"Albany" written by Museumchick on estrip.org

Category: albany

04/12/07 02:46 - 47ºF - ID#38860

Albany

I just got an email today from SUNY Albany. They just offered me a teaching assistantship that opened up. Three years of financial support from the department, plus my tuition is paid for. I also get health insurance. I teach a class or two a semester.

I can't believe it... I'm just shocked. I'm so excited to have the chance to get the doctorate, and to teach. I can't wait.

The hard part is going to be leaving Buffalo. I'm going to miss the city a lot, and especially miss all my friends here. That's the part that makes my heart ache. I'm 24, but I've only ever lived in Jamestown and Buffalo. I'm not leaving Buffalo till the end of the summer, though. I'm going to finish up my thesis, and work at central library for awhile.

Wow, I feel so wierd... but so happy at the same time.

james writes at 02:51:16 04/13/07 - Comment #17485: From a former Albanian:

They have an amazing food coop. Not like our fake one. You will love it.

Diners: so many diners! near washington and Lark. These are the kind of places that inspired Hopper.

Lark st: A new bar opens every month. A bar closes every month. There is a constant rotation of neat little dives. There is a wine bar in a cellar store front. It will look like a hole in the wall but their wine list is top notch, the music is great, and did I mention the wine list?

NYC and Montreal are not that far away. Stalk Leonard Cohen, I know you want to.

The museum in North Adams, MA is about 40 minutes away and is the best little MOMA you never heard of.

To get the feel for Albany, rent to movie Ironweed. Jack Nicolson, Glen Close, and Tom Waits play drunk, homeless people in Albany during the great depression. It is based off a novel of the same name by Albany's own William Kenedy. The movie is a little somber, but it is a great cultural relic in understanding Albany.

Say hello to my old home for me.

ladycroft writes at 02:35:16 04/13/07 - Comment #17478: yay- hurray for you! what i like to say to most people on an upcoming move, don't view it as leaving anything or anyone behind; view it as finding something and someone new! life is an adventure, have fun with it!

leetee writes at 01:25:29 04/13/07 - Comment #17470: Coolness. And congrats. I hope it is everything you want it to be and more! I am sure you will do well!! Don't forget to keep in touch with us here! :O)

chico writes at 10:21:01 04/12/07 - Comment #17450: Congratulations! And good luck.

I have a friend who teaches in the Political Science department at SUNY Albany -- if you like I can reach out to him for advice to someone who is moving to Albany for grad school. :)

mike writes at 07:22:49 04/12/07 - Comment #17444: Congratulations!

anne writes at 06:48:16 04/12/07 - Comment #17440: Congratulations! Albany has some nice things to offer. Try to get to the Adirondacks sometime, they are simply amazing. Not THAT close...maybe an hour and a half, two hours...but worth the trip, if you like that stuff, and even if you don't.

matthew writes at 03:58:40 04/12/07 - Comment #17426: Congrats!

carolinian writes at 03:41:46 04/12/07 - Comment #17425: Knock'em dead.

theecarey writes at 03:01:55 04/12/07 - Comment #17421: Thats seems to be an awesome deal! congrats!

and Albany is still close enough for your friends to come see you or you can venture out to B-lo whenever you have free time ;)

jason writes at 02:50:29 04/12/07 - Comment #17419: Well done, (e:Museumchick). It sounds like too good of a deal to pass up. Sounds like it leaves you pretty much able to focus on your work and your teaching.

Permalink: Albany.html
Words: 149
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: buffalo

04/10/07 06:58 - 41ºF - ID#38841

Rust Belt

Oh, I forgot to mention that I stopped into Rust Belt Books today. I had never been there before. It's really awesome! A lot of great used books at good prices. It seems to have some unique kinds of books that you wouldn't normally find elsewhere.

Permalink: Rust_Belt.html
Words: 46
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: life, work

04/10/07 06:50 - 41ºF - ID#38840

working

I went on two job interviews today, and they both went well. I was hired at the first job I went to, which was a telemarketing job. It pays decent, but not something I really want to do all that much. Still, it's good to have it as an option.

The second job interview was at central library, for a part-time assistant position. That's the job I am still waiting to hear about, and the one I hope I can get (I'm not really sure if I will be hired, though). It pays a little less than the telemarketing job, but it has more opportunities for advancement and promotion. I might be able to get promoted to work as an assistant with local history/archives. Plus, I just think it would be fun to work in the library.

Both positions would start at the beginning of May, so I am going to use the next couple of weeks to crunch down on finishing up my thesis as much as possible.

I was rejected at the doctoral program at UB. I think what I am going to do is defer admission to the SUNY Albany program for a semester or maybe a year, save up some money to live on and reapply for an assistantship, and then possibly go. Or maybe apply to UB law for next year. I'm interested a lot in different facets of activist law, as well as cultural and intellectual property law.

So that's my version of a boring update:).

Permalink: working.html
Words: 253
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: thoughts

03/30/07 01:39 - 53ºF - ID#38696

guilty

Do you ever find yourself looking up blogs of people that you've had a falling out with over the years? A kind of morbid curiousity that you can't shake, even though you feel guilty about? Even though they have made their entries public, you still feel like your intruding on something that you shouldn't read.

museumchick writes at 01:50:10 04/07/07 - Comment #17217: Thanks for everyone's imput! I really appreciate it.

mike writes at 11:34:55 03/31/07 - Comment #17012: i totally know what you mean!

carolinian writes at 11:18:12 03/30/07 - Comment #17007: I think it's probably natural to be curious about the current lives of those who've hurt you in the past. I myself frequent myspace from time to time to see what the jocks who gave me so much BS in high school are doing with their lives, and look to see how my life compares with theirs. It's that sick morbid curiousity you feel when you drive past a really awful care accident where you shouldn't look but you just want to.

