Just head West

We Are Marshall

2008-07-09T17:48:36Z

Ladies and Gents, I have made my decision. Preparations are beginning for me to move to Huntington, West Virginia next month. I'm a member of the M.S. TM-Transportation Class of 2010.

And yes, it's the "We Are Marshall" school with the football movie so don't ask.

Mmm... sinus infection, Turkish absinthe, and the NREMT test

2008-07-06T17:19:29Z

I had a nice 1st and a nice 4th. On the 4th my dad and I went to a friend's house (if you read PJs, the person who writes the column posted on the first of each month on Sex Ed 101) and watched some hilarious low budget sci-fi. I also tried what I can describe best as Turkish absinthe (Raki). It was just so relaxing! I didn't do any work!

Though by Saturday what I believed to be minor allergies exploded into this giant sinus infection party. My face, of all things, is honestly hurting me as much as it routinely hurts other people. It's kind of forcing me to chill on a weekend that I did not want to spend chilling out. Tomorrow evening I'm writing the National Registry EMT test so I can be certified more easily regardless of where I find myself in about six weeks.

As for graduate schools, on July 15th I'll post a picture on the internet of me in a t-shirt. Whatever school is on that t-shirt is the school I will be going to in the fall. Til then, for the love of all things holy and sacred, don't ask me where I'm going to graduate school--you all will know when I do. Believe me, if I knew, you all would know--I suck at keeping good news to myself.

P.S. I have this set up so LJ should notify FB when I post this entry. Here's to hoping that works out. If not, back to the drawing board.

Just a little snippet from the freeways in LA...

2008-06-29T07:19:15Z

Dad and I were in the Dodge driving back home to Costa Mesa from La Crescenta. We'd just gotten on CA-2 when I smelled something off. My initial concern was the car... because the Dodge, since damn near being a car-be-cue in Irvine, has made me a little nervous when we take it out very far--especially out as far as La Crescenta because it's about 60 miles from Costa Mesa.

The smell got stronger.

I finally said to my dad, "I think... I think that's ganj." After breathing in a bit he responds with something to the effect of, "holy shit, that smells like ganj!" Indeed, pretty much the entire length of CA-2 from it's terminus in La Canada Flintridge to I-5 had this overwhelming odor of cheap marijuana. We suspected it was some cheap Mexican stuff that the local cops were disposing of or a grow op just burst into flames.

Oh, by the way, I have a car now. A 2005 gold Chevy Cavalier.

Whew...

2008-06-21T20:39:36Z

I've now safely found myself in Southern California, via Las Vegas and Death Valley. Let's just break this down into simple, small parts...

1. To round out the status of all of my grad school apps, everyone accepted me except for Coro/CMU and they wait-listed me. I think I fared pretty well--I know a number of people I know well didn't fare so well in the applications game.

2. Las Vegas was pretty nice, but it really reminded me how easy it is to totally mess up your body and lose track of time when you're in a massive convention center and in a Las Vegas hotel/casino.

3. My leg is still swollen as hell it's not as sore but again, fuck it's swollen as hell. It's pretty gross. Sometimes it's difficult to shove that foot into a shoe, which displeases me.

4. I went through Beatty and Death Valley to return to Southern California and it was pretty serious business. In a badass way. I'd like to go back in November or December and spend more time out there.

There's more... but I've got lots of catching up to do with work and the like, considering that I've been offline since Tuesday!

Bye Bye Pittsburgh...

2008-06-17T20:22:33Z

This time when I get on the plane I may never be coming back as a resident of the city, I would only be coming back as a visitor. That makes me a little sad.

I also found out today that everything's been sorted out (there was a jam with some paperwork for an independent study) and my degree has now officially been conferred.

What a trip though, damn. It doesn't feel much different than all of those times I left, sometimes for a few months, but knew I was coming back. Now I know I'm not coming back. The next time I'm up here it'll be to get the rest of my stuff for my place in Huntington.

I'd also like to say that they've been super helpful with a wheelchair. An 18-year-old girl from West Virginia wheeled me to the gate and then left me with the wheelchair so that I could just kid of get around the airport, which was badass. I'm still a little worried about getting a seat I can sit in, especially for four hours, and I'm a little nervous about needing to use the bathroom on the flight if it becomes necessary. Oh well.

