the intricacies of Russian visas

One of the primary reasons Daniel and I selected what we did for our way-cool European vacation/honeymoon was the simple fact that the cruise itinerary included an overnight stay in St. Petersburg, Russia. In high school, I took a European History class and earned extra credit for reading a history of Nicholas and Alexandra, the …

I’m so proud of my mother.

In the ongoing saga of my mother’s stint on City Council, she let me know last night she has made a decision about running for reelection. Namely, she’s gonna do it. Apparently (and catch up here if you’re behind), “Pat” has been visiting certain city officials and claiming the ability to win in a head-to-head …

I’m apparently still fit for GW, et. al.

Good news! I was told last week sometime that my ACT scores were rockin’ good, so I’m all confirmed as a new test-prep tutor candidate. I start training this weekend, and so life is good. In less thrilling news, I came down with a nasty sinus infection last week that, despite a full round of …

LizDammit!

Today I drove past one of the many churches nearby that likes to put quotes from God on their marquee. This one advised: If you must curse, do it in your own name.–God This annoys me. I’m not trying to open up a can of worms here or whatever, but on whose authority do they …

I’m apparently still not fit for Duke

It’s something of a long story (what of my stories AREN’T long, though?), but I took a practice SAT test last Friday, and I found out today I got exactly the same math score I got as a high school junior. I take this both as an achievement — I haven’t regressed! — and a …

Not Ready to Make Nice

I recently downloaded the Dixie Chicks latest album, Taking the Long Way, from iTunes. Of coures, I’d heard quite a bit of e-chatter about the song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” billed as a “strike that apology” homage to their well-publicized criticism of Gulf War II when the initial invasion took place. Soon after buying …

a bank screw-up? hooray!

When we got back from Hawaii — days after we got back, actually — Daniel and I got online to book our flights to Amsterdam for the exciting honeymoon in August. We had been tracking fares all year, so we knew to be prepared for a hard hit on the pocketbook; this is a grueling …

I am (once again) tired of reading.

Yesterday was a marathon day for me. That’s because I basically spent 13 hours or so on campus doing school stuff… reading and doing research for the three classes I attended yesterday (two of which I’m actually a student in, the third just for fun) and an afternoon meeting I had with one of my …