I will be switching to the following blog:
www.missy-livinginpa.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
Welcome to Western PA
Moving to a new place typically brings with it a fresh new perspective on a very different culture. As I have lived in several different places, I have typically noted some of the new, sometimes strange, things that I run into as I adjust to a new place. In Oregon, this was oddly focused on the traffic signs on the west coast (CONGESTION), in Guatemala, this included riding on chicken buses and adjusting to communicating in Spanish, in Texas it included a lot of things that I am not going to re-live right now.
So, my first entry here will be a few of the cultural observations I have made as a new person to Western PA:
1. Yinz is equivilant to Y'all. For example, someone speaking to a group of people, "Yinz going to the football game this weekend?"
2. To be or not to be. I seem to notice that people do not always use the verb, "to be". So instead of saying, "The floors need to be swept", I hear "The floors need swept."
3. There are several 4 way stops that only require 3 of the lanes of traffic to stop. I am endlessly stopping when I am not supposed to be, or going when I shouldn't. Very confusing.
4. A popular game here is "Corn-hole". I have to admit that I snickered a little in chapel this week when they made an announcement that there would be a Corn hole tournament during homecoming. This is a game where you throw a bean-bag into a hole on a board. I don't know that I will call it corn hole. I think I will call it bean-bag toss.
5. Dreyer's Ice Cream has been taken over by Edy. Same look, same ice cream, different name.
I'll write more later about what I am actually doing here...but thought this would at least be a start.
So, my first entry here will be a few of the cultural observations I have made as a new person to Western PA:
1. Yinz is equivilant to Y'all. For example, someone speaking to a group of people, "Yinz going to the football game this weekend?"
2. To be or not to be. I seem to notice that people do not always use the verb, "to be". So instead of saying, "The floors need to be swept", I hear "The floors need swept."
3. There are several 4 way stops that only require 3 of the lanes of traffic to stop. I am endlessly stopping when I am not supposed to be, or going when I shouldn't. Very confusing.
4. A popular game here is "Corn-hole". I have to admit that I snickered a little in chapel this week when they made an announcement that there would be a Corn hole tournament during homecoming. This is a game where you throw a bean-bag into a hole on a board. I don't know that I will call it corn hole. I think I will call it bean-bag toss.
5. Dreyer's Ice Cream has been taken over by Edy. Same look, same ice cream, different name.
I'll write more later about what I am actually doing here...but thought this would at least be a start.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pictures
Trip to Las Vegas and Los Angeles with friends Eric and Lindsay(Representing Team Arizona here)
Hiking a 14er with good friends Amy and Andy
Baby shower for Libby!
Hostesses for the Baby Shower
Devany and LJ's Wedding
Celebrating with Eric before he left for Washington D.C.
Good job, Trigger! Making it to 250,000
Celebrating Megan's Birthday
Basil (yes Basil) Gelato
Always a good time with co-workers!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
True Story-Part II
Team Arizona has come in first place after one week.
Today it was a goose...I seemed to have walked too close to his family of goslings. There was much hissing and flapping of wings.
I hate that bird.
Today it was a goose...I seemed to have walked too close to his family of goslings. There was much hissing and flapping of wings.
I hate that bird.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
True Story
CCU's HR department has instilled a new "summer fitness program" that is called "GO!". As part of this "GO!" program, we have selected teams of 4 to keep track of our physical activity for 6 weeks in order to increase our health and fitness. For every 15 minutes of certain activities you get a specific number of points, which you add together with the rest of your team to see who is making the fastest progress across a map that has been displayed in the HR department. (For example, 15 minutes of walking is 15 points, 15 minutes of running is 25 points) There are two leagues for this competition, the champion league, which is "racing" across the world, and the recreational league, which is "racing" across the U.S. Each team is represented by a country or a state, based on their league.
I am on "Team Arizona"-the recreation league because we are pretty confident we will get first place in this league. I have decided to take this competition very seriously. While I am not always super competitive, I do believe that we can win this (the prize is still unknown), and so I am committed to being as active as possible.
