Secretly I Want To Be Dr. Harker, Book Blogger Extraordinaire

I was recently out with some friends that were in DC for a forensics conference. Have I mentioned I'm going to miss the constant influx of friends who come to DC for conferences when I move? But like all friends who haven't seen each other in three years, we got to reminiscing.

"Hey Jess, do you remember that time you almost broke your ankle mountain biking and it was the size of a grapefruit for a week?"
or
"Jess, do you remember that time I ran into you on the way home and you were awkwardly holding what was left of your shirt together?"

Sometimes reminiscing can be painful and a good reminder of why some of us don't do chemistry involving 70% hydrogen peroxide anymore.
The best part of the evening for me is the time me and this set of friends start to wax philosophical. One of our ponderings revolved around the question: "Where do you think we'd be if we hadn't gone into science?" with the stipulation of engineering not counting as an alternative. We have a ridiculous amount of friends who are engineers.
Tim would have gone into the world of sports reporting and of coaching hockey. You have to love my hockey friends!  We tend to have a one track mind when we get together. Go Avalanche!
Matt apparently has spent an enormous amount of time thinking about being a Civil War historian. I have to admit that he'd make a good one. His kids can tell you the generals and commanders that belong to each battle. They even can tell you the reasons why General Burnsides' defense of the bridge at Antietam was moronic.
Jeanette still dreams of being a wedding planner which is kind of funny considering she and Matt eloped.
Elizabeth would have gone to culinary school and opened her own restaurant. I kind of wish this had happened. Elizabeth is an amazing cook, baker, and candy maker! She was kind enough to bring me some of her famous English toffee. Although I'm ashamed to admit that I ate it all the next day...
What about me? I would be either a librarian or a book blogger.
It's not like that is a huge revelation for those who know me. I love reading books! In fact, I buy books like any respectable book blogger which means I buy a lot of books. I budget money out of each paycheck to buy books which I faithfully spend each month. Have I mentioned I need another bookshelf?
Actually to tell the truth, I have seriously considered becoming a book blogger and I've added it to the 30 things I want to do by the time I'm 30 list.  I even blog on my friend Patrice's blog for her bookstore which she runs in Seattle. Maybe when I move into candidacy I'll finally be able to pursue my book blogging ambition.

The Trip In Which I Rekindled My Love For Maple Bars

The first part of April I traveled to Pullman, WA for a visit to look at the chemistry program at Washington State University. Or as my roommate puts it, the visit in which I shamelessly used WSU for a trip to see my old roommate, Bethany. Or as I like to look at it, the trip where I got to eat maple bars and see Beth because WSU wouldn't take no for an answer. I had accepted the offer to go to College Park before this visit but as the WSU chemistry department recruiter pointed out I could potentially decide not to go to College Park and go to their school instead. I figured what the heck, I could go see Beth. What I didn't anticipate was the 15 hours of traveling it took to get to Spokane. I had to be at the airport at around 3 AM because my flight left at 5:15 AM with three different layovers. Whoever scheduled that flight should be shot and then drawn and quartered. After I had finally arrived, I did something I've never done before. I rented a car. Well, WSU paid for it. But let me tell you, when WSU chemistry is trying to entice you to join their program, they pull out all the stops. Look at the car they rented me!!!

Isn't it pretty?!?

And so shiny!!!

It was pretty and super fast! Good thing there was no cops on the freeway to Beth's house or I would have been pulled over before I could have said dang it! Driving this car made me want a new car, because let's face it my current car, Herb, is an old man with no get up and go. It's okay, Herb, I won't cheat on you again.
Beth lives in Coeur d'Alene, ID which is only about 40 minutes away from Spokane. I had never been to Northern Idaho before so it was a new experience for me. The thing that hit me most though was that after living in Maryland, Idaho does not have very many trees. Oh well, it is still very beautiful.

Look there is still snow on the mountains! So pretty!

Oh Mountains! How I miss you!

Northern Idaho has a bunch of lakes which are lovely even in the early spring.

I met Beth at her grandparents house and was promptly invited to dinner which was some awesomely delicious waffles. While we were waiting for the rest of her family to arrive, Beth and I went on a quick tour of her hometown. The tour included Beth's school, a donut shop she later took me to, and Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Lake Coeur d'Alene

It was very pretty and a lot bigger than I had always imagined it.

Look at the Mountains!!!

This is Beth not wanting her picture taken.

Although she was all too happy to be the one behind the camera.

Couer d'Alene is a resort town as you can see by the large hotel behind me

Beth and some of the other locals call the guy who owns that resort Voldemort because he owns a lot of the town and apparently he is taking over. I kind of thought it was a funny reference. So after her family fed me, Beth and I headed for Pullman. It's only 45 minutes from Coeur d'Alene. Beth stayed with me in my hotel room since there were two beds. By the time we had gotten settled in we both were hungry again, so we indulged in one of the traditions that we had perfected in the year that we were roommates.

I'll give you two guesses to whose pizza was the one on the bed.

