This Side of Lost

Home (n.): 1 a : one's place of residence : DOMICILE b : HOUSE
2 : the social unit formed by a family living together
3 a : a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment; also : the focus of one's domestic attention b : HABITAT

What does it mean when one refers to one's home? For example, I sent my mom a note that I had made it home after a long day of travelling. She wrote back saying that she did not think I was home. Apparently our opinions differ.

I and many of my peers find ourselves in the unenviable place of being in between homes. We no longer live at the place or places we called home for the first two decades of our lives. But many of us have not necessarily founded places to truly call home for ourselves or our new families. The word 'home' then becomes used in several oftentimes contradicting connotations:

Chris and I, random meeting: "Hey, Chris, funny running into you on campus." "Yeah! I need to run to work, though." "Okay, I'll see you at home." "Cheers."

SLIS folks and I, before break: "Where are you headed for Christmas?" "Oh, I'll be going home." "Back to Minnesota?" "Yeah, that's right."

Samantha and I, last Monday: "Well, we've done the Mall of America. Where to now?" "Should we go home?" "You mean back to Bloomington?" "No. Well, at least not today." "<laugh> Right. Back to Stillwater then."

Home appears to be contextual. The term is imprecise by itself. I could be talking about my parents' place back in Minnesota. I could be talking about the limestone house on N Walnut Street. I could also be talking about being in the company of the person who is most important to me, wherever that may be. This last connotation is perhaps the most vague, but also perhaps the most correct.

They say home is where the heart is. I think that's probably the best I can come up with today. Without a definite physical place to call home, I must resort to other definitions.

In any case. I am home, in Bloomington, now -- having arrived last night. The winter break was fantastic -- one of the best in recent memory. I will detail the Christmas-related loot once the final tally comes in (I am expecting one or two more small items yet). Samantha and I are looking forward to a relaxing few days before classes start again on Monday. More, including highlights from the Minnesota visit, coming soon.

As promised, here's highlights from my time in Minnesota.

• My first time making candy-cane cookies all by my lonesome. I daresay they turned out pretty well.
• The family gift exchange on the 28th. My family (read: my sister) received a fancy-pants digital camera from my father. I received a number of sundry items that I will detail when the final count has been made.
• Samantha arrived on the 31st. :) We spent some time with Joseph and Steve before going to a crowded and extremely loud show at Station 4 in St. Paul. Champagne was had.
• Saw Phantom of the Opera on the 1st. This should have been on my list. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Emmy Rossum was not too hard on the eyes or the ears.
• Khan's Mongolian BBQ with Matt Peters and his girlfriend Sacha. No, Erik was not there, the punk.
• A moving party for Kari Pearson (and Peter, in absentia), followed by sandwiches at Cecil's Deli. Samantha got a crash course in my largest group of St. Olaf friends. Which she passed with flying colors.
• Breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Edina at 7. Freaking. AM. This was awesome, needless to say. Or, in other words, it was definitely not hand-made. Spent the rest of the morning at the Mall of America as well as a stop at the public library in Hopkins (a former workplace of mine).
• Got our book nerd on by browsing one of the antiquarian bookstores in Stillwater. Yes, there are more than one. I love my hometown.
• Attended a shindig celebrating the centennial of the Minnesota Capitol Building. In case you're curious, the only reason I went was because Kantorei was singing. Managed to catch up with Jeremy and Gillian (and later, Brad Miller) afterward.

All in all, an excellent visit. I saw almost everyone I wanted to see (sorry, Matt!) and introduced Samantha to many of the important parts of my life in Minnesota. I'm very glad she could make the trip and I hope we can find time to visit again. I still need to walk the hallowed groves on Manitou Heights with her... :)

I am now plunged back into the routine here in Bloomington. Nothing like 7 hours at the Chemistry Library to start off your week. First reports on classes coming soon. Peace!

Life is all about change, to make use of a banal cliché. I've been making all sorts of adjustments of late and I'm sure I'll have to make more.

One of the more pleasant ones has been downloading Firefox and Thunderbird on my computer at work. I must recommend these products as being very pleasant to use and much more security oriented than their Microsoft counterparts. Clearly any software that is named "<insert natural phenomenon here><insert one syllable animal here>" is superior. Feel free to comment with some more awesome software names... the only natural phenomenon I can think of right now is hurricane, due to Brian walking to the library earlier today and quoting the infamous Scorpions song.

