MUST DEFEAT THE G.R.E.

Right now Jamie is across town taking the G.R.E. It's only been like 45 minutes since he's left and I don't know what to do with myself... we have literally been under the same roof for the last two months. I can't remember the last time we were more than 200 feet away from each other, haha. It is very strange... But I have the internet to keep me occupied (and some other stuff I should be doing).

The Math Subject G.R.E. (which Jamie is currently taking) is an evil monstrosity of a test that has kicked many a mathematician in the butt. It has quite a reputation. Jamie has taken it before so he knows what to expect, and he has been studying like a beast! It's hard for me to encourage him because I don't know anything about math so he doesn't really believe me when I tell him he's the best. =P But I really do think his hard work will pay off.

In the back of my mind I am constantly dreaming of the future, counting down the days until May when we will know for sure if we're in or if we're out. I sincerely hope and pray that it's the former, and that we will be on our way to our new home in a few months. Since we are not strangers to disappointment in this regard, we have been inventing a few alternatives to the grad school path (for now... I don't think Jamie will get that out of his system for a long while). The latest involves opening a Pie & Coffee Shop because Jamie has been making lots of delicious pies lately... we made an apple pie together the other day (Jamie made the crust and I made the filling) and it turned out to be quite miraculous! We ate the last of it today for breakfast. ;)

Pie!

Yesterday we got a grand historical tour of Nashville from my Uncle Bill, which was very interesting! He knows so much about everything in this town... it's crazy. My favorite story was a local legend about a girl who committed suicide by jumping into the river. The story goes that her lover brought the rock she jumped from to the cemetery and placed a lantern on it because she was afraid of the dark. He would light the lantern every night so she wouldn't be afraid. A little online research revealed the story to probably be nothing but a legend, but there is still a lot of mystery surrounding this particular grave. I think it's beautiful and I love cemeteries and tragic stories, so that was my favorite bit. =)

via

Aunt Chris has made dinner every night (and we have not been disappointed... everything is quite delicious!) and we've enjoyed hanging out with them in the evenings. Chris has lots of wisdom to share and Bill has lots of stories, so they are really fun to talk to. =)

Today I think we may splurge a little and maybe get lunch and see a movie to celebrate the G.R.E. being done (for now...). I vote Wreck-It-Ralph or Skyfall... but Sinister is also playing still in Nashville. SCARY. We shall see.

We are here today and tomorrow then we head over to Maryland for a few days!

I Declare Today a Grand Success

STOP! Are you fed up with politics? Then read no further and skip down to the cute drawing below (which I swear has no political affiliation despite the mention of tea). The least I could do is give you a chance to be spared of my ravings. ;) This was brought on by the things people have chosen to post on their facebook statuses, because that is the only contact I have with like 90% of the people in my life. =P

While many of my friends and family flooded my facebook feed with apocalyptic prophesies about MO'bama for four more years, I happily went about my business (well... I was sad that Ron Paul didn't win, but I'm also sad that I can't shape-shift into a horse, and I'm not going to let that spoil my fun). Honestly people, ya'll act like the poor man is Hitler reincarnated. I'd like to see you run the country! Actually, I take that back... that would be a disaster. ;) Seriously though, just four more years and then we get to have this big crazy party all over again. Brother against brother! Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law! Fathers against sons! O, the humanity!

What is really disappointing to me is to see what bad losers ya'll are. I get about as excited about politics as I do about sports, but people everywhere treat both of those things like God (except when our sports team loses we just hang our heads and sigh, but when our politician loses, we act like it's literally the end of the world). One thing in particular that really gets me going is when church-going, [facebook-proclaimed] Christians act like cornered animals, foaming at the mouth, full of hate and anger, and underneath the anger is nothing but fear (the Dark Side, people, we all know this!!).