Cheers, Pittsburgh!

EDIT: I'm using a wheelchair in the airport because I tore some tissue in my knee and I've got to keep it pretty straight so it heals up alright and doesn't hurt in ways that make me blurt out a stream of expletives. It's not a permanent thing. If I weren't at the airport I'd just be on crutches.

FYI...

2008-06-14T17:32:31Z

Just for reference: I hate packing.

Also, anyone want to give me any tips for flying Southwest on Tuesday?

A sudden burst of creativity...

2008-06-13T13:30:49Z

Though some kind of ridiculously awesome pretzel logic, PA-39 has become a synonym for anal sex. I realize that this seems random to most. But consider that it is a state highway and for much of it's length Hershey is a part of it's name. Ergo, Hershey Highway. Therefore, anal sex.

This new usage of PA-39 has been approved by my drunk roommates.

You know... the norm

2008-06-07T19:13:02Z

False alarm, I finish on Monday with UPMC. They're holding a luncheon and really need a hand to help set things up and I'm a pretty big tool because I have a hard time saying no to helping out when the truth is I'd be doing nothing better anyway.

I've been doing a lot of sorting and packing and cleaning of my space at Chip's house. I'm only taking a briefcase, my laptop backpack, and a large duffel bag out west with me, so I'm asking myself a lot of critical questions about what I need in California and what I need at all. Jaz is also sorting through her stuff, as she realized she's got an abundance of stuff when it took multiple car loads to move her stuff over (I only took about one car load!). The result of all of this sorting is a mountain of stuff in the hallway to take to Goodwill.

Also, it is hotter than Satan's scrotum out here. I'm pretty much living in my underwear under the ceiling fan in my room, occasionally ducking downstairs in the evening to watch TV. I've concluded that I can handle humid OR hot, but not both simultaneously.

On a final note, I was buying a jug of Captain Morgan at the Edgewood Wines and Spirits last night. When I went to the till to pay for it the cashier said, "Just the Captain tonight, miss?" I replied, "well, it's the only thing we're low on!" He responded with, "well miss, if you need *anything*, I'm here until 9." This cashier was a bit annoying to Chip last week, making him even sign a little slip of paper that apparently made Chip promise that his ID isn't fake.

OMG. FREE TIME?!

2008-06-05T20:56:25Z

I'm done at UPMC tomorrow! Rejoice! It's been more good than bad, but I'm ready to be finished with this project. I think my desire for it to be over has more to do with the fact I've got plans for bigger and better things set up immediately following the completion of this work as opposed to it having been a bad time.

I'm trying to figure out what I should and shouldn't pack to take out west with me. The only things I have figured out for sure are underwear, my computer, and my EMT text book as I'm writing the National Registry exam as soon as I can. I've also got to do laundry, again, at least once before I leave--if not just pack things up clean so I don't need to screw around with stuff when trying to transport it to West Virginia. I anticipate a little bit of madness with the move.

In the meantime, I've got damn near 10 days of free time until I go to Las Vegas. I never get free time so I have no idea what to do with it.

Side note, I was talking to another Chatham alumnae last night and we were talking about how we felt the education was great but that the red tape was ridiculous and how neither of us has much interest in donating to the school because a lot of bureaucracy has gotten us down. In my case, they're still not putting an independent study I did on my transcript. I may indeed spend one of my free days on campus getting that put on my transcript. I don't need it to get my diploma (need 120 credits to graduate, without the independent study I graduated with 136 credits), but I still put in the work and want it reflected on my transcript and there's no reason it shouldn't be there.

Going... going... gone

2008-06-03T22:57:26Z

OMG! Travel itinerary! Because I totally don't post enough of these already!

I'm headed to Las Vegas, NV from Pittsburgh at 6:45pm on Tuesday the 17th. Arrival at Las Vegas-McCarran is scheduled for 8:20pm. Give me a few minutes after I land and I'm sure I'll have secured myself a hooker. Or, well, more likely, an excruciatingly large margarita. I'm also going to try and resist gambling on my way out of the airport--though having checked luggage in itself is a gamble.

Then after 4-5 days in Vegas I'm hitting the road, cutting through the desert, and bringing the awesome that is me to Southern California until August.