Another adjustment is to get back into the routine for doing classwork. I've had three of my classes so far, and none of them are really going to be slack classes:

• I590 - Information Retrieval from Chemistry and Life Science Databases (hereafter referred to as "Cheminfo Retrieval"). This is a seminar in the Informatics department taught by Gary Wiggins, one of the premier figures in chemical information in the country. Sweet. After I'm done with this course, if I can't find info about some chemistry topic, it can't be found.
• L528 - Collection Development (hrta "Coll Dev"). Taught by Yvonne Oliger, a real librarian with lots of real experience, and a real problem with meandering and rambling in her presentation. More news on this as events warrant.
• X507 - Survey of History of Science since 1750 (hrta "History"). My token HPSC course this semester to see if a dual-degree program might be for me. And it's a whopper. 11 books required for the course and we'll be reading one every week. That's a book a week. These ain't no 50 page paperbacks either. If I can keep up with this, I can do anything...

Last but not least is L570 - Online Information Retrieval (hrta "Info Retrieval"), tomorrow morning. And then my week's done. Yes, that's right, I don't have anything to do on Friday -- no work, no choir, no nothing. Let's hear it for three day weekends every week.

In other news (adjustment related or not):

• Sunday was an almost completely Freegan day (see this entry for definition of that term). The nice people at my church fed me for lunch, and I ate dinner courtesy of the Village Deli while attending their holiday party with Samantha. Sweet.
• I'm having to adjust from being a Harry Potter disparager to a Harry Potter enthusiast. Some of you will know how difficult this is for me. I'm on the fourth book now and trying to carve out some time to finish before my classes swamp me.
• I jogged a mile yesterday. (!!!) Can I adjust my schedule to keep this up? We shall see...
• Today marks three months that Samantha and I have been dating. :) This makes me very happy to realize. It also strikes me that it feels like it's been a lot longer than that.
• Quote of the Week 11: "It was this that made me realize that cicadas are basically land shrimp." - Brian Winterman, chatting about the infestation of cicadas in Bloomington last summer. "Land shrimp" has to be the funniest phrase I've heard all week.
• My History prof used the word "scads" in class today. Sweet.

Better run. Scads of reading to do. Peace, all.

This is the coolest website I've found in a long time.

http://web.archive.org/

This is literally an archive of the entire public web. I'm not kidding. It says so on the page. I found an ancient copy of the St. Olaf web page (from 1996) that is so dated, it's hilarious. I forgot that people actually used image maps at one point in time.

Warning -- this could suck up a very large amount of your time if you're a nostalgia fiend like me...

The final count is in. This is what I received for Christmas:

• Alison Krauss + Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways. From my parents.
• Storyhill - Reunion. From my parents.
• The Simple Life - Season One on DVD. From my sister Alison. I suspect this is because it was $6 at Target.
• A small can of Old Spice Red Zone spray deodorant. From Alison. It seems small enough to be a trial size or perhaps a free sample. Alison was a thrifty gift giver this year.
• A Minnesota Twins 2005 calendar. From my parents.
• An orange t-shirt and a pair of boxers, both Banana Republic. From my family, although I have no doubt the idea was Alison's.
• A $50 Best Buy gift card. From my parents. It has been used to purchase 4 DVDs: Almost Famous, Blazing Saddles, Grosse Point Blank and Ever After (for Samantha).
• A toiletries carry case. From my sister Mary.
• A book called Napoleon's Buttons: 17 Molecules That Changed the World. From my Uncle John and Aunt Marti.
• A book called Letters From A Nut. From Joseph. We tend to find similar things hilarious. This is an excellent example.
• A Nancy Pearl action figure. From Peter Pearson. Nancy Pearl was up until recently the executive director for the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library. With Quick Shhh-ing Action!
• A glow-in-the-dark Devil Ducky. From Peter Pearson.
• A CD of They Might Be Giants Dial-A-Song rarities. From Peter Pearson. For those of you who are familiar with Dial-A-Song, this is an ultra-rare collection of songs from the Dial-A-Song service, recorded straight from the phone, many of which have never been recorded anywhere else. Wow.
• A Storyhill T-shirt. From Samantha. Yes, you are correct -- these are not for purchase anywhere. She had it made for me. Yes, I have the coolest girlfriend in the world. :)
• Season One of the Transformers original cartoon series on DVD. From Samantha. I will repeat the above sentiment.
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on DVD. From my mom.
• A Book of Common Prayer. From David.