Part of this means that I am getting back on my "no more snooze" new year's resolution, and I am getting up early enough to go for a walk every morning. This is delightful. First of all, I live close to the greatest park in Denver. Second, it is crisp and quiet in the morning. And third, I can enjoy the beauty of nature, including the wildlife of the city.
This morning, it was raining but I was committed, not only to my renewed new year's resolution, but also to Team Arizona. So I got out of bed at 6:15, bundled up in a sweatshirt jacket and rain coat, and was out the door for an hour walk by 6:30.
It was a nice day, despite the rain, and it was reminding me of the good ol' days in Oregon. As I was enjoying the beautiful setting and joy of just being outside, I was suddenly struck in the back of my head. At first, I thought that perhaps something had fallen out of a tree, until I heard the awful screech of a crow and heard the ruffles of feathers fly by my head. Lucky for me, it was raining, and thus, I was wearing a sweatshirt jacket, with hood up, and my rain coat. This did provide some extra padding with the initial hit.
My thought at this point in time was, "Stupid bird, he flew right into me." My jacket is purple though, and I started to think this didn't make much sense, as there was no good reason for him to not see me, or mistake me for a tree. Suddenly, he came back for another strike, this time from the front. As flashes of Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds, ran through my head, I quickly ducked, avoiding his sharp beak and dirty, dirty talons, but not missing his loud screech as he once again flew by my head.
At this point, I realized that this bird was not stupid, but for some reason, believed my purpleness to be a direct threat to his territory. The only natural response for me was to start waving my arms frantically over my head, probably scream and/or yell (although I don't really recall if I was making any noise), and of course run down the path in the opposite direction.
As it was raining, there was no one out walking, and no witnesses to this event. This is good, although I am sure it would have provided a great story for someone passing by.
Pretty sure this is a bad omen...crows attacking me. Maybe I should have stayed home today...it is too bad I am so serious about this competition.
And so much for the great city wildlife.
I am on "Team Arizona"-the recreation league because we are pretty confident we will get first place in this league. I have decided to take this competition very seriously. While I am not always super competitive, I do believe that we can win this (the prize is still unknown), and so I am committed to being as active as possible.
Part of this means that I am getting back on my "no more snooze" new year's resolution, and I am getting up early enough to go for a walk every morning. This is delightful. First of all, I live close to the greatest park in Denver. Second, it is crisp and quiet in the morning. And third, I can enjoy the beauty of nature, including the wildlife of the city.
This morning, it was raining but I was committed, not only to my renewed new year's resolution, but also to Team Arizona. So I got out of bed at 6:15, bundled up in a sweatshirt jacket and rain coat, and was out the door for an hour walk by 6:30.
It was a nice day, despite the rain, and it was reminding me of the good ol' days in Oregon. As I was enjoying the beautiful setting and joy of just being outside, I was suddenly struck in the back of my head. At first, I thought that perhaps something had fallen out of a tree, until I heard the awful screech of a crow and heard the ruffles of feathers fly by my head. Lucky for me, it was raining, and thus, I was wearing a sweatshirt jacket, with hood up, and my rain coat. This did provide some extra padding with the initial hit.
My thought at this point in time was, "Stupid bird, he flew right into me." My jacket is purple though, and I started to think this didn't make much sense, as there was no good reason for him to not see me, or mistake me for a tree. Suddenly, he came back for another strike, this time from the front. As flashes of Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds, ran through my head, I quickly ducked, avoiding his sharp beak and dirty, dirty talons, but not missing his loud screech as he once again flew by my head.
At this point, I realized that this bird was not stupid, but for some reason, believed my purpleness to be a direct threat to his territory. The only natural response for me was to start waving my arms frantically over my head, probably scream and/or yell (although I don't really recall if I was making any noise), and of course run down the path in the opposite direction.
As it was raining, there was no one out walking, and no witnesses to this event. This is good, although I am sure it would have provided a great story for someone passing by.
Pretty sure this is a bad omen...crows attacking me. Maybe I should have stayed home today...it is too bad I am so serious about this competition.
And so much for the great city wildlife.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Really?
For those of you who know me well, you may be wondering what is with the new title to my blog...more to come!
