Stu & Sarah's adventures in the USA

So... I passed my exams.  It's amazing how underwhelmed I was by the news, considering that 6 weeks ago the very thought of not passing them made me want to vomit.  It's a nice feeling - I can check off 2 of the 3 requirements to get my specialist qualifications "Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine":  finished a residency, passed my exams, now just need to wait to see if my paper gets published (I submitted it for publication 6 weeks ago and still haven't heard... urgh).  If I get that, then the goal of the past three years adventure will have been achieved.

Just thought you might like to know :)

15 minutes to click on a few buttons on a travelocity website... and our 4 day escape from reality was organized.  Las Vegas is the most improbable city we have visited... but a perfect vacation for 2 people who needed to sit back, relax and rejuvenate for a few days.
Ahhh....  Nothing like lying next to a pool gazing up at a clear blue sky filtered through the fronds of palm trees...

To be honest, it was quite a surprising trip: there were many things that we expected (enormous, themed hotels that varied from impressive to just plain tacky) but there were other things that you don't usually hear about - like the sensational view of the Nevada desert mountains, the fact that the streets are generally very clean and well maintained, with very pretty scenery in the gardens surrounding the hotels.  Vegas reminds me of a large spaceship, covered in hotels, that has landed in the middle of the Nevada desert.  It really seems to be quite out of place surrounding by purplish red cliffs. 

Our hotel was also a surprise - although "The Mirage" was 20 years old, it had recently been renovated, and our room was one of the best hotel rooms we've stayed in.  Considering we paid $400 per person, including airfare & 3 nights accommodation in a "deluxe room", I think we got an amazing deal!

Each morning we strolled up "the strip" to visit all the different hotels & casinos (but no, we didn't gamble a cent!); each afternoon we lazed in the shade of palm trees by the pool. I read a book on the philosophy of work, Stu read about "Moscow: 1941".   The first night we went to see Cirque de Soleil (free tickets!) the second night "Penn & Teller" (a comedy/magic act) and the third night we traveled up 108 floors to the "Top of the world restaurant" - a pricey restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere hotel (a revolving restaurant, not unlike the Sydney Tower.   We both completely forgot about all of our respective troubles for the 4 days that we were in Vegas... and came back feeling at least a year younger!  4 days was all it took to really see most of Vegas, without seeing anything we really disliked - however I would like to come back & visit the surrounding Utah and Nevada desert some other time.

For photos of our exploits... click here

Party tonight (farewell party #2)
Vegas tomorrow!
 

One more "last hurrah" in Minneapolis - a warm summer's evening outside the Guthrie Theater, watching fireworks from over the Stone Arch Bridge.   For those who have visited us, we were sitting just outside the Flour Museum (which made it sound like the fireworks were behind us, as the sound bounced off the old mill)

As we only have 1 month left in Minnesota, we're making sure that we get to do all our favourite things. A bike ride along the Mississippi Boulevard on a hot summer's night is one of my favourite parts of living in Minnesota.  Last night we rode along the river - 2.5 hours ride all up, but only 5 minutes ride from our house to the start of the boulevard.  Living here has definitely spoilt us - it's going to be hard to find a place that we like as much - a 2 minute walk to great cafes, book shops, food co-ops, a 5 minute bike ride to one of the worlds great rivers, 10 minutes walk to work, 10 minutes drive to the center of the city & great shopping, theater, galleries, 5 minutes walk to parks & libraries...

Ithaca will probably have some of these good traits, but will be such a tiny town. Never thought I'd admit it, but it's hard to say goodbye to Minnesota.

I think we have too many computers....



In this photo - 1 laptop, 1 netbook, 1 desktop & 1 ipod touch.
(and a pager and a phone)

I finish my residency on July 11.  Crazy. Life has gone so fast since starting here, I can't believe it's almost over.  I'm feeling all the mixed feelings that come with a change - I'm scared about moving onto a new job:  what are they going to think of me?  what am I going to think of them?  what am I going to do when I'm there?...  and I'm also deeply sad about leaving people who have become some of my dearest and closest friends.    As much as I never expected to say it - I'm also really sad about leaving mInnesota. We have both really grown to love living here - even during the winter ;)  It's a great city to live in, and we have grown very comfortable here.

So, at the end of July, we'll be packing up most of our belongings into a 8ft x 8ft x 9ft truck, put the rest of the belongings into our tiny little car, and head east.   Once we get to Ithaca, we've got a nice little house to move into.  After that, neither of us are really sure what we're going to do... Both of our bosses keep saying to us "we're really excited about you coming... but we're not quite sure exactly what you're going to be doing..."

Hopefully by the time we get there, they might have a slightly better idea.

Somewhere between the end of the residency and the trip to NY, I'll get my exam results.  

So... around the same time as the results are due out, we're going to Vegas!!

I've never been to Las Vegas, and I'm desperately in need of a frivolous holiday.. one that involves lazing by a pool in the sun.  3 nights in Vegas will hopefully achieve that goal :)

I'm planning to win back the cost of the trip on the poker tables...

 

Albino squirrels!