Where is your faith? I exhort you, brothers and sisters, to remember who is really in charge. The things men do on earth are all under God's command. Nothing would exist, therefore nothing would come about, if God were not fully involved at every moment. He is not a passive observer. Sustain is a verb, and the Lord sustains everything. He makes the world go 'round. You would not take another breath but by His will and mercy. So... Are you going to accept that God wants Obama in office and has a good reason for it (which He may or may not divulge to us), or are you going to claim you have a better plan than the Almighty's? It is a good and beautiful thing to use your right to vote, but it is blasphemy to lose hope and spread fear and hate when the one you picked was not elected.

I would like to make one more point. Having spent the last few weeks with Conservative households and Liberal households, I would like to give you both some advice: just talk to each other and seek to understand. Stop drawing battle lines and stop making straw men out of each other. You have way more similarities than you think. Better yet, we should all register as independents and forget the damn party system altogether. HAH. That'll be the day.

Ahem... No more politics. Dang, I told myself I wouldn't get worked up on this blog... just happy reports about our happy travels, right? So back to the happy travels.

When Jamie and I weren't lamenting the human condition, we were enjoying ourselves immensely in various coffee shops, in quiet afternoons inside our warm house with rainy weather outside, and in the company of our hosts in Nashville. Yesterday I wrote that we visited the Frothy Monkey, today we walked over to "Portland Brew" (tagline: A Taste of the Northwest) which was better suited to us and our choice of occupations while at coffee shops. It was strange to have the region we're from being used as a brand in a different region, haha! Anyway, we spent about three hours there this morning, studying and drawing. I got a lot of work done on my Art-House Co-Op Sketchbook as well as a few just for fun (like the one above, which I finished off after I got home).

My Uncle Bill took Jamie and I out to Indian food (YUM!!) and then took us on a little tour of the surrounding neighborhoods. He knows a lot about the area... I look forward to the full tour of Nashville! Jamie and I spent the rest of the afternoon still studying and drawing... and we went over to the main house for dinner and conversation with my Great Aunt & Uncle.

Today was a great day. If I could repeat this day over and over again I would (minus the post-election rampage on facebook... though I guess if I did get stuck in an endless loop of this day I would quickly learn to turn off all forms of communication with the outside world). =P

Yay, Nashville! =D

Pet Post: Princess & Suzette

Uncle Grant and Aunt Jyl in Austin, TX have some awesome critters. I love tortoiseshell kitties and I am a new fan of Boxers. ;) I wanted to take both these ladies home with me!! Having pets is an added bonus to this whole vagabonding thing. I really enjoy it.

Meet Princess & Suzette!

Suzette is the tortie kitty... She is super friendly and super sweet and she loves to play. I've never met a more good-natured cat. It helps that my cousin Brooke keeps her nails trimmed, because she plays rough, and I don't think I would love her as much as I do if she had claws, haha.

Princess is their Boxer! Princess doesn't hold still much... She likes to know what's going on and she loves to be a part of the family. She has the sweetest expressions and you can always tell right away if she did something bad, haha.

She likes to snuggle by tucking her face into you, haha.

We were really blown away by the generosity and care we were given by our Austin Cole family! I hope we can go back to visit again soon. =)

Nashville is great so far! We were missing out on the fall weather in Austin (still in the 80s and humid, bleh!) and there are still some leaves on the trees up here. Definitely feels like fall! Trees are aflame and it's drizzly and cold... just the way I like it. =) We went on a run today and checked out the Frothy Monkey for some coffee and cocoa. I've been doodling and Jamie's been studying (GRE on Saturday!). Tomorrow we might go check out some of the sights, and I hope to get back into the comic stuff or have some other art to show!

We are really missing our friends and families back home... I knew I would miss home but I didn't think I'd miss familiarity so much. I can say I am a bit of a "novelty" junkie... I like to have something new and fresh to keep me occupied at all times (it's an addiction fulfilled superficially by the internet in most cases). But I've realized that true novelty or "newness" is actually not as pleasant as I thought. When the only stability you get is from one person and a car full of stuff it's a little bit disorienting, haha. I guess what I'm saying is it will be nice to settle down a bit when this grand adventure is through, and I don't think I could make this a lifestyle. I'll leave that for someone better equipped to make a life on the road. ;)