I think I came away from this holiday season with a superb mix of classy and silly items. Thanks, everyone.

I am in the process of dropping my History of Science course. I had a heart-to-heart with myself, and I said to myself, "Self, do you really think you're going to read a book a week with three other classes to attend to?" And the answer was a resounding no. I'm not sure what made me think that it was actually plausible that this would occur. I was seriously kidding myself. Sadly this is the first time an academic course simply scared me out of taking it. I am not impressed with my behavior. I've been trying to rationalize it to myself all day and it's only sort of working.

So I hope to be adding L546 (User-Centered Database Design) in it's place. "Hope" being the operative word. Unfortunately for cowards and Johnny-Come-Lately's like me, the drop/add process after the first week of classes is hellish -- involving multiple redundant signatures and a 25% tuition fee. I'm not sure how this is going to work with my fee remission -- Rhonda the Amazing SLIS Office Worker filled me in a little and assuaged my fears. But we shall see.

Otherwise things are situation normal. So, 'til next time...

Not a bad place to be, chillin' with Socrates and Homer...

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

create your own visited states map

Next stop: Boston? Spring break is coming up starting March 11th and we need a destination, and that sounds as good as any, what with two friends in the area (at Harvard and the New England Conservatory). How's that sound? :)

EDIT (6/9/2005) - Just for my own edification. :)

EDIT (12/25/2005) - Again, for the southerly states I claimed during my August jaunt. I will have them all someday...

EDIT (3/18/2007) - This has been effectively supplanted by the Where I've Been app on my Facebook page. So n'yah.

Okay, so I'm no Jean Reno. But I feel kind of professional today. This is my 7 hour day at the Chemistry Library, so I was able to tell someone (looking for help following up my bibliographic instruction last week) "Yeah, I'll be here all day..." and I looked all know-it-all for a dude looking for a journal article. "Looks like our subscription for that only goes through 1994... would you like to order it through ILL?" "Why... yes. Yes I would." Boo-yah.

For those of you who care, I have dropped the History of Science course and added the Database Design course. I think this is for the better -- having some experience with databases fills in another hole in my repertoire of computer skills. Even though it condemns me to staring at a computer screen for three out of my four classes this semester. Alas.

So I have that class (hereafter referred to as Databases) on Wednesday mornings. My prof is a big friendly-looking dude named Andy, who is apparently a Ph.D. student in SLIS. I've started a little of the reading, and it's pretty dense... but I'm actually kind of looking forward to sinking my teeth into a more serious computer class. I know I'm good at this stuff, so it'll be an opportunity to see how far I can take it.

My last class, finally, is Info Retrieval. Both this class and Databases didn't meet the first week, due to their professors being out of town. The prof for this one is another Ph.D. student, this time an older woman named Yung Rang Cheng (someone out there help me with the pronunciation -- she said that those who can't pronounce her Chinese name can call her Laura, and I don't want to be that guy!) who seems to be a little cranky. Yikes. I think I'm glad I didn't take Cataloguing from her as well. This class sounds like a lot of work.

So yeah. If last semester was Reference and Management semester, this is Information Retrieval and Organization semester. Good luck to me. In other news:

• Samantha and I hosted some friends for dinner last week. I think it was the first time both of us had ever done so. We were impressed, at least. Since Samantha doesn't have a dining room table, we bought a blanket and some throw pillows and prepared an excellent space for a carpet picnic.
• For the past two weeks, I have exercised at least two days out of the week. This also may not sound impressive, but for a guy who has always been purportedly "too busy to exercise," I'm pretty damn pleased. I've been trying to hit the indoor track twice a week, and also try and frequent a 30-minute group exercise session called Core that works your abs, back and torso kind of similar to Pilates.
• The weather here has been pretty seriously wintery recently. I've been regretting my complaints about the tepid temperatures earlier on. But I'll still take this over rainy any day. Leave the rain until March, please!
• I have some hilarious friends. I thought I was funny in doing one of my assignments for 401 last semester (the result is the StEaDI An link under Storyhill below), but I've got nothing on Davin.
• Quote of the Week 12: No funny this time. Just a particularly poignant verse to a song off of my new Alison Krauss album that's been floating around my head for the past three weeks. It's hard to leave, but it's harder to come back.

