Get a haircut...and a real job?

Ok – so while the haircut is on its way (as all jokes aside…it is getting way too close to becoming a baby mullet), what is even more disturbing is that my school life is, slowly but surely, resembling that of a dreaded ‘job’. Having committed myself wholeheartedly over the past years to skillfully and creatively avoid any resemblance of full-time work, it has been devastating to be deceived in such a way. Through subtle and careful encouragement and planning, I have been slyly tricked into ‘working’.

First came the allocation to an office and handing over of a key, a novelty in itself and an apparently harmless gesture. Then came the suggestion that you should ensure you are seen around the department on a regular basis, a not all together inappropriate request. Then slowly the list of commitments during the week began to build, combined with a well-disguised degree of responsibility. Surely you say, I should have put all this together! But alas, blinded by the acquisition of a student card, the campus surroundings, the existence of moronic undergraduate freshman, and the ability to still purchase half your weight in vodka for $10.99, all led me to believe I was still nothing but a student.

Then the final parts of the puzzle finally fell into place. I had begun to refer to school as work…I was spending more and more time fulfilling irrelevant and unproductive commitments across the campus…and finally…the opening of my eyes to the ‘academic soap opera’ that is largely hidden from undergraduate students (and I wish continued to be hidden from graduates). Sure enough, it was all there: the necessity to deal with a varying array of stupidity on a day-to-day basