Ain't No Party Like a Scranton Party

Scranton, PA is a mere 90 miles from where I live. How can I not go?

*Edit*10/25 - This was going to be a comment in response to Victoria's comment, but I decided it fit better as a blog addendum.

Yes! I'm going! I started to reconsider because I couldn't find anybody to go with me. But Jonathan persuaded me that it was worth going to alone.
Then I started to reconsider again because I checked out the website and it looked like it might not be as nerdy as I thought (part of the draw is the people watching)* and I wasn't really sure what I would do. But I did a little more looking around and found a couple of options,** and your (Victoria's) comment persuaded me that I can't miss the opportunity when I'm so close!*** Plus, what's this hangup that I have about going places alone? I don't have a problem moving to a new country by myself, but I need to have a friend go with me for a day trip? Weird. Time to get over that.

P.S. According to the website, pretty much all of the cast (except the big four: Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam) will be there. That should be pretty cool.

*Part of me wants to go because I'm a nerd and part of me wants to go to see people that are even nerdier than me (i.e. those who will come dressed up like their favorite characters and can quote entire episodes).
**I'm going to go to the Cast Q&A and the Character Look-alike Contest. I may see the Office Olympics Awards, too.
***Hmmm...it seems that I am easily persuaded.

I've got tickets

Sunday, November 18th, 10:30 pm.

Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Dane Cook.

Rough Around the Edges tour.

Oh yeah.


To anyone who has ever wondered what it would look like if you combined Dane Cook with Halo 2 - this is for you:

*Warning* - Video contains profanity.

For Jess

One more Family Guy clip - this reminded me of you, Jess!

K, I really need to finish the episode and go to bed.

Stewie is the best

I'm watching this week's episode of Family Guy online.
For the first time.
And I paused it just so I could post this clip.

There's a classic Stewie scene in the episode and I was sure that I could find it on YouTube.

I was right.

So I paused the episode, not because I was distracted or found something better to do, but because I instantly loved the scene and wanted to share it.
It is Stewie at his best: sarcastic, patronizing, and sardonic.

This is the reason why Stewie is the best Family Guy character.

Enjoy. (Btw, the other character is supposed to be Colin Farrell)

Now I've got to get back to the episode.

Incidentally, this is the reason why I only sleep about 5 hours/night during the week. By "this," I don't necessarily mean Family Guy. Any one of a number of distractions can hold my attention before 1 am. After 1 am, I start feeling guilty for not being in bed and it has to be fairly captivating to hold my attention. Not extremely captivating, just fairly. Or on live TV (rather than DVD or internet), and consequently, not necessarily accessible when I want it to be.
My alarm goes off at 6:00.

Therefore, as it is now 12:45, I shall bid you adieu and get back to the episode.

Countdown

In my last post, I mentioned that when I quit my job, I gave 11-1/2 weeks notice. Well, when I did so, it occurred to me that it was a bit early to start a countdown and I should wait a while. That was a Wednesday. By Friday, I knew that I had exactly 11 weeks left.

My time out here has gone by quickly from day one; this is due in part to the fact that I work a lot of hours. Over the last few months, work has grown busier and more complicated, making the time go by even faster. But there was a part of me that was afraid that now that I had given notice, my last weeks would drag by. Factor this in with my excitement for what's ahead, and a countdown was inevitable.

At some point last week (on a particularly bad day), I created a countdown calendar on my lappy, replete with fractions and all. Which is why, I can now say that I am 1/4 of the way there.

I Am a Rockstar Chapter 1: In which nothing is said about being a rockstar

K, here's my exciting news:

I quit my job.

However, in my line of work, "giving notice" does not mean two weeks. More like eight. But because my boss was worried that she couldn't get someone to start right before the holidays and I'm such a nice person (no comments from the peanut gallery, please), I gave 11-1/2 weeks notice.

I can sense you doing rapid mathematical calculations in your head and realizing that this means it took me 2-1/2 weeks to share my news with you, my faithful readers.

But don't look at it that way - I'm letting you know nine weeks in advance! Wow! Don't you feel privileged?!...

Technically, though, I have more than 9 weeks left. In 9 weeks, I start my Christmas vacation. I'll have 2-1/2 weeks off, then I come back for 1-1/2 weeks to train the next person. But I'm calling it 9 weeks for a few reasons:

1. Nine weeks is easier to digest than thirteen weeks*, or in a word - sanity.

2. I'll only be working eight days in January. Following a 2-1/2 week vacation and preceding...the end of my job...it will go quickly and should be easy.

