greetings from LALA Land

There has been a lot going on lately....
I've been swamped with teaching, I gave my first exam last week, all but 2 people passed. Not too bad, compared to what happens in other people's classes.

I've been to two dodgers games, I have pictures, but haven't gotten around to uploading them yet. They were great games, Manny hit home runs, Nomar played, I had a fabulous time, even though I went by myself....

Tiger has been adjusting fairly well to being an inside kitty, she has many admirers in the complex, and they are all fascinated with her new manicure. She was scratching up furniture, so her new vet recommended soft paws. She is currently wearing them in purple and white, and will move to hot pink once these grow off.

But the big news is Sir GB is defending on Friday...so keep him in your thoughts and send him good vibes! I am heading up to the Bay area to help celebrate!

I miss Manny

So, I decided I would go see him, all by myself. I've never been to a baseball game by myself, so I decided it was time to try. So I bought myself a ticket to this saturday's game against the d-backs. I plan on eating some bad food, and cheering loudly for manny.

New Addition to the Clan

So there is a new official member of the family. NO, Sir GB isn't joining the Clan, but, Momma Gerbil decided it was time for a new baby. Here he is....Huckleberry Gerbil.

Tiger and the Leash

Since Tiger is now an inside cat, she misses the outside, so we decided we would get her a harness and a leash....this lead to many disasters, especially escaping kitties. We thought if we got her a longer leash she might be happier. So today we experimented, we got her one of those ones for dogs that can extend 16 feet. She was much happier on that, until she decided she wanted to go upstairs and explore, well...she ran into our friendly local outdoor cat, Loud Guy (I used the Sir GB nomenclature--pick obvious characteristic of thing, and that is its name, Loud Guy meows a lot). Loud Guy attempts to be friendly, and all Tiger can do is hiss, she is so not a team player. So, Tiger had to be carried in, where she proceeded to stare at Loud Guy out of the window from her perch, she is a total weirdo....But we love her.

I'm still alive

I didn't think I was going to make it through last week. Two days of new faculty orientation, boring, then an 8 hour faculty retreat. It is not a retreat if you are shut in the faculty club, and watch people yell at each other. Not cool, there should have at least been cocktails. Note to self, manage to be out of town if there is another faculty retreat. It is definitely not a fun place to be. I had to escape a couple of times.

But at least Sir GB returned from England.

And then I started teaching, it wasn't too bad. Aside from my technology not working, which is super duper lame. But the kids seem more scared of statistics than I could have imagined.

Tiger cat is adjusting to being inside, but we took her out on her harness, she is getting used to that too. She isn't a big fan, but she'll adjust. She has also rediscovered the joy of yarn, she loves to play with yarn. It is pretty comical.

i survived day one

of orientation that is....it wasn't so bad, but I have another 11 hours of it tomorrow. ICK!

In other news, I had to cancel one sofa, it wouldn't be delivered until 11/4 and ordered a different one. The new one is supposed to arrive at the end of this week, or early next week. Much better than 4 months after we ordered it.

In terms of celebrity sightings, Sir GB and I sat next to Amanda Brynes at lunch last week.

Sir GB is in England until Saturday, and then he comes back to LA for another week or so for my birthday.

first identified celebrity

so I was at the gym and who did I see...theo huxtable! That is right, I go the same gym as a cosby kid!



In other news, I got the keys to my new office, and stopped by and put up all of my diplomas. The office needs a bit of reorganizing, but it is pretty cool, it has my name outside...very posh. I took pictures, but I have to find the cables to upload them.

The movers are supposed to be here any time soon...so clearly i have a project for today.

I am now in North Hollywood

I got in yesterday around noon (it only took me 5 hours). I've done a ton of errands, joined a gym (the place is hysterical...it is run by a large Russian gentleman named Dimitri), got all of my stuff that is here organized. I now await Harold and the boys who have my stuff, they should be here either monday or tuesday, I must say that earlier would be better for me. I've already managed to see several minor actors, you know the type of person who you totally recognize from somewhere, but for the life of you, you can't remember what this dude's name is....i'll continue investigating to attempt to figure out his name....

