For all the similarities of our day-to-day life here in the South, there are distinct differences. Unfortunately, not all of them are quaint or quirky. But one that is quirky is the koozie. Oh yeah, that foam sleeve that fits over beer cans and bottles (that is just not used in California) is standard operating procedure here in Columbia, SC. ( Read more... )

Our bookshelves are assembled and filled with our books and DVDs. Our art is appearing on the walls! Nearly all of the kitchen things are set-up, in the kitchen. Things are coming together.

But not without hiccups! It was my birthday last week, and a gift from my parents, a digital pen!, went missing. FedEx claims they delivered it, but we ( Read more... )

We now have our things! Of course, it didn't happen without a considerable amount of stress and activity. I received a call around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Eastern, to let me know my things were coming on Friday. Previously, we had been told to expect a call from the driver two days before arrival, so we had not been prepared to receive them on ( Read more... )

I'm feeling somewhat better since the last post. I went to my chiropractor, whom I really enjoy talking to and my back is feeling more limber. I would call him one of my favorite people, if I didn't have to pay to see him. It just puts a whole new dimension on a person-to-person relationship when you're paying the other one for their services ( Read more... )

Barack Obama Live and Hillary Clinton's Rude Staffers
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Friday morning began with a complimentary breakfast from the hotel: made-to-order waffles and omelets. We sat with a couple of the people whom we’d gone out to dinner with the night before, since we were all staying in the same hotel. The festivities didn’t begin until about noon, so we had the morning to watch cable tv (oooh, a treat!) and I ( Read more... )

My previous visit to South Carolina was comprised of the cheapest of everything: cheapest flight (which is why I chose to fly to an airport an hour-and-a-half away), cheapest car, and cheapest lodgings. This trip was not quite the opposite, but pretty close. My school is reimbursing me for the majority of the flight and paid my hotel bill. We ( Read more... )

This is the first in a mini-series of mini-adventures from the past weekend.

We had decided to book our flight from San Diego to Columbia with a stop-over at Cincinnati because we wanted to check off "Ohio" from our states-not-yet-visited list. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati airport is actually in Kentucky. Whoops. We have three reasons to visit ( Read more... )

I read this interesting article on Wednesday, the day after the New Hampshire primary: http://www.slate.com/id/2181923/ See below for an interesting speculation as to why the pre-election polls did not reflect the outcome (there are four other possible reasons in the article).

1. ( Read more... )