3. I'm moving home at Christmas; so I'll be packing a bag to come back out here in January. This lends to the notion that I'm really quitting in December. Rather than taking a trip home for Christmas before coming back to work, I'll be moving home for Christmas and taking a trip back out here for work. See the difference?

One of my weeks at Christmas is unpaid time off, but the rest is vacation. So I'll be paid for my last 3 weeks here, but only working half of it. Cool, right? I think so.

Then I'm back in the good old Northwest for a month. I'm not going to work, either. For a whole month. I'm pretty excited about it. But I hope I don't go crazy. I don't think I will. I should have plenty to keep me busy. Between catching up with friends and family, getting rid of as much of my stuff as I can part with (it's tough to be a nomad and a packrat at the same time - not practical), and preparing to move to South Korea, I shouldn't get bored.

That's right, I said I'm moving to South Korea. Seoul, to be specific. I'm hoping to go in mid-February, right after the Lunar New Year. This has led to all kinds of ideas for a new blog name. Here are my favorites:

"Life through my eyes: your window into Seoul"

"For those about to ROK,** we Seoul-ute you."

Too cheesy? Any other ideas?

I'm sure that some of you are wondering what happened to my dreams of becoming a US diplomat. Oh, they're still firmly in place. But they're also still dreams and I have to have a backup plan. To be honest, I'm not very optimistic about the exam I took last month. I'll find out how I did sometime over the next few weeks, but I'm not holding my breath (mostly because that would be stupid - holding one's breath for a few weeks could not end well).

However, if I do pass, I will be invited to take the oral assessment. I could take that in DC in December and I would find out at the end of the day how I did.

Were I to pass the written exam and pass the oral assessment with a high score, there would be a good chance of getting hired within the next few months. In this case, I would not go to Korea. In any other case, it is off to Korea for me!

If anybody*** wants to come with me, let me know soon and we can probably be roommates and get jobs at the same school! All that is required is that you have a passport from an English-speaking country, a Bachelor's Degree in any major, and the ability/willingness to commit to a year.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2, in which I reveal details of my secret life as a rockstar.

*If you recognize that I actually have 13 weeks left, that means I gave 15-1/2 weeks notice! Wow! I'm a really nice person!

**ROK = Republic of Korea aka South Korea. All the cool kids use this abbreviation. Admittedly, the phrase doesn't make sense if you understand what ROK means, but I still think it's mildly clever...

***By "anybody," I don't really mean anybody. For example, if you randomly stumbled onto this blog and we've never met, this doesn't include you. Sorry.

9 1/2 weeks left! or I am a rockstar (Preface)

That's right. It says "preface." This is not a real post. I tricked you.

I really, really want to write a whole post right now. I'm happy and excited and I want to share my news with you. But I'm also exhausted and I really should get to bed. I've slept a total of about 9 hours in the last two nights and if I went to sleep right now, I would get about 6 hours of sleep tonight. But as it is, I will probably be up another hour. Were I to take the time to actually blog right now, it would be even later by the time I went to sleep. See the dilemma?

So for now, I'll just share one little factoid, to whet your appetite:

I am a rockstar.

Genius

Apparently, NBC created this music video back in February. How is it possible that I've only just discovered it? Am I the only one?

Why am I driving an SUV?

If you recall, I was in an accident three months ago.
We're finally getting the Explorer fixed.
Ridiculous?
A bit.
But I still have two dislocated ribs that the chiropractor has not yet been able to set.
That's even more ridiculous. And more painful.

But I digress.

While the Explorer is in the shop, I'm driving a Durango. Personally, I am against gas-guzzling vehicles. The Durango is even worse than the Explorer. I think it gets about 11 miles/gallon. But the idea is that SUV's are safer. Naturally, the safety of the children is of the utmost importance.

So I drive an SUV.

Ironically, I noticed this warning label on the visor.

Mmm..that's comforting. I sure am glad I'm driving an SUV.

Wait. Why am I driving an SUV?

Avoid abrupt maneuvers and excessive speed? HA! If I were to describe New Jersey driving, I would probably say something like, "Well, it basically consists of abrupt maneuvers and excessive speed."*

See the dilemma? Or should I say, the irony?

*And tailgating at ludicrous speeds and abandoning any sense of reason upon getting behind the wheel... *deep breath* *talking to self* "Let it go, Marianna, it's not worth it." Ummm...kind of a hot-button topic.

Indications that your child may be ready for a pet

She ties a string around a bottle of water and takes it for walks.