The Snowy Day

Other than a description of today in Rhode Island, The Snowy Day is the title of one of my favorite books from childhood. A little boy wakes up and finds it has snowed overnight. He goes out and does the requisite snowman-construction, followed by snow-angel making, and other such fun. He makes a snowball and brings it inside, and is devastated when he finds it melted the next morning. Being home in the snow--and separated by only a few days from 80 degree weather--makes me realize just what the Texans miss growing up without snow. While it was weird, warm weather in November and into December was oddly comforting. None of that whipping wind and cold ears that you get on cold nights in New England. Fewer gray days, less vitamin D deficiency, and more warm sunny days make for an obvious absence of seasonal affectedness disorder. (Even though that's just a nicer way of saying you want to be on prozac). But coming home and then getting a real, genuine New England-style snowstorm that resembles the snow days of my youth reminded me of why I really am being honest when I say I love winter. Standing out in the yard in my puffy winter coat and boots, you're surrounded by an incredible silence. It is unlike any sort of silence you can find elsewhere, no birds chirping, no water moving, no wind rustling leaves. Just the almost inaudible sound of snowflakes hitting the ground, the trees, the roof. It's gorgeous. And whatever I do for now, and however much I fall in love with Texas, I know I'll have to end up somewhere there's a little bit of "winter weather".

Finals and Last Names

My blogging has suffered from the run-up to the end of the semester, but I'm sure adequate boredom will ensue upon my return to Rhode Island. Anyway, this week has been insane. Two very late nights, two papers, a presentation, an interview, and the Dean's holiday party. Through all of it (and hopefully I'll have good news about a cool research opportunity next week, fingers crossed) I noticed something trivial and awesome. My friends in Texas have awesome last names. Below, last names and characters.

Dooley (aka; Dools): Never a dull moment.
Zackel: My partner in crime in Kup's classroom of torture, we nerd it up together pretty often. And we've been known to find ourselves out on Burnett road in need of Panda.
Kosoris: Football all-star.
Ludher (aka; Sludher): my birthday twin
Elder (aka; Kelder): fellow white-girl-lover-of-gangster-rap
Levy (aka; Blevy): loves bottle service

It reminds me of my Maryland friends and their insistence on emails-as-nicknames. And yes, Swilly is back... it has (unfortunately) caught on with this group. Sort of.

In the Airport - 11/26

What qualifies as news in the mainstream media is insane. Sitting in the DFW airport the day before thanksgiving, after a late wake-up, CNN is showing a piece on people who believe they have been abducted by aliens. They just wrapped up a brief discussion about the Obama administration’s apparent decision to keep Secretary Robert Gates on as head of the Defense department. That’s news. The newly elected president opting for a bi-partisan and pragmatic choice for Sec Def in the midst of a financial crisis. Alien abduction portrayed through art? Not news. The next piece was about a guy who had flown for a few minutes using a jet pack. I remember when I started thinking that the Today Show was turning into a circus. I think the Today Show used to be a morning news show, but by the time I graduated high school it was nothing of the sort. People (including my parents) chose instead to watch CNN or one of the other cable news networks, because they tended to focus on actual issues. I’m wondering if CNN is the new Today show. They did a terrible reporting job during the campaign, as did most of the major news networks. I get 99% of my news from the internet. Online editions of old standard US papers, magazines, blogs, international papers. CNN was with me on election night, sure, but we were more interested in checking 538 every 10 seconds.