And sometimes, it does seem that the people you check out are leading the perfect life, where they have the beautiful wedding and beautiful spouses and 2.5 kids. But it's also possible that the what looks like to perfection to us on the outside might be very screwed up on the inside, and eventually the messed up part of themselves that hurt us rears its ugly head in their lives. Occasionally people do change, and if they do change for the better, take comfort in the fact that in order for them to really change, at some point they had to admit to themselves that the way they treated you and others was wrong.

metalpeter writes at 06:56:42 03/30/07 - Comment #17005: Ok I'm not a shirnk but I can sometimes analyze people. I say that if you fell out with them and are looking them up then that means you still care about them. That doesn't mean you want to be buddies, lovers, friends or family again. It just means you still care about them. Now sometimes it could be that you still hate them and wish them bad things and are hoping you find that on there blog but I doubt that is the case. There is nothing wrong with reading what they write. But the question you need to answer for yourself is why are you reading it. It could be fore a number of reasons like I said maybe you do care if they are ok, or maybe you are hoping that there entire world has fallen apart. Or maybe you are considering trying to fix what ever was broken. What ever the reason it isn't bad to read there blog. I guess the after you look into your true motivations you may want to consider saying something on there blog or you may not want to.

ladycroft writes at 02:22:51 03/30/07 - Comment #17001: nope. don't feel guilty.

Permalink: guilty.html
Words: 55
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: photos

03/27/07 12:27 - 48ºF - ID#38652

spring

Permalink: spring.html
Words: 1
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: albany

03/24/07 05:07 - 47ºF - ID#38606

accepted

I was having the worst day yesterday... but I got some good news. I actually got accepted into a PhD program, at the history department at SUNY Albany. I don't think I am actually going to go there, for a number of reasons. One is that I have always loved Buffalo and the city here, and I don't really want to leave. The second reason is I really hope to get into the program at UB (it's very good), and I am still waiting to hearfrom them. Three is that I have no idea whether I will be able to get any funding for the Albany program, and there is not way I can go for a doctorate without funding. I'm just so psyched that I didn't get rejected to all three schools that I applied to. I got a rejection through email from Binghamton that was kind of nasty. So I am hoping either things will work out with UB or that I will find a good job in Buffalo, but I am glad to have a remote backup out there if all else fails.

Permalink: accepted.html
Words: 186
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/15/07 12:40 - 37ºF - ID#38472

public transportation

I wish I could come to the party on friday. I was looking at the bus schedule, and the latest bus from buffalo going closest to my place in williamsville leaves at 8:00.

I wonder if maybe there are some cab companies in williamsville. It's so annoying not having a car.

Permalink: public_transportation.html
Words: 50
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

02/20/07 11:47 - 38ºF - ID#38218

last fm

I really like lastfm. It's a little bit like Pandora in that it has the radio station format based on selections you might like, but this has some cool networking/blogging features that are unique.

What do you estrip people usually use as far as music seeking/playing programs?

Permalink: last_fm.html
Words: 49
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: life

02/02/07 02:43 - 27ºF - ID#37964

it's been awhile

It's been a long time since I last posted. Things got really hectic and I guess I just lost track of things. I wanted to go to the estrip parties that were in December, but I ended up spending both times with friends. I've been trying to catch up on reading journals here lately, though.

I moved from Elmwood to Williamsville two weeks ago. I am renting a room in a house with some people that I know. I like the place that I am living in a lot, though, I miss living in the actual city. It's easy for me to get around Williamsville and to Buffalo by day, but harder for me to get to and from the city at night (I don't own a car. There is busses at night, but only at certain times). But it's been good. It's less expensive than where I lived before, and its comfy.There is even a mini-spot coffee cafe in a grocery store a few streets away! I love cinco shakes.

I'm finished with all my master's classes, just trying to work on my thesis. Which has been a long process. I'm writing about the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003 and the recovery of the stolen art by international organizations. It's a really interesting topic that I have enjoyed reading about, but I find it hard to actually write and organize what I have researched. Its been taking me a lot longer than I anticipated.

I am applying to PHD programs in history at UB, and a couple of other places. I think it is probably a long shot because they are selective, but I thought I might as well try. It would be cool to get "paid" to go to school, definitely. Hopefully I will be able to find a job that will work out for me here in Buffalo, if that doesn't work out. I really like the area, and would prefer not to move.

I hope everything is going well for all of you!
-Jess

Permalink: it_s_been_awhile.html
Words: 340
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: news

06/04/06 07:44 - 69ºF - ID#29660

what shocks me

I found
this story online a few minutes ago. I guess after awhile, you find yourself desensitized to a lot of the violence that takes place. But this was pretty shocking to me. Sometimes you wonder what the world is coming to; but then you realize it's always been this way in some form or another.

It's interesting when I'm around people of my parents or grandparents generation and they are talking about the days when things were safer, or better for people to live in as far as violence is concerned. I'm not sure if such assumptions have a lot of veracity to them. I wonder sometimes if a heightened perception of violence is just more apparent given the increased proliferation of media sources (especially electronic and visual).

My grandparents generation, for example, is one in which millions upon millions of people died from genocide- between Hitler and Stalin. My parents generation were witness to the horrors of what went on in places like Cambodia, where a government carried out systemic violence and cultural extermination against its own people. While life in 2005 can be terrible in that people are exposed through the media to violence; it always gives the potential of making us more aware of what is going on in the world (at least in theory).