriving from California; their zip code is 90210. They have not been here since our Mom died, so we've got lots of catching up to do.

I'm not sure what to wear to my internship interview this afternoon--should I dress like a college student, or will there be different standards for a middle-aged woman? I've not been interviewed for probably 14 years; I probably should have gotten some pointers from someone on how to behave.

The baby swan hatched five days ago and is swimming about like a champ. When I arrived yesterday morning the family was not in it's protected enclave--I had to search for them. They were out and about in the big lake! Here they are heading back to safer territory.

You would also think from reading this that all I ever do is take photographs--you would be right for the most part. I did go to the movies yesterday afternoon though. I saw Denmark's entry for the Academy Awards--After the Wedding. It was a moving story, and there was fine acting--I highly recommend it. As well, I'm reading The Places in Between, Rory Stewart's account of his journey walking across Afghanistan. I love a world view.

Random School Thoughts

--The question is WHY are these ridiculous trucks allowed on the road?
--Geology test could have been worse--an 80.
--The professor added 6 points to the previous test bringing me up to a grand total of 60!! The sweet girl across from me got a 42. These are honor students, and not used to these kinds of grades. The tests are all fill in the blank; either you know it, or you don't.
--The math test I thought I failed was returned, I got a 74--the boy who sits next to me got a 56. My mid-term grade is 87. I wonder if I can bring it up?
--The internship office called on my way home and wondered why I put down so many different kinds of internships I was interested in. She said she would determine if I was a good candidate for an internship--ha,ha, I told her I was a model employee in the past. I need help to put together a resume.
--Apparently, only five more weeks to go in the semester, hallelujah!
--I'm still deciding about summer classes; I may just need a break.
--Having dry heaves in class does not look good.
--Candace, one of my geology classmates, donated her kidney to her brother--good deal.
--Bruce read my Humanities paper,; he thought it was just fine, so that is one down, and one to go.