I'm back from an exhausting 1 week trip to Montreal.  Brief summary now - photos to follow:
1) Hotel was rather ordinary for $200 per night, but it served a purpose and had good-looking french room-service guys...
2) Exams were exhausting. 4 x 4 hours of exams just felt like repeated beatings.
3) The abstract presentations went well - people were very interested in my research and didn't ask any questions exposing the hideous flaws in my project
4) Montreal is very pretty, very 'european' and very unlike america.  I ate too many croissants and crepes.  Didn't have a single bad meal in the whole 8 day trip.  I'd like to go back, as I really didn't get to see much (since I was at the conference all the time)
5) We got detained in imigration, again, but this time the people were nice.
6) Ithaca is beautiful.  Reminds me of a posh version of Fern Tree Gully.  Cornell Uni is up the top of an enormous hill.  Our new house is down the bottom of it.  Not sure if we're going to be riding bikes to work... Excellent food, quite a lot of incense being burnt in the local shops.
7) Our new house is great, considering it was one of the cheaper houses and we leased it without seeing it in the flesh.  We have a garden with goldfish.
8) If you want a cheap flight from Syracuse to Minneapolis, you have to take 3 x 1 hour flights. On very very tiny planes. The flight home was awful.
9) I woke up this morning to find the horror of a house that has not been cleaned or tidied for 6 weeks, is covered with notes from frantic studying, and has 2 enormous suitcases full of washing to do...  but it is still nice to be home.
10)  I'm *really* sad about leaving Minnesota.  I don't like change.


Photos!  
First photos from Montreal - from prior to the exam, the post-exam celebrating, and then a little bit of touristing around Montreal:
www.flickr.com/photos/16193653@N00/sets/72157619466469406/

And a few photos of our new house in Ithaca:  we just have the bottom floor - upstairs is two 1 bedroom apartments.
www.flickr.com/photos/16193653@N00/sets/72157619466453476/

33C today!  Perfect weather to ride my bike to a local cafe to study... lovely!

It's Spring. Well and truly. It's been a slow transition - the 2nd week of April there was still ice around Lake Calhoun and Minnehaha falls was still partially frozen..


Finally the birds started coming back


The leaves...


And now the flowers...


And what is left of my tulip bulbs (the ones not eaten by hungry squirrels) are almost about to flower:


I'm studying for the next 4 weeks for the biggest exams I've taken in 8 years, while Stu is madly applying for grants to get money to support his next job, looking for somewhere for us to live in Ithaca and trying to avoid my madness.  Sounds terrible, but Spring is just so beautiful here in Minnesota, that it's hard to not be feeling upbeat at the moment.

I'm in a good mood today. No particular reason except for the simple pleasures of being at home with my husband on a saturday (made more precious by the fact that I'm working tomorrow), going grocery shopping, buying undies from Target and watching my bulbs growing in the back garden.

Spring is well and truly starting to get a grip on Minnesota and hope is in the air.

"Cosy" = Tiny. Really, really tiny.

"Cottage" = hasn't really got walls. Or a roof.

"Victorian" = old dump

"Utilities all included" = gas included; you still have to pay electricity($30/month), heating ($80/month), garbage removal ($500/year), parking space ($800/year)

... "Recently renovated" = BURNT DOWN LAST MONTH.


... and the search continues.

It's turning into Spring... very slowly, with a few setbacks here and there. But I think that we're done with snow, and this weekend I found 4 of my tulip bulbs starting to squeeze their way up through the thawing earth.

We've had Kathy Mac visiting the past week... who stated after 5 days that she understands why we like living here. It's nice here - and we're starting to feel a little melancholy about the prospect of moving on again soon.

I'm meant to be studying for exams, however most of my free time has been occupied by searching for an apartment in Ithaca. This has proven to be a rollercoaster ride of emotions and so far has been a fruitless search. Either the apartment is a dump, or it's too far, or it is too expensive. Or it's great, but it's already been leased. And then we start again.

Currently we're on the 'up' slope... found a few promising apartments... and I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much this time.

In addition to all this fuss and bother, we have to start applying for visas again... and, er, minor detail... but S2 hasn't actually signed anything saying that he's got a job yet.

Still.. it's spring. And that's enough to keep me in a good mood regardless of everything else going on around me.

It's the 5th of April. It is meant to be spring. Well and truly Spring. We're past the equinox. WHY IS IT STILL SNOWING???



This is the view that met us this morning when we woke up:







Ok.. Time for spring please.

I guess we're all getting a little more mortal these days..
.au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5472637

 


Such a great movie.  Highly recommended... and see it in 3D if you can!
Much better than the Watchmen...

Ok.  So the subject line isn't honest.  The movie I watched tonight was not the worst movie of all time.  But it is the movie who has failed to meet my expectations more than any other movie I have ever seen. 

I was expecting it to be great.  It was TERRIBLE.  I feel completely cheated.

To be fair, perhaps the first 1/3 was good; the second 1/3 was OK. The last 1/3 was terrible.  And wouldn't end.  It just went on & on & on...

Which movie you ask? 

I'd like to see if you can guess...

(Stu's not allowed to enter this competition)

Ok, maybe not yet... but it's 11pm right now & it's 6 degrees CELCIUS... and it's going to be 17 C tomorrow!!!  
In 7 days it will officially be the Spring Solstice... hopefully winter is over ... And it's not even April yet :)