In August I'm going to do something that the vast majority of people who know me would never expect to me to do.

I'm going to graduate school in West Virginia! But I'm not going to WVU (which, if going to West Virginia, I know people would suspect because I'm such a fan of the Mountaineers). Rather I'll be going to Marshall.

The Tentative Schedule

2008-06-01T05:50:20Z

So after taking my time to sort of get a handle on what I'm doing and where I'm going I present to you all my tentative schedule.

Next weekend I'm going to the Gettysburg area. I don't have any other details on that action. I just know I'll be there.

I'm going to be flying into Las Vegas on or around the 16th where I will be present for InfoComm (the artist formerly known as NSCA).

Around the 20th-21st I will be headed by road from Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area where I will spend the overwhelming majority of my summer until I go to graduate school.

And you may now ask yourself, where is Janet going to graduate school?

Well, after much thought and consideration I'm more than likely packing my bags for Huntington, West Virginia. Indeed I plan to attend Marshall University this fall to study transportation.

Another housekeeping detail...

2008-05-25T16:03:03Z

If your primary email address for me ends in @chatham.edu OR @sfu.ca please change that information to my gmail account. My SFU and Chatham accounts are both likely going to be closed within the next month or so because I've graduated from Chatham and this will be my third consecutive semester of inactivity at Simon Fraser.

Please use janetlynnefraser at gmail dot com from here on out.

All moved!

2008-05-24T19:43:17Z

While I've lost count, I've now moved for what I believe to be about the 23rd or 24th time in my life. I'm now a resident of the borough of Swissvale, PA--which is a adjacent community to Pittsburgh. I live with Jasmine and Chip in a house. That's old. In a hilarious and bizarre neighborhood. It's pretty badass.

So if you send me mail ever, please contact me to request my new address. I am no longer on Woodland Road.

eightwednesday @ 2008-05-20T20:53:00

2008-05-21T00:56:58Z

Last weekend went well, but my voice is nowhere to be found. Not quite sure what the deal is with that.

I'm moving to Swissvale, hopefully, on Thursday--but I still have a hell of a lot of work to do to make that happen on time.

Stuff at UPMC is going decently--it's often a tough assignment because there isn't a lot of structure, but I really believe that I make the best of it and that I help make people's days go by a little easier and a little happier. Call me an optimist.

And, as it always goes with moving, my personal life feels like a total trainwreck. Rarr.

Can I get off the train for a smoke break yet? Please, conductor? Pleeeeease?!

Oh! My back! The saga continues...

2008-05-15T23:44:10Z

So hopefully with the assistance of muscle relaxers and steroids my back will be restored to it's state of a natural wonder in a matter of days. Not having my normal flexibility has been a frightening and alarming experience--sometimes you really do need to be able flex backwards, like when rowing or when evaluating whether or not you can pursue other activities.

My supervisors at UPMC have told me not to come in again until Monday no matter how bored I get. I've got no idea how to spend my day tomorrow. Anyone want to go drinking in Shadyside on Friday night? I think I need to pre-game a bit before Saturday night.

Oh well. For the Saturday night crowd, if you have any booze requests above and beyond what you plan to bring let me know and I'll try to accommodate.

Ow! My back! --But not Kansas City style

2008-05-13T20:52:07Z

So my back's been nagging me for a few weeks. Figured I probably goofed up when I was doing some heavy lifting. Well nagging turned into raised voices last Thursday when two girls almost dropped the boat we were carrying from the dock to the boathouse and I jump in to save the boat from crashing to the ground. Gave it a few days and things were nearly tolerable. Then last night I reach down to get something off the bottom shelf of my fridge and the pain that shot through my sacrum was indescribably painful. Well that didn't go away. But I still went about my business today--went to work and all that junk.

After lunch my boss tells me that I indeed do look like I have a headache or that I'm just, overall, really physically uncomfortable. Well, I've got to give her that much credit. So, with her approval, I head home. And I finally stopped procrastinating, I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow.

To me, it's weird to go see doctors at West Penn (and occasional Allegheny General) and then immediately turn around and go to work at Presby, part of the "competing" health system. Namely because sometimes people ask me what I think about doctors at Presby and ask me who my doctors are, assuming I see doctors at UPMC. Makes me feel like it's a dirty secret, even though it's really just because I've seen my doctors at West Penn for longer than I've worked at UPMC/Presby and I really like who I already see.

