Monday, November 22, 2010

we're home!

Jesse and I just wrapped up our move to our new apartment this evening, and we're super excited. Of course, there is still a lot to do to get settled in, but so far it has gone very smoothly. Since we've been married, we have never moved within the same state, let alone within the same city. So moving within the same building was almost fun.

The back doors for both of the units exit on to a back stairway (that is seriously falling off the side of the building, but it's still standing for now) so we could carry nearly everything that way - a distance of about 30 feet. We used laundry baskets for a good deal of the move, so we basically loaded them up, moved the stuff over, and unloaded it where it belonged. The end result...very little unpacking!

After we moved all of the obvious stuff over, we then took some time in the old apartment to go through the leftovers and were able to find quite a bit of stuff to take to Goodwill. It was so much easier to go through it in an empty apartment.

Now we're getting settled in and it's been really fun to plan our new space. The wood floors are beautiful, and having a second bedroom to use as an office/guest room will be really nice. The kitchen, on the other hand, is soooo small, but we have some ideas to make it work. Hope to have pictures soon!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

philly

I'd never been to Philadelphia before this year, so I was pretty excited to head there in June for a conference, although I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to sight-see. When I got off the plane and ended up at the hotel in Center City, Philly, I headed straight back out to see as much as I could before the conference started the next day. One of my favorite things is exploring a new city, so after a long day of travel, I felt pretty great to be wandering down a random street in the general direction of our nation's history. For about 20 minutes, I walked by little shops and alleys, wishing I had not changed into jeans (apparently Southern California is the only place where you need jeans and a jacket on a late June evening).

And then...I looked up...and there was the liberty bell on one side and Independence Hall on the other.
It was pretty thrilling. Of course, nothing was open. But I still wandered around those sites and many others in the area for the next hour or more.

I really, really wanted to see Elfreth's Alley too, mostly because my friend, Bekah, had been there the week before (what are the chances?). She actually keeps up on posting photos online, so I had already seen her pics, and knew I would want to get there. After making it there just at dusk, I got dinner at a very fun martini bar (where I was the only person eating alone, taking pictures of my drink).

The conference started the next day, and there was less time for sight-seeing, but we still visited the American Chemical Society and the Union League of Philadelphia, where I got to read a first-hand written account of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. For lunch one day, some friends and I walked to the Reading Terminal Market.
And on the last day, I joined a tour to the Barnes Foundation, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Barnes is an art gallery just on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The collection's focus is on Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings (all favorites of mine). But probably the most fascinating thing is how the paintings are displayed - not by time period or style, but all integrated in a visually colorful, sometimes overly symmetrical, almost cluttered style, according to the vision of founder Albert Barnes. The Foundation was established as an educational institution, and the intimate layout of the gallery space was meant to facilitate the courses in visual perception. It was a very unique gallery experience. The museum is soon moving into central Philadelphia, so I was very grateful to have the opportunity (just in time!) to see it in its original, unusual setting. There is also an arboretum with a "teaching collection" of trees - also very interesting.


One of the most memorable Philly experiences was having dinner at Chifa, a restaurant featuring a blend of Peruvian and Cantonese cuisines led by Chef Jose Garces (one of the iron chefs). I don't even know what to say about it. The food was incredibly delicious. One of the best meals I have ever had.

Photo from:
http://www.mainlinemag.com/CMS/uncategorized/hail-to-the-chifa

The real reason (of course) for going to Philadelphia was for the Rare Book & Manuscript Section conference, and I can honestly say that as much as I loved experiencing a new city, the conference was the best part of the trip. Seeing old friends and colleagues, meeting a lot of new people, and getting so many new ideas and much sound advice was really, really wonderful.
Saddest thing about the trip to Philly: no chance to get a philly cheese steak. :( Now I must go back.

Monday, November 1, 2010

san diego

A few weeks ago, work had gotten really hectic while I finished writing a grant proposal. I hoped to have it turned in on a Monday, but it wasn't totally completed until Thursday afternoon (just hours before it was due). In the meantime, I had already agreed to attend several other activities, which did not work out so well since I had to keep stepping out to deal with last-minute issues on the grant. By the end of the week, I was totally drained and really excited for a getaway weekend in San Diego. I had been to San Diego about a year ago with a friend, but Jesse and I had been meaning to go back ever since. It's only 2-3 hours away. There was a lot more to see than we had time for, but we still had an awesome time.

Breakfast at a really cute cafe called Cafe Chloe.

Sea World! The shows were a little dramatic, but I always love watching sea animals.

We were pretty excited to try a new San Diego wine bar where the wine is dispensed in 1 oz portions. It's pretty great because you can try really expensive wines without forking over a bunch of money for a bottle (or even an expensive glass). Plus, you get to try lots of new things. A couple of weeks later, we finally got around to trying a wine bar that is a couple blocks from our apartment. Wouldn't you know, it has almost the same set-up. Not that we're disappointed, but it was a little funny to be so excited to have this experience in San Diego only to find out that we could have experienced it around the corner. Oh well.

YUM. Need I say more?!


On Sunday, we walked around Seaport Village on the waterfront before heading home.