"And the people who love me still ask me
When are you coming back to town?
And I answer, quite frankly,
'When they stop building roads
And all God needs is gravity to hold me down.' "

Another Monday morning down. Guess I'd better actually do some work here. Peace, friends.

Yikes. It's been a week since I posted. Sorry about that. I usually don't have much to say anyway... but I'll try and dredge something up, here... ooh, this is interesting:

Samantha and I have begun a project. Many of you are probably aware of the list that the American Film Institute put out in 1998, about the supposed 100 greatest American films of the century (1896-1996). We're going to buff up on our movie history and try to watch all 100, starting from the bottom and working our way up. Will we actually accomplish this? I think there's a good possibility, judging by the amount of time we stand around in the movie store or the Kent-Cooper Room trying to decide what movie to watch. Now we'll always know. And (hopefully) it'll always be good.

So I'll try and keep a chronicle of these when we watch them. See the next post for details on #100.

-- BEGIN SEVEN-YEAR-OLD ANDREW POST --

Ooh, ooh, ooh! Guess where Samantha and I went on Friday? Guess, guess, guess!! We went to WonderLab! :) :) :) It was sooo awesome. There was a bubble exhibit, and a huge pinboard, and a oversize grapevine to climb around inside, and awesome brain teasers, and this CRAZY ball machine where the balls went on like 25 different rollercoaster tracks and played bells and spun wheels and twirled stuff and it was SOOO COOL!!!! I totally have to go back.

-- END SEVEN-YEAR-OLD ANDREW POST --

Whew. Seriously, Wonderlab is a great spot. Maybe I can get a job there...

In other news:

• I went to a tea time sponsored by Lutheran Campus Ministry and the equivalent group with the Episcopal church on Friday. David was there, of course -- how could we miss a Episcopal-Lutheran gathering? :) Samantha came along as well, mostly for the tea, but was pleasantly surprised to find an organized religious group talking about GLBT issues. We may win her back yet...
• We visited the Bazaar Cafe yesterday so I could do a little Info Retrieval homework with the peerless Mari. It's a very cozy little spot -- one of your standard "older homes with lots of retro furniture turned into a coffeehouse," except that they've got wifi, too. Check it out -- on 6th street, right next to the Runcible Spoon.
• Speaking of which, did you know that the Runcible Spoon has a downstairs? We just discovered this recently. Wild. That place is way awesome. Their pancakes rival the Deli's in sheer mass, although (of course) not in quality.
• We're planning a visit to the Chicago-land area again, in two weeks, to see the St. Olaf Choir on tour, and maybe visit the downtown Chicago Public Library, too. Oh, what nerds we are...
• Quote of the Week 13: "How's it hangin', God?" - Chris. I've been growing the beard out and I was wearing what Matt Merkt used to call "the Wick outfit" -- white dress shirt over a white t-shirt and khakis, and I'm starting to get the "You look like Jesus!" comments again.

I can't believe January's almost over already. Crazy. Enjoy 2005 while it lasts, people... it's cruising by... peace!

Rounding out the very bottom of AFI's list is Yankee Doodle Dandy, a grand bit of patriotism straight from the middle of the Second World War. James Cagney plays George M. Cohan, the legendary Broadway producer/playwright/composer/entertainer in a largely fictionalized account of his life.

For a first film to whet our tastes for this list, I will say that I got about what I expected. I knew from the release date (1942) and the subject that it would be sort of a fluff piece, and that's indeed what it was; as Samantha astutely observed, it lacked much of a definable plot. The film mostly proceeds from ancedote to anecdote, each one mostly serving to show off Cagney's dancing talent (yes, he could dance -- something you may not have known if you've only seen him in gangster movies) and the musical sequences. I think the film succeeds on this alone, though, as the musical numbers are fantastic and Cagney himself is a joy to watch.

I enjoyed the film. Of course, if it is a musical, I can generally be expected to enjoy it. And there is certainly nothing to disagree with about this one.