Ok...if anything interesting happens, I'll let you know....but my plans for the rest of the weekend aren't that interesting. I'll work on my lectures, and go to the gym...

headed to LA

it seems like I have had a long goodbye to the bay area. I've been seeing people and saying my good byes for a couple of weeks. I head to LA on friday, and begin getting settled. I start teaching on the 25th, so I'll have plenty to do in the mean time....

Oh, in case you are concerned, the earthquake wasn't a big deal.....all part of life in CA

How cats get what they want....

They are a bit devilish...but I enjoy their creativity, and drive to meet their goals.

New sofa has been ordered

Since Tiger has done some serious damage to my sofa, we decided that I should get a new one for LA. You can see it here.

We decided on leather b/c she doesn't like to scratch it, like she does fabric. So it is part of my I am a grown up new apartment. I am trying to get rid of the IKEA, and move on to more adult things. Let's see how this progresses....I'll keep you updated with new purchases!

I wonder if I could get Tiger to do this?

I am pretty impressed by this cat. I wonder if it is potty trained too! Oh the joys of procrastination.....

NEW PLACE TO LIVE

So, Sir GB and I went down to the valley this week, and we accomplished all of our tasks. We found me an apartment, and we got all of my paperwork done at CSUN, including my new id and email, etc..




We also went on the Warner Brothers tour, which is actually pretty interesting. I got to try on the original sorting hat from Harry Potter, and guess what house I am in...yup something that won't really shock anyone....Slytherin....

Ok...that is all to report....

Dumbledore!!!!!

In case you haven't seen this. Enjoy. I am not sure which one is my favorite....I think it might be naked dumbledore.

I am back!

I am back from my beach adventure, that involved surfing lessons, bike riding and a wild horse safari. Be prepared, there are many, many pictures, links to be uploaded later.

We had an excellent time, both with the Gerbil family and with our colleague at UVA. As you can see, so did littlest gerbil, mom/grammy gerbil....yup..the entire family is a little wacky...in case you didn't already know that.

I worry that this might be tiger cat's fate

So Tiger will transition to being an inside only kitty in August when I move to LA. She most likely will not be happy with it at first. But I hope she will get used to it, I am going to grow her cat grass and cat nip and all sorts of fun things. Plus there will be lots of toys. Mostly because I fear she will become an existential cat like henri. Now, I love Camus and Sartre perhaps more than most people, but I don't need a cat with ennui.

Congrats Man U!

Since Liverpool FC were not in the UEFA Champions League Final I had to cheer for my backup team, Manchester United. Who I love, not only because they are Sir GB's premiership team...but b/c my futbol boyfriend plays there....Cristiano Ronaldo.




They also have a very classy manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. If you know me and Sir GB you see why this is a funny name. But here he is with Ryan Giggs, who is a very classy guy!

YAY!!!!!!!

So I have been working on this grant with KC and CC for almost 3 years now, and finally our first publication got an Revise and Resubmit. The comments were almost all helpful and I didn't feel completely overwhelmed by them. So now, let's do the revisions, and get this puppy out there!

A

bike riding adventures

Well, I am now a fairly decent bike rider. After a nasty crash my first time out, I am doing much better. I am pretty incident free. Most problems are now caused by others not me. In other news...I am about half way through the quarter, and I can't wait to be done. Then we head to the beach for a week, where we are taking surfing lessons, and other assorted activities. Plus we get to hang out with Joss (who thinks Sir GBs name is Fergus).

Ok...that is it from casa de gerbil.

I am the proud owner of a brand new bicycle

I went ahead and bought myself a bicycle today! It is very cute and sparkly blue. I have a matching helmet, given my accident prone nature and necessary investment. We are supposed to have a fabulous weekend (in the 80s) and I hope Sir GB and I will be able to take a nice bike ride.