New River Gorge!

2008-05-05T02:14:33Z

So because I've been to most states, though there are still a select few that I need to stop through, my wish list is now turning more to landmarks and state capitals. With ruling Sedona, AZ off of my wish list in December the next item on the list was the New River Gorge Bridge, near Beckley, WV. Well, that's where I went today.

Then, because time permitted, dad and I swung through Charleston via US-60 from US-19 and there are indeed now pictures of me at the West Virginia State Capital.

The New River Gorge Bridge totally blew my mind. Even when I was standing under it, with my feet in the river itself (no one tell me how polluted it is or I'll beat you senseless), it seemed unreal. If you're unfamiliar with this civil engineering orgasm/feat, check out the Wikipedia article for the New River Gorge Bridge.

Pictures of today's fit of awesome shall be forthcoming.

Commencement Day

2008-05-04T01:54:28Z

So the ceremony for commencement was alright. The speakers were sort of your typical rolling stock, though one of them quoted George Carlin and that kind of made the whole ceremony. So I walked and I was all uncomfortably warm for the ceremony. I looked remarkably well considering I didn't shower beforehand and really didn't wake up until dad called and said he was in the parking lot for my building telling me he was waiting for me. Oops.

After the ceremony I carefully selected a restaurant for my triumphant post-commencement lunch, as it was just dad and I, and I settled on Ritter's. Essentially no one else will eat at Ritter's so I figured my best chance was to take someone who'd never been there before. It was tasty.

Then we sort of meandered east. We drove out to Latrobe on US-30, then went through Latrobe to get to westbound US-22 and returned into the city. As we came through the city again I showed him around 'Woodland Hills' (where I run with an EMS company) and Verona (where I frequently row), and now I'm in Swissvale at Chip's and I think some alcoholic checkers is about to go down.

!!!

2008-05-01T05:17:28Z

I did it. Thank goodness. It's all over now. That final push was a tough one but this is it. I've finished school.

This weekend seems like it will be a wild one. Lots of people coming in and out of the city. If I seem like I'm going a little crazy, I apologize in advance because the truth is that indeed I am.

And I didn't even need to dispense sexual favors!

...

2008-04-30T20:06:10Z

That thing flailing out above the water is actually my arm.

Goddamn, I'm so exhausted right now. I can't seem to muster that last burst of energy to get the last assignment done...

Anyone else want to write a paper on how much I've learned about the development of industry in Pittsburgh over the last semester by this evening? Please? I'll even consider dispensing sexual favors!

The News From Fifth Avenue

2008-04-19T01:45:16Z

1. Someone ran a red light in California and the result of it is a totaled, black 2002 Miata--oh right, yes, my car. Thank you dude, because a 20-something workaholic who's too busy to get laid nearly enough really doesn't need a car that's better than sex to drive. On the bright side, the insurance settlement is enough to replace it with an only slightly older Miata with very similar mileage, oh, and of course, it's also in my favorite color. I'm sad about the loss of Little Black Sexy, but hopefully we shall move on with Little Blue Sexy.

2. I was working over in Montefiore Hospital today, in the oldest wing of the current hospital, in a tiny, crowded conference room (formerly x-ray room) when I noticed the carpet was wet and the water seemed to be originating from inside a bathroom that hadn't been used in a decade. Then when I went to get ESS to do their jobs and clean it up while waiting for maintenance they pretty much told me to go to hell. Maintenance never came--that was one moldy, muggy, shithole to work in this afternoon. If I told everyone what I was doing I'd confirm everyone's suspicions that I'm the biggest tool in the world so I'm not yet ready for that.

3. I passed EMT class, which was totally badass. The next day I was walking to my office and I ran into the course instructor outside of BST3 on Fifth. It was kind of funny.

4. I went to closing convocation at Chatham wearing a rescue helmet as my tutorial hat. I believe I had the heaviest hat of everyone there, but it was super badass and a lot of people took pictures and the chief of police at Chatham and I had a very awesome conversation spawning from my choice in headwear. My neck still hurts pretty seriously from wearing it for two and a half hours without a break.

