Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Inside Looking Out Pt. 6

It's been awhile since I've written anything about the museum and, for the record, I am still here and loving it. This past summer has been all about the camps. Did I mention we run summer camps? Yep, and I am in the thick of them. I love summer camp, it is so damn much fun. We craft and goof off and learn and go places and I get paid. I know! I'm stunned too!

Our summer exhibit is Samurai and contains amazing artifacts that can't be found anywhere else. The stuff here is owned by private collectors and once it goes away, it's gone. It doesn't go to another museum, but instead goes back to the owners never to be seen again. So if you're close to the Frazier History Museum get your boots in to see this thing before it's gone. The exhibit runs till the end of September. Anyway, we gave 4 summer camps that conntected directly to the exhibit, but we did it more as a cultural look at Japan. The kids loved it and we loved it. I learned some Japanese, did a bunch of crafts, and learned how to Bon dance. I know, I can already tell you all are way jealous.

Now, though, summer camps are over and I always feel antsy. I mean, I'm so used to running from the moment I get here (usually about 7:30) until the moment I leave (usually about 7:00) that I know feel as though I have too much time. Does that make sense? I look around at the work on my desk and get way disappointed it's not a craft I have to do or a PowerPoint I have to put together. One thing I did have to do yesterday was write a blog post. Since I blog I was nominated by my department to be our permanent blogger. Yeah, I know scary, but normally it's not a big deal. I just whip it out and move on, but yesterday I was stuck. What to write about???  I hadn't a clue. Summer camps were over and I hadn't had a chance to get into anything else. Sooooooo . . . I tossed it out on my Twitter and my lovely friend Jennifer Armintrout suggested Grover Cleveland. Oooookay, since I couldn't think of anything else, Grover it was. I think the blog turned out pretty good, but next time I hope I can come up with an idea on my own or she'll suggest something like black holes or the implications of time travel for Dr. Who.

--GC

Monday, August 13, 2012

Back to Reality

Yesterday I got up at the buttcrack of dawn to fly back home from the AAD Conference in NOLA. Jeez louise, it sucks. Have I ever mentioned that I hate to fly???  Yeah, I despise it! But getting to the airport at 5am means there's no crowds and you get through security fairly quickly. I made it home by 3 or so in the afternoon. Had to drop my sister off at her house, stop at the grocery and get meds, whatever.

Anyway, somewhere in my brain I imagined it was a really good idea to go back to work. O_O Yeah, I know. What the hell was I thinking??  The alarm goes off this morning at 7:20 am and I think I hit it like . . . 4 times. So now it's 7:45 and I stagger up and have to eat breakfast, wash my hair, dry it, get ready . . .yadda yadda. By the time I made it to work I realize that I left my badge at home and I have to buzz security to get into the building. I stop at the soft drink machine and get a Dr. Pepper, which is something I NEVER do, but I had to have caffeine. It didn't help, but I imagined it would.

I stagger to my office, grunt hello to a co-worker and start my laptop. Another person in my department comes in, takes one look at me, and says, "Maybe you should go home?" LOL! Needless to say, I didn't last long. I was there maybe 2 hours and then gave up and came home. I fell onto my bed and took a nice 2 hour nap. I still don't feel great, in fact, if given the option I'd go to bed now (7:56pm) but I think I'll hold out a bit longer.

All of this rambling, is to say that obviously I don't travel well. I travel even worse when I get no sleep the entire time I'm away from home. I did get writing done while I was there and I got to hang out with friends and make great new ones, but the not sleeping thing is a major downer.

Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be ready to go back to work for real. Right now, I'm just going to sit here with my window open enjoying the breeze and pretending I'm still on vacation.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Refusing to Die in NOLA

Okay, so I am currently enjoying the AAD Conference in New Orleans. Let me restate I am enjoying the conference, but NOT New Orleans. There are many reasons, but let me just boil it down to one really gross point . . . Bourbon Street. Bourbon Street is like the asshole on the body that is New Orleans. It is utterly gag worthy. Where else do they hose the streets off each morning to clean the puke off???? Yeah, I'm sure you now get it.

Anyway, we (Bronwyn Greene, Jessica Jarman, Kris Norris, Jennifer Armintrout, Mia Watts, and a bunch of other people) were walking to a place called Huck Finns this morning when it began to thunder. Did I mention the weather has been majorly suck level? Well it has so once again it's raining. I pop up my umbrella, but I notice the lightning that is accompanying the thunder so this is when I make the request of my bestie Jessica Jarman.

If I get struck by lightning and die do not, DO NOT let them bury me in this .cesspool of the universe. Her reply, "Yeah, dude, you won't be buried. It's all above ground crypts." *sigh* So literal is my friend Jessica. "Okay, whatever," is my pithy reply, "but don't let me be stuck here. I never ever want to be stuck here. Make sure I get home. No matter how you gotta do it. Make sure my body gets back to Kentucky."

Now I'd been to New Orleans before, but I just don't remember it being this nasty. Of course, we didn't stay on Bourbon Street and perhaps that's why I don't recall it being this yuck. I think we spent a total of a half an hour on the street before my friend Jennifer (not Armintrout) and I called it quits. We were hard core party people back then and we didn't like it. So now that I'm a tad bit older and spend most of my nights at home writing I really don't go out.

To end this story, Jess did promise to see me home and make sure I'm cremated. Of course, we survived the storm and I'm back in the hotel. But after walking in the puddles with open-toed shoes I am so going to get a major shot of anti-biotics when I get home.