Nose in the Books: PhD Comps!

The other day my friend asked, where in the world are you...you seem disconnected? I am not rafting in Colorado. I am not riding camels in Morocco. I am not drinking grappa or eating pizza in Italy. I am not hiking through the rice paddies in Vietnam. I am in the dichotomous world of studying for COMPS; sometimes I find it agonizing, painful, and stressful while other times I find it enlightening, calming, and intellectually stimulating. The word "Comps" may not mean much to you, but to an American PhD student in their third year, it means a big-freakin' exam. Here is the deal, as a rite of passage into the PhD world (as if there has not been enough hazing), I must successfully pass an exam that has my brain and butt feeling like mush. The week of August 30, I will receive four questions, within four consecutive days--one question each day. I am expected to have researched the topic extensively in order to write a 10-12 page paper on-the-fly, in four hours, with nothing but my brain and a computer (no resources, no books, no bottles of wine, no internet, and no cheat sheets allowed). Citing is expected. That means that I need to memorize all authors that I want to cite and have a fairly clear idea of what I am going to write. So, there you have it...the reason I am in a cave right now.

Here is a day in the life of Leasa (right now): Wake up (no alarm...ahhh!). Make an egg with cheddar cheese and tomato on an English muffin while preparing Earl Grey tea. Sit down at my computer. While catching up on email...eat. Scan BBC headlines. Shower. Pack a lunch. Go to coffee shop (preferably Jit Joe's). Order green tea. Stick blue ear plugs in my ear. Read. Take notes. When the stomach growls, eat lunch while reading. Yawn. Yawn again. Pack up. Go home. Grab a book. Crawl in bed. Read until my eyes close. Nap. Wake up. Yoga. Luckily, my evening schedule is not as routine. Some nights I meet a fellow PhD friend to study at the library, while other nights I teach yoga or take time off to make a delicious dinner with Charlie. So, there you have it. The joys of COMPS! Okay, it is not all that bad, but I am developing what I lovingly call the "PhD butt".

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Recently a friend received an "icing". This is when a Smirnoff Ice (an otherwise disgusting alcoholic beverage) is presented as a gift to an unsuspecting friend, partner, or foe and if they accept the gift (in disguise of course) then they must drink it on one knee. Okay, it is a rather cheesy and started as a fraternity drinking game (shocker!), but it has spread like rapid fire from the Frats to Ashton Kutcher to the workplace to my own PhD circle of colleagues. The original group of guys called the game, "Bros Icing Bros" and even created a website to post videos/photos. Smirnoff was not a fan of the game and shut down the frat-astic website. The PhD posse gathered last Friday to celebrate one of our colleagues passing the BIG exam and it resulted in a "Bro Icing a Sister". (I think they might need to change up the name of the game to make it more gender neutral.) Anyway, it was all taken in with good humor and added a little zest to an already HOT (95 degrees) and spicy evening at Cali n Tito's.

New Floor to Dance Upon...

Ick, that is mold under the (faux and fancy) wood floor in my apartment. As described in an earlier blog post, after my international travels I arrived home to a flooded apartment. The air-conditioner unit had spewed nasty water all over the dining room floor. Lucky me, the cleaning fairy flew in and cleaned the murky water before I got home (thanks, Charlie!) But, we think that the water might have been sitting on the floor for a good 2-3 weeks, hence the mold underneath the wood panels and the bowed wood. Can you imagine the smell? Ick!

The good news is that UGA housing only let one month go by before fixing it. I gotta say...I was rather impressed by this short turnaround. They also fixed the air conditioner unit which is a necessity in this hot box I call home.

Local Farm Share: ROOTS!

About 10 miles outside of Athens the 13-acre farm, Roots, is known not only for its organic and sustainable farming techniques, but also for offering community supported agriculture (CSA). You may be asking...what is a CSA? Well, let me tell you, because Charlie and I are CSA devotees. During the Georgia farming season (April-October) community members can purchase a "share" and receive weekly baskets of colorful and delicious fruits and veggies. After my Euro trip, Charlie and I decided to join for the remaining summer months. Every Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. we make a trip to the farm and pick up our "half-share" (feeds 1-2 people and includes 5-10 items). The best part is that we do not know what the weekly cornucopia includes until we visit the farm and see the nicely hand-printed sheet of paper that outlines the number or weight of certain fruits/veggies. All of the fruits/veggies are laid out on tables as we hand pick the appropriate amount. The other day we came home with carrots, tomatoes, corn on the cob, blueberries, Thai basil, eggplants, summer squash, cucumbers, and a pepper. Awesome!

The tag-line for Roots, "Growing the good stuff in Athens, GA since 2006!"

So, while not studying (yep, the girl needs a break) we are coming up with creative ways to eat the ambrosial delights. The other night we made a delicious curry with squash, carrots, pepper, eggplant, and basil. Every week has included some variety of basil, hence we now have fresh pesto chilling in the freezer. Oh, and the veggies also made a special appearance in a spicy Indonesian Laksa dish. Incredible! More to come...

Chicago

My last memory of Chicago was in 2001 when a group of five of us, including my father, limped our way across the Bank of America Marathon finish line. While the marathon was a great way to experience 26 miles of the Windy City by foot, this most recent trip allowed me to actually relax and enjoy the big city charm of Chi-town. It was a little hotter and did not include carb-loading, chaffing, or stretching my endurance, as this trip was all about vacationing. Ahhhh! We met up with Charlie's brother, Will, his girlfriend, and Will's three sons. It was an eventful three days, despite the fact that I escaped for a few hours every day to study (Oh, the joys of being a PhD student on vacation). We, of course, ate Chicago pizza, watched fireworks on the 4th of July, enjoyed the Taste of Chicago Festival in Grant Park, and took a wicked speed boat ride (of which I got soaked and the boys remained dry...hmmm, no wonder they told me to sit in that "special" seat). It was great to meet Charlie's family and see him in a whole new light as "uncle Charlie" (insert image of three small boys jumping all over him). The last day Charlie and I enjoyed a bike ride along the lake and a delicious dinner at Eve.