4.21.2010

why i love my 3 jobs

i have my dissertation proposal defense on friday afternoon.

since of the 5 people who read this, 3 won't know what that is - it's basically where my committee gets to read my 50 page (with references/figures/examples) proposal, then watch me make a little presentation about it and ask me questions. then we can discuss things like "is this project feasible?" and "what other variables should i look at?" that way, i don't spend a year or more of my life on something and then have them say "wait, why did you do that?!?!" at least hopefully not.

anyway, it's kind of a big deal.

my grad school friends all ask me questions about whether i feel ready in terms of the writing/presentation.
the kids i babysit for just say good luck.
and the girls i work with at anthropologie... ask me if i've picked out my outfit yet.

i love all of it :)

4.18.2010

things you should never have to find out..

what it feels like the THIRD time that someone breaks into your car.
(in case you were wondering, you don't cry and honestly you aren't even that surprised. though that could be because i found it at 6:15am and i was just tired.)

on the plus side, this time no windows were broken! (i left my driver's side door unlocked parked in the garage-without-a-door behind my house)

on the not-plus side, my laptop got stolen. the one that i bought with the grant i won for school that had all my fancy software on it. that's all they took though - they left my nice laptop bag, which i appreciate. they opened the center console in my car too, probably looking for a gps, which i don't have.

i did all the stuff you do - went to Apple and got the serial number, filed a police report, talked to my insurance. thumbs up to the following:
-Apple not only gave me my serial number, they flagged it in their system, gave me a number to give to the police for contacting their security department, reinstated all of my itunes downloads ever so i didn't lose anything i downloaded, and gave me a coupon for $100 off in case i want to buy a new laptop.
-the Arlington police department came to my house so i could file the police report and told me to keep an eye on craigslist for something resembling my computer. i did in fact find something on there that night that looked like my computer, and they came back to my house to check it out and talked Chris and I through texting the guy! in fact, if the guy agrees to meet up in Arlington they will go get the computer and see if it's mine. they took all the info to have a detective contact him so fingers crossed!!!

i have renter's insurance (who doesn't after Ang's apartment building burned down?!?!) but since i have a $1000 deductible, there's no point in filing a claim and raising my rates - it wouldn't cover much of anything.
so this week, not only do i get to work every day (i'm scheduled at anthropologie 10 days in a row!) and DEFEND MY DISSERTATION PROPOSAL, i get to figure out how to get my personal laptop up to speed to operate the software i need for school without it costing a fortune.
i love my life.

on the plus side...at least i didn't have to get new windows!

4.15.2010

dinner fail.

(a note - AJ, you will love this.)

Tonight I decided to make red wine chicken and roasted potatoes for dinner, because we have red wine left from our party on Saturday night and it's open and I can't drink it all!
Long story short, I accidentally left the red wine/brown sugar mixture simmering too long and made molasses. though it tastes good. and the chicken is cooked perfectly!

.... i think i ruined the pan though.

4.12.2010

in other news...

1. It's Beverly Cleary's birthday today - she's 94! anyone who knows me knows that I love to read so my excitement over this isn't a real shock. Also, the woman who wrote all the Babysitter's Club books just wrote a prequel. totally getting that from the library.

2. Ii finally used my kitchenaid mixer this weekend and I am in love with it. Saturday night Amanda and I made gluten free cake for her birthday (with peanut butter frosting! yum), and yesterday I made gluten free chocolate chip scones... kind of. for the first half I forgot to put in the xantham gum (which is what makes the dough stick without the gluten) so those ones kind of look like pancakes. the other half turned out better.

3. I also watched Zombieland again this weekend, and it was just as funny the second time. If you haven't seen it, you should - even my friend Emily liked it, and she hates gory movies.

At this point, I think I'm going to go read a book until tonight's tv starts - House and How I Met Your Mother, and maybe Two and a Half Men, in case you were wondering. We also have an episode of The Pacific to watch from last night, and I recorded Slumdog Millionaire today because I haven't seen it yet. I have to watch it soon though so that chris will let me keep the entire season of LOST on our dvr. It is now taking up almost 80% of the dvr and he's going to flip a shit soon, but Rae and James still want to watch it so I'm battling to keep it recorded :)

cheryl, this is just for you.

i'm not entirely sure i'll have anything entertaining to say, but just for you lil', i am jumping onto the blog bandwagon.

and for my first entry, i have a survey to do that i am expecting the rest of you to do too.

Hi, my name is: jane

Never in my life have I been: blond? i don't know

The one person who can drive me nuts is: haha, there are many more than just one!

High school: was fun, but was a long time ago.

When I’m nervous: i talk really fast

The last song I listened to was: crystallized, by the xx

If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honor: my sister.

My hair is: strong willed! it does whatever it wants.

When I was 5: i wasn't all that different than i am now.

Last Christmas: was awesome, because my mom and my brother came up here.

I should be..: in the shower, i went for a run but waited til the dishwasher was done so that it didn't steal all the hot water.

When I look down I see: my laptop.

The happiest recent event was: yesterday was a pretty sweet day :)

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ I’d be: totally the female version of ross. i'm such a geek!

By this time next year: i will have defended my dissertation and will have a ph.d.!

My current gripe is: actually i'm quite content right now.

I have a hard time understanding: anything involving spatial abilities is a problem.

There’s this girl I know that: is obsessed with all of her friends starting blogs!! :-P

I like you when: you make me laugh.

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: it's a three way tie between chris, my mom, and anna.

Take my advice: live every week like it's shark week! (obviously)