Jen: Tis the season

Nothing says "we took the Christ out of Christmas" like tinsel pig

Jen: Nostalgic Monday

This is the quaint historic sheep farm and delicious custard shop my parents always took us kids to when we visited my aunt in Eastern PA.

Took this trip out east and down memory lane with my mom last week.

Jen: Wichitawesome Part 4

Meeting with the Ents!

Jen: Wichitawesome Part 3

Chinese Night Market at Botanica

"Beautiful Blossom" performed by the Chinese Dance group

Thai Iced Tea for Justin and Taro Milk Tea for me. But no Boba - ick!

Jen: Wichitawesome Part 2

Botanica (the botanical gardens) of Wichita.  We strolled around the grounds until we felt at home. Here some of the fun flora & fauna of Wichita!

Jen: Wichitawesome Part 1

As my last post suggested, I am going to be traveling quite a bit.  So my posts for the next two months will feature all the places I will go.

First stop: Wichita, Kansas, USA

Jen: Call me Carmen

GFK > PIT > ICT > PIT > eastern PA > PIT > SEA > western OR > SEA > PIT > SEA

ICT is Witchita where Justin is working.

Jen: Guest Photographer

My friend Stephen snapped this of me at my fave coffee shop.

Check out Stephen's Vlog

Jen: Finally

Best selfie ever!

Jen: Christmas in July

Behold my awesome super excellent fun number one great fantastic new bag yay fun:

You can see all the awesome super great wonderful genius clever cool features here:

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/full-cycle-messenger-bag 

Jen: A Taste of UND

This is the Chester Frtiz Library quiet study room.  It's everything I would want a university library to look and feel like.  But it was too quiet. So I snapped this picture and returned to the thesis-ing room.

Jen: A Taste of Pittsburgh

In Grand Forks, ND, I not only found kielbasa at a gourmet Hot Dog place (The Dog-Mahal @ Demers & 3rd) but I ate with Zach Hellrung!

Jen: A Taste of Seattle

Ready for another terrible picture different my iPhone taken from a moving vehicle?

Captured this of Babb's Coffee House in Fargo, ND.  That'd be the Space Needle, and the caption in "A taste of Seattle".  Haven't stopped in yet to see how authentic it is yet -- just took a picture as we drove by.

Shelob & Aragog's Offspring

Note tea-candle to the right of the beast for size reference. Poor picture quality - because my hands were shaking! Recent Google searches on my phone include: PA Poisonous Spiders; how to kill giant spider; name of giant spider from LOTR. 

Like Sam and Ron & Harry, I emerged victorious from my 1.5 hour epic battle with Aenera! (Sorry Lord Jesus, for killing Your Creation.)

PS - last picture of a toilet I'll post, I promise.

PPS - I'm headed to ND to write a thesis, so I may be MIA for the next 2 months. Oh Lord, help me to get my sh*t together and defend this July!

PPS - For you hard core fans, I did do background research and I now know Aragog was not evil and also married. Nevertheless, Aragog in his wild youth, before his days with Hagrid & settling down with Mosag to start a colony, he had a fling with Shelob, that evil temptress, and spawned the demon I named "Aenera."

PPPS - That is the closest thing to fan-fiction I will ever post on this blog, I promise.

PPPPS - I cannot promise that I'll stop wildly abusing the post-script system.

Old City, New Spaces

I've had to use Google Maps thrice now to navigate Pgh - I've been gone only 5 months. I went for a run on the:

and crossed this bridge...

...into the neighborhood of Duck Hollow, a Yinzer Brigadoon.

 #WhereamI #WhoamI

A tearful Good-Bye

In March, Anne and I started Volunteering at ReWA twice a week as ESL teacher assistants. I was looking forward to eating different foods and maybe picking up a few words in other languages. Little did I expect to create such amazing bonds with the students that transcended language barriers. Today was my last day, and I do not know if I'll be able to volunteer there again any time soon. The students and staff surprised me with these flowers, thank you card, certificate, and a pashmina from the Nepali students.

One day I'll be a Real Boy!

Or in the case of draft 1, a real thesis...

...because right now, my writing consists of a whole lot of phrases like this: 

Such-n-Such said in his book, Such-n-Such, "Words and stuff." (??)

I got VD in Portland

Voodoo Donuts that is. Justin's digging in the the raspberry filled Voodoo man. Yum

Glorious break-through

This may look like a crappy iPhone photo of a book - but I assure you it is the marker of momentous shimmering turning point in my research. This fantastic article just laid out a crucial argument for my thesis, & I'm so stoked, I had to share it. Yeah, b*tches!

Also, I may have made this post after 2 cups of coffee & portage bay pancakes.

Anne said it wouldn't turn out

Shot this of a perched hummingbird and songbird at sunset while on walk with Ben & Anne in one of Seattle's numerous public urban-agriculture gardens. :)