Todd here, attempting to fill in the two or three month gap in our blog.  I'll see how much typing I have in me.

Because Thanksgiving 2008 was so late, we only had two more weeks of classes after the break.  This comes as a bitter sweet realization when you are thinking about what you need to be doing the Sunday before you go back to classes.  We were going to be done soon, but there was so much work that still had to be done, and so much studying we had to do for finals.  Ashlee and I were also trying to do applications for law school and graduate school, respectively.  When the semester was all said and done with, not all our grades were where we wanted them to be, and I missed a couple of the early December applications, but we were content.  It was a tough semester, and it was nice to be done.  This is especially the case for me because I'm completely done at CMU now.  Both my B.S. and M.S. were completed in December.

Christmas break was four weeks for us this year, which left no choice but to bring Titus, our cat, home.  Given the airlines' policies that charge per flight for a pet, we decided it was just too expensive (around $300) to fly home with him.  Instead, we packed up the car (which is a 2002 Mercury Sable, not Brown Sugar) and ventured westward.  

Winter driving is one thing, but my bright idea to go through Chicago was the icing on the cake.  Of course, traffic was terrible, and tolls caused further delay, but even worse was the failure of our the heater blower.  The blower does exactly what you would think, it blows the hot air through the vents into the interior.  Not only did we start to get cold, the windows were fogging up.  We pushed as far as Madison, WI, and stopped for the night.  We were extremely lucky to find a place that openned early on Saturday morning and could get us in to fix it.  

We were back on the road by noon, heading toward a blizzard.  We hit that blizzard about eight hours later, at Kennebec, SD, where -10 or -20 degree temperatures plus 30-40 mph wind quickly reminded us that Pittsburgh can be miserable in the winter, but pales in comparison to the West.  We stayed there for the night in a motel that warrants a blog entry of its own.  We woke up to a closed I-90, but checked on its status frequently, and were back on the road just minutes after it opened.  Given the extreme cold and high winds, the road was actually blown clear the majority of the way home, except for areas with trees.  We made excellent time, and were home by five.

For those of you wondering about Titus and his tolerance of three days in a car, you would be amazed.  He whines for the first 30 minutes or so, but then realizes there's not getting out of it.  Afterwards, he just sleeps, with his favorite spots being the back seat floor and our laps.  He would wake up now and then to move around a bit, but otherwise just snoozed the hours away.  He makes me jealous.

Christmas break was wonderful.  In terms of Ashlee's family, her niece Audrey stole the show when we spent time with them.  We'll be writing a post about her soon (actually, Ashlee will).  In terms of my family, we had a full house with my brother Eric and his girlfriend Margit being home.  We thank everyone for the gifts, but also for the fun and joy of all being home and together.  It's always a pleasure, and this year was no exception.

The drive home was less eventful.  We got a late start the first day, and had to stop early that evening for a bit of freezing rain.  This forced us to spend the next night in Indianapolis, arriving in Pittsburgh two days before classes started for Ashlee.

Well, that's it for this post.  Keep checking back, we promise to get the rest of the gap filled in soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Todd says "Hello from Ohio!"

For what will probably be the last time (for a while at least), Ashlee and I are spending Thanksgiving with my Uncle Kurt and his family.  They live in Canton, which is about two hours from Pittsburgh.  It just far enough to feel like we've gone away for the holiday, but close enough that the drive is pretty easy.

This break gives us a chance to catch our breath, and then we have the final sprint: one week of classes, and then finals.

Enjoy your turkey!

Ashlee here...

So, how behind are we on posting on this blog?

I would like to say that we've been completely and totally busy, immersing ourselves in our schoolwork, studying frantically for upcoming tests, cleaning our hurricane-torn apartment, or working tirelessly in order to make a couple bucks...

Yeah. Right.

The truth is this: We've been trying to do those things. Unfortunately, the lack of motivation is starting to kick in. And we spend out time hanging out, chatting, playing games and procrastinating. Ahhhh the life of a college student.

But truly, we have done a little work. And we're planning on a very busy weekend (of course, on the schedule is going to Carnegie Mellon's football game. Only because they're giving out awesome prizes for students who attend). We're also planning on doing all our laundry...all of it...(*Notes that they haven't done laundry in a LONG time*). We're going to a laundromat to do it, so that we can do it in terms that Todd refers to as "Massively Parallel." I call it being efficient (since the dryer at our apartment complex requires 2 cycles in order to dry 1 load).

Todd took his GRE today. He did well, though I think he's a little disappointed with his score.

I have been sort of studying for my 2nd LSAT test. I plan on doing a lot more in the upcoming weeks.

School is crunching down towards finals week. We're going to be very busy. I have papers, presentations, and tests coming up.