5. Emily was in town last weekend. We had many adventures. I have made strange acquaintance with a US-40 sign as well as with Emily's Sentra--which never felt like it was going 70 when indeed I was driving 15 over. Oh well.

6. Birthday is near! Commencement is near! An uncertain future is near! Oh dear! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Breaking Glass and Masturbation

2008-04-13T04:56:39Z

Today was extrication day. It was badass. I wore turnout gear and smashed the living shit out of vehicles. It was beautiful. When I went in to smash a rear-window with an ax John said, "think about how you feel about your thesis," and I smashed that window wildly. It was a nearly perfect day to be wearing all of the gear and the the only time anything was particularly difficult or uncomfortable was when I had to use my knees and thighs to propel myself forward while holding c-spine while extricating from under a trailer and when I had to do a hillside extrication over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

But then while walking home from Ellsworth in Shadyside with Emily Jo we spot this older gentleman furiously masturbating along Maryland between Kentucky and Fifth in Shadyside. Then as we got closer it went from fap... fap... fapfap... fap... to FAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAP. So we decided to like, b-line it out of there. So as we cross the street away from this dude, he gets up and starts following us. So we RUN. We run into fucking traffic on Fifth to cross the street. And we keep running until we get into my building and have a locked door between him and us. But, I mean, that's a serious nasty thing. So I call it in to both campus police and city police. City police show up a few minutes later when I go to let Chris into my building and the dispatcher screwed up the report (surprise, surprise).

So I shall have dreams of SMASH and FAPFAPFAP.

So... just a little busy...

2008-04-09T15:20:43Z

I've been so freaking busy, what with the near completion of the thesis business and trying to graduate my ass out of this place and figuring out where the hell I'm going to be going this summer as well as where the hell I'm going this spring (though as it stands I'm presently preparing for a move to Georgia).

Just a basic overview of what's going on:

Thesis is due on Friday by the end of business
Only two more installments of FNI before it breaks up for the summer
Saturday is extrication day, which I'm only looking forward to because if I get any more stressed, I may explode, to manually taking apart cars sounds like awesome times to me
EMT class ends on Tuesday, with state testing following roughly by about two weeks
Commencement is on May 3rd
West Virginia is still supposed to happen on May 4th, though I'm having a hard time determining the most badass route to get down to the gorge, the tentative idea was to do US-19, but a number of people, despite knowing my road preferences, are still recommending against it

And an overview of what has gone on...

Went to Harrisburg on Monday to lobby on Tuesday, after a wonderful dinner on Chatham's nickel I hung out with a friend, then lobbied my little heart out on Tuesday
On Saturday I went rock climbing in West Virginia and it was pretty badass, except for that time that I was trying to pee behind a rock at a 30 degree angle and I kept slipping and banged up my elbows afterward (who knew that peeing in the woods was so dangerous?)
Saturday was also formal. It wasn't bad, but I just really don't think I'm into that stuff.
Friday night, for the first time in history, a Pitt student came to Chatham for a party

And now, I return to my thesis.

Janet's Weekend...

2008-03-31T18:02:56Z

Just giving the point details of my weekend:

Friday:
-Worked at Presby
-First crew practice of the season (where it was effing cold as hell on the river)
-Bait & Switch show, props to Jenn for setting that up and FNI for bringing in Bait and Switch last semester and making Chatham fall in love with them
-FNI (probably one the best showings for Chatham at FNI, will almost half of the Chatham people present made contributions)
-Primanti's with Jenn and Flee to feast on some Smallman Street Fries (those things are like crack, I swear)

Saturday:
-Caving at Laurel Caverns with a bunch of people from Chatham and CMU, including Flee--which was badass!
-Rocky Horror Show on campus, where I dressed up as myself and was routinely told to put more clothes on (the true mark of success)
-Quality time with Jenn, Paige, and Flee

Sunday:
-Went on a stupidly long walk with Tory, that involved a CVS, a Taco Bell, a car dealership in Bloomfield, and other mischief
-Sweet-ass musical worship service in the Campbell Memorial Chapel on campus in the evening.
-Late dinner of breakfast food with Katharine at ENP

Acceptance #2

2008-03-18T20:19:42Z

Georgia Tech has unconditionally admitted me into their master's program in city and regional planning.

Georgia Tech has been my co-#1 choice with Carnegie Mellon essentially since the outset.