Friday, January 09, 2009
A Cat-astic Birthday
On my 6th birthday, my mom and dad got me a cat. I named him Gizmo (after the classic movie, the Gremlins). This birthday gift spurred on a slight obsession with cats. Suddenly, everything was about cats. My peach and blue room (don't you love the 80's?) was covered in cat paraphernalia including a conglomerate of fabulous kitty posters, stuffed animals that overflowed off of my bed (and the net hanging from the ceiling in the corner), small porcelain figurines, and even some classy cat wallpaper.
A few weeks ago, I went back to my parent's house, and was sorting through some old boxes, when I ran across my collection of cats. Of course, I thought it would be a great idea to introduce my roommate to the wonders of the cat. I am pretty sure she likes cats about as much as a visit to the dentist. So, one afternoon I spent some time plastering her bathroom with my old cat posters. Just imagine walking into a small room with dozens of eyes staring back at you...cats peeking behind books, cats "hanging in there", cats in bow-ties...it really was a 'purrfect' prank. (Yeah, I know, that was really bad.) I also managed to arrange some miniature porcelain cat figurines throughout her room. These miniatures are of course dressed in Victorian clothing, very becoming of a cat.
My roommate took my little joke in stride, although I think the cats lasted a good 5 minutes before they were all removed quickly from the walls.
This instance was not quickly forgotten however, and much too my surprise, I found another repeat of a cat birthday this year. Megan planned a fabulous birthday get-together for me, letting me know that the 'theme' of the party was a surprise. The theme, as you have probably already guessed, was "A Cat-tastic Birthday". So, I received a great variety of cat items, my favorite being a vest covered entirely with cats.
I have a great roommate. I don't think that I have laughed so hard in a long time. You can see below the great variety of gifts I got with a cat theme.
As you can see, I received everything from the lovely vest, to a hot pink sweatshirt, a book about a cat named Dewey, Hello Kitty Underwear, a porcelain cat, some wine called "Herding Cats", and a mouse pad with a frog on it (Eric was a little confused.)
My friend Margaret from my church...notice the amazing vest! If you have any suggestions for where I should wear this next, please, send them my way!
Me and and Libby! She brought the book about Dewey-the small town library cat that changed the world.
Eric, friend from Baylor, brought the 'herding cats' wine, classy!
A few weeks ago, I went back to my parent's house, and was sorting through some old boxes, when I ran across my collection of cats. Of course, I thought it would be a great idea to introduce my roommate to the wonders of the cat. I am pretty sure she likes cats about as much as a visit to the dentist. So, one afternoon I spent some time plastering her bathroom with my old cat posters. Just imagine walking into a small room with dozens of eyes staring back at you...cats peeking behind books, cats "hanging in there", cats in bow-ties...it really was a 'purrfect' prank. (Yeah, I know, that was really bad.) I also managed to arrange some miniature porcelain cat figurines throughout her room. These miniatures are of course dressed in Victorian clothing, very becoming of a cat.
My roommate took my little joke in stride, although I think the cats lasted a good 5 minutes before they were all removed quickly from the walls.
This instance was not quickly forgotten however, and much too my surprise, I found another repeat of a cat birthday this year. Megan planned a fabulous birthday get-together for me, letting me know that the 'theme' of the party was a surprise. The theme, as you have probably already guessed, was "A Cat-tastic Birthday". So, I received a great variety of cat items, my favorite being a vest covered entirely with cats.
I have a great roommate. I don't think that I have laughed so hard in a long time. You can see below the great variety of gifts I got with a cat theme.
As you can see, I received everything from the lovely vest, to a hot pink sweatshirt, a book about a cat named Dewey, Hello Kitty Underwear, a porcelain cat, some wine called "Herding Cats", and a mouse pad with a frog on it (Eric was a little confused.)
My friend Margaret from my church...notice the amazing vest! If you have any suggestions for where I should wear this next, please, send them my way!
Me and and Libby! She brought the book about Dewey-the small town library cat that changed the world.
Eric, friend from Baylor, brought the 'herding cats' wine, classy!
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