coffee addict

You who know me well know that I love a good (or fair or mediocre) cup of coffee. Well, I am so stoked because I now have a kick ass setup at home to make my own espresso drinks. First of all, Holly got me a burr grinder that I wanted for Christmas. Then, yesterday, when we were shopping at Target, the espresso maker/regular drip coffee combo that I've been eyeing up was on sale and she made a deal with me so that I could get it. I have made myself two lattes. It's perfect. It's probably not as good as what you get at the coffee shops but for what we paid for the machine it is simply awesome. It will take a while for me to perfect the art of milk frothing and steaming but even my clumsy first attempts are delicious. I am so happy with my new coffee set up. Since the espresso machine also makes "normal" coffee, this frees up my other coffee maker so that I can take it to my UGA office. No more having to rely on my beat up but reliable portable mug nor my trusty thermos. I almost forgot, my sister also gave me a thermal carafe which I had asked for. I will post some pictures of my new sweet caffeine delivery setup soon.

asthmatic

I've had a cold for well over a week and was short of breath on and off, so I finally went to see a doctor (not mine because his office was closed this Friday although last time I checked December 29th is not a holiday) and it turns out not only do I have bronchitis but I also have asthma. I have proper meds now and can breathe quite well, thank god. I wish I'd have gone a long time ago because there's been several times when I've had a cold, or my allergies were acting up or I was exerting myself over the past year or so and I've felt short of breath, it's just that this past Friday it was so bad I finally went to see a doctor.

by the way...

Happy New Year to all!

call for posts

Apparently a blogger carnival is where a bunch of bloggers are featured on one site. If you are a Georgia blogger and are are interested in participating in one, check this out by January 4th. I submitted my recent AthensWorld post, which I cited below...

Merry Christmas

I hope all of you have a truly excellent Christmas!

another blog I may contribute to...

(Although my postings there will probably be sporadic at best...) See AthensWorld, a collaborative blog founded and administered by our friend Adrian. About a week ago I wrote a lengthy post about something I saw at the grocery store that made me think a bit about multilingualism in the U.S. You'll have to scroll down to see it: "policy debate via restroom defacement" or you can click this

A Hawaiian beer.

It was a pretty decent beer at that!

another Battle Royale

This Tuesday (19 Dec.) at the Caledonia. Be there circa 8 p.m. or be sqaure. It's another Guitar Hero II Tournament!

looking forward to relaxation and minor debauchery

Although I have yet to present my final project for Spanish Semantics and Pragmatics, and to meet with my "preceptor" to turn in copies of my students' grades, I am finished with all of the work to be prepared to do so...

Thus, in approximately four hours I will be free from the academy for a couple weeks.

"interesting..."

(local current events story here)

You know that Crosby Stills Nash & Young song where they sing "Do do do do do do do do do do do"...?

I really fuckin' hate that shit.

Knuckel Drager!

Unless I am mistaken, for the first time in my nearly five and a half years of living in Athens, a band from my adopted hometown of Madison, WI (where I graduated from college and lived 1991-2001) is playing at the 40 Watt.

Knuckel Drager is playing at the 40 Watt tomorrow night. I probably won't go because they are opening for Exene Cervenka of X fame, which will make the cover a little too steep for my wallet these days. Also, I have to proctor exams for the classes I teach from 7 to 10 p.m. After that, if everything goes my way, I'll head to the Caledonia for the Battle Royale Guitar Hero tournament.

I originally dismissed Knuckel Drager as another (boring, retro, therefore lame) surf band. For some reason, Madison Wisconsin in the mid and late 90s spawned an inordinate number of surf bands. I blame Man or Astroman. Of course MoAm was a great fucking band, but we only needed one of them.

Sometime around 1998 or 1999, Knuckel Drager won me over with their cover that fused Telstar with Don't Fear the Reaper. Listening to their tunes on their MySpace page (see above link) now, I see they have come a long way since I first heard of them about ten years ago. I have to admit, perhaps there is room in Madison (and everywhere else) for at least one more surf band. But don't the rest of youse get any funny ideas!

proof I need sleep

I swear I just inadvertantly deleted all of my UGA email.

It's the last day of classes!

Words can't express the extreme joy I feel knowing that I am (about to be) finished teaching one of my two sections this semester. The other group of students I've got this semester is pretty cool by comparison. But the former... oy vey! Good riddance!

new battle royale

On Dec 12th and 19th. Click over to sonicsnaxx for registration and info.

this is very cool

Though I suspect you all already have seen it. del.icio.us is a way to keep track of what you like to see and where you like to go on the web (think bookmarks) but to keep them all in one place and accessible no matter what computer you are on (think better than "bookmarks"). I've only now just started to use but it seems like a brilliant idea.

I promise this will be the last post on this topic for a very long time

I thought about maybe putting the letter up in my office, but since I share it with three other grad student/TAs, that would be kind of lame. I could, and probably will put it up in our home office but then only Holly and I will see it. I'm a total nerd. 'Nuff said.