On the bright side of things, I scheduled my classes for next semester. I have to take two required courses (Policy Analysis III and Empirical Research Methods). On top of that, I'm taking Abnormal Psychology, Attitudes and Persuasion, and Juvenile Delinquency classes. And, if I decide to drop Attitudes and Persuasion, I would only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. It's very tempting, but I've heard that Attitudes and Persuasion is a really interesting class, so we'll see.

Right now Todd and I are sitting in the college waiting for Todd's picture to print. It's going to be about 3 ft. by 3 ft. So it takes like an hour to print. After that, we might go out. Or go home and chill for a bit.

Anyway, just thought I would put in a quick note. Also, if we're really on top of things, expect Christmas cards!

...

I wouldn't make any large monetary bets on it though. Things like that are always up in the air.

Alright, Ashlee signing out! (Maybe I'll go read this LSAT book I have sitting here...Or go read this super interesting news story. Gee, think it's been a slow day for Fox?)

GRE Friday

I (Todd) am taking the GRE this coming Friday. Wish me luck, although it's not nearly as important as the LSAT is for Ashlee. Of the responses I've received from those who have already taken it, most common are complaints about it being on a computer. This means it's quite different than any other test, especially when it's coupled with the way the GRE is designed.

1. You can't write on the test, but you can make notes on blank scratch paper.
2. You can't skip questions go back to previous questions.
3. Each question's difficulty is based on your performance on all previous questions (in a given section).
4. You see your score immediately after you finish.
5. You take it with only a few other people, and there are a bunch of time slots available.

Any last minute advice about the GRE from current grad students?

Zotero

I (Todd) hate gathering, reading, citing, and keeping track of sources for research. In principle it is fine, but the process can be a pain because you have to find good sources, glean relevant info, remember which source had which useful bit, and then put all the citations in the paper, keeping track of numbering and bibliography formatting. One of the worst parts of high school English was putting your works cited together. Without further adieu, I introduce zotero. It makes the entire process easier. For those of you who know the feeling, go check it out and tell me what you think.

ps. I desperately avoid paying for anything on computers, so of course it's free, unlike Endnote.

Five on Friday

Todd at the keyboard

1) A while back, a friend told us about hulu.com, and we've turned into regular users. I'll let you go explore yourselves, but it's a great (legal) way to watch TV (and some movies) online. They negotiate directly with the studios to serve ad-supported video. Incidentally, they were at Carnegie Mellon a few weeks ago recruiting CS majors.

2) While surfing the net looking for I can't remember what, I happened upon a review of the Canadian drama series ReGenesis. Obviously it's not well-known in the states, so I'd never heard of it, but we gave it a try. With season one under our belts, we are very satisfied. Filmed and sequenced similarly to the forensics shows, the program follows the challenges of NORBAC (North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission). Essentially, they investigate outbreaks and attempt to prevent the spread of epidemics. I'm not much of a critic, so I won't try to write a review, but I suggest you watch the first couple episodes over at hulu. Tell us what you think.


3) Ashlee and I are terrible cat owners. We locked Titus in the clostet for all of yesterday's working hours. When I was heading to class (9:00), I grabbed my coat from our entryway closet, he jumped in, and I closed the door. I left, Ashlee never noticed, and Titus was locked away. Ashlee does recall wondering where he was later in the day, but didn't think too much of it. It wasn't until I got home at 6:30 and we heard him meowing that we finally let him out. The funny part is that he found the box of fresh cat liter, and used it. That was better than the box of blankets.

4) Pittsburgh had its first snow this week. It made me remember why Pittsburgh winters can be miserable. While we're used to colder temperatures in Wyoming, but the wet of Pittsburgh can be terrible. That being said, I love having seasons, and welcome the change of pace.

5) Happy Halloween!

Fright Night

Todd typing...

Last Friday we went to Pittsburgh's amusement park (Kennywood) to partake in their annual Phantom Fright Nights. We thank our friends Mike and Kellie for putting the trip together. They invited us to join them, Kellie's brother and our mutual friend Steve.

Ashlee and I had been to Kennywood, but had never made it to a Fright Night. We didn't know what to expect, but had heard good things. Even if the event didn't turn out great, we were happy to go spend some time out with friends.

Essentially, they try to turn the entire park into a haunted house, and I have to say they do a pretty good job. I can't say I was ever really scared, but then again, I'm not easily startled. Most impressive was the amount of work they did to transform the atmosphere. Kennywood is old-fashioned: several wooden roller coasters, carousels, boardwalks, etc. However, during this time of the year, they color the lamp posts, run smoke pumps continuously throughout the park, and play "creepy" music. Of the "monsters" who stroll around, attempting to scare unsuspecting souls, my favorite was Jason, with a real chainsaw (sans chain). He would sneak up behind the groups of high school girls and fire up his saw, launching the group into hysteria.

All in all, it was a fun night, but I definitely got more out of the rides than the frights. Oh well, I guess that comes with growing up.