We each ordered a large pizza and ate the whole thing ourselves!!! I think that it is one of our more awesome rituals when we're together. Although I'm sure the start of this ritual was heavily influenced by the boys of Apartment 15 and our inability to share a Little Caesar's pizza without fighting. We stayed up late catching up and harassing our favorite person in the world via text message and phone. Thanks Ryan for being a good sport about said harassment! I'm pretty sure the evening ended on the high note of me speaking sweet nothings to my bed. It's a little fuzzy and by that point I had been up for a full 24 hours.
The next day was the visit. I was wined and dined and WSU made a great impression. I almost regretted accepting University of Maryland's offer since everyone I met was so nice and the research was pretty cool. Not to mention that it was closer to home than College Park. But alas, it didn't feel right.
Beth and I also made the pilgrimage to the creamery on WSU's campus. They sell their creamery products at a place called Ferdinand's and it had some really delicious ice cream! The butter pecan was divine! Sorry! No pictures because I left my camera at the hotel. Later, we ended up making a trip to Wal-Mart because my computer was acting up when I tried to do some homework. I needed a small screwdriver to get to the hard drive. Unfortunately, this is when the hard drive committed Hari Kari. I'm still upset about that.
The next day we headed back to Coeur d'Alene since Beth had to go to work and I had to catch my flight home. But we did make an important stop. We stopped at the Donut House by Beth's house for breakfast. I was able to get a maple bar! For those of you that know me, know that maple bars are one of my weaknesses. They are right up there with Otter Pops. But alas, the East Coast doesn't know about the delicious mapley goodness that is a maple bar. So I got one for the road to tide me over until my next trip to the West Coast. It made it to the Spokane airport. I regret nothing except maybe not buying a few more. Oh, they were amazing! And that is not the withdrawals talking!

Oh man! I want one just looking at the picture!!!

It was a nice little trip! It was so great to see Beth! Who knows when we'll be able to see each other again. Thanks WSU for being a good sport and making it possible!

902 Stairs and A Glow

Can I just say how much I LOVE camping? This weekend was awesome! Some friends and I went camping on the Idaho side of Bear Lake. Best thing: No campground! My friend, Tyler, who is from Ovid took us up into the mountains and we found a campsite off the beaten path.
We started out the day with some spelunking (cave exploring for those who don't know) in the Paris Ice Cave. Idaho makes me smile. There were huge patches of snow in the mountains even though it's the end of July. Inside the cave there was snow and mud everywhere! And yes, I threw a couple snowballs. I couldn't help it.
To get to the cool part of the cave, you have to crawl under an overhang. The guy that was with us is around 6 feet tall and kept getting stuck because he had his backpack on. Can you guess what happened next? I ended up carrying the backpack because I was the smallest person there and I fit under the overhang with it on.
We next visited the famed Minnetonka Cave. It's home to nine rooms of stalactites and stalagmites and 444 stairs with a constant temperature of 40 degrees. If you do the math it comes out to 888 stairs to go in and out of the cave. It comes to a total of 902 stairs if you include the stairs to get to the cave entrance. Not that I counted or anything.
The other awesome things about camping are campfires and star gazing. I can stare at these for hours on end. In fact, I did. I alternated between the stars and the campfire before I went to bed and then just at the stars after trying to sleep with four noisy, giggly girls sharing the same tent with me. Then like all camping experiences I was up early but it wasn't the usual 5am it was 4am. Thank you body for still being on East Coast time.
The next day we swam in the actual lake and I got a little sunburned. I guess it's what I get for not putting sunscreen on in the first place. The good thing is that it doesn't hurt at all; it just looks horrible. In fact, at church yesterday people kept remarking about how much sun I got. The best remark yet: "Jessie, you have this certain glow about you today. A nice red glow." Thanks Ryan and may I also say that you had a nice glow about you as well. We were equally sunburned but the difference was he put sunscreen on.
Ah! The perks of going camping in Idaho with friends. I hope to post pictures soon!

Some Things Never Change

I had the opportunity to have a long talk with one of my really good friends and we got to reminiscing about the 'good old days'. And as always reminiscence led to a discussion of the weird things we still do after six years of being adults. It was a very hilarious conversation and I'm very proud to say that I still do the following:
1. Partner dances are still performed with my eyes closed in order to concentrate on following my partner's lead and not trying to lead myself.
2. Otter Pops. Need I say more?
3. I still love X-Men, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Lord of the Rings whether it be movie, comic book, or animated TV series.
4. Hopefully they never quit making Cocoa Pebbles because I still eat it. I'll probably never eat the grown up versions of cereal.
5. I still haven't learned that reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Joan Lowry Nixon, or any other scary/suspenseful book before bed is a bad idea.
6. Libraries and bookstores are some of my most favorite places to be.
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas is still watched on Halloween and on Christmas (and whenever I feel like it).
8. I have no self-control when eating jerky.
9. Yes, I still play my nerdy city building games based on ancient civilizations.
10. My pillow is still my constant companion/comfort whether I'm watching a movie, reading, or studying.
11. I still love to stand in front of loud speakers at concerts and feel the sound move through me.
I'm glad that some things have stayed constant over the years.