Kayleighcology: The 2008 - 2009 School Year in One Blog!

Hello out there all my fine people! It has been approximately forever since I last wrote on this blog to update all my beloveds (and anyone else out there on the interwebz) about my super exciting life as a graduate student! Well, let me get you up-to-date, and then I have an awesome announcement about the future of this blog (and why I hope to update it more often)....

In order to keep this interesting, I shall utilize the minimalist formatting of "bullets"

September 2008

Matthew came down for my birthday, and what a birthday was had

birthday cupcake and coffee-- for breakfast

I came up to see the New York Football JETS play an awesome game, back before the horror that was the 2008 season truly began.

I looked longingly into Matt's eyes, knowing this he was really going through with this whole 'grad school in England' thing:

October 2008

The awesomeness of the Jets continued somewhat unscathed

I adopted the cutest kitten ever: Miss Annabel Somers, also called Banabel, Banana, Nanner, Nan, Nannerpuss, and the ever-popular "GET OUT OF THE DRESSER"

Halloween came and went-- I actually spent that night watching Goosebumps, building an IKEA dresser, and having a glass of wine. Needless to say, it was lovely.

November 2008

I saw a really awesome Decemberists show with Jenna, Jordan, and Marlie. I believe I touched Colin again, which made my oh-so-schoolgirl heart cheer with joy. However, no pictures were to be had due to... us being lame and forgetting our cameras. Also, Jenna and Marlie were found to be very poor at following directions and/or common sense. This was not surprising.
Thanksgiving! It was awesome! We ate food! It was awesome!
I'm sure something else important happened... What was it... Oh yeah! GOBAMA!!!! I should really type something more thoughtful or thought-provoking, but basically I was just really happy. And still am.

December 2008

December was hectic, and not just due to finals (all A's, yay me!) and traveling up and down the eastern seaboard.
I also got to see my mother, my baby nephew: Chris, and my nephew's lovely parents (also known as my sister, Antonia, and my brother-in-law, Mark... but let's stay focused on the cute bundle of joy, shall we?)

proud new grandmother and baby

proud new aunty and baby

proud new family with baby (please note Mark's awesome shirt: "The angels have the phone box"-- if you don't know what this is from, your life is sad)

proud new Jets fan...

Plus I had about 8 Christmases-- one with Mum, Antonia, Mark, and Chris; one with Dad, Marlie, and Jordan; one with Matt's close family; and multiple with Matt's extended family.
Matt's family was especially wonderful and inviting and gave me a chance to see Matt at his best:

January 2009

Back to the grind! Three new classes: Biogeochemistry (the science of the entire world in tiny little bits of awesome), Wetlands and Stream Restoration Ecology (all the details of my research), and Spatial Analysis (awesome statistics that could blow your mind)
I also got to TA an Intro Environmental course with a ton of wonderful undergrads and a semi-deity of ecology and nicest man ever, Norm Christensen
Plus I re-potted my sweet plants

February 2009

Matt and my's TWO year anniversary, spent far apart but in love nonetheless
Continued the grinding

March 2009

We had a gorgeous, and rare snow day down here in NC

It was also Jenna's birthday, AND Marlie applied for (and got, of course!) the Humanities Scholarship at UMBC

Jenna, current Humanities Scholar

Marlie, future Humanities Scholar
We are a serious bunch.

That strange man, Matt, showed up again. We had an epic Baltimore and Cumberland tour of awesome.
A high point was seeing "Tis a Pity She's A Whore" at Center Stage which was so fantastic, and we got to go with Los Humanitios

April 2009

Guglhupf, a fantastic bakery in Durham, makes bunnies for Easter WITH SUGAR BUTTS. To be honest, the bunny didn't impress me too much (unlike most of their pastries) but was worth it for the cute-factor

Got to see the FANTASTIC AND ORGASMIC (if you don't know who he is, check him out! for your own sake!) Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 in Carrboro, an area that requires more inspection
That Matt person showed up AGAIN. This time at my house in Durham.

finally fulfilling one of the promises our relationship is based on, Matt made me an Epic Cheese Plate that I could eat every day (and did for about a week)

We also ate multiple awesome meals and went to a few fun bars
I ate in the same room as Robert Redford and NEARLY got my pic with him
I went to Ben and Jerry's for Free Cone Day and got a card for one year's worth of 10% off at B&J's
Attended 3 or 4 end of year / beginning of summer parties that were all fantastic

May 2009

I continued the epic end-of-year party crawl

With the beginning of summer, I've been able to bike more regularly and go to the famous Durham Farmer's Market, which consists of everything good in the world, including the Scene of the Crime Rovers by far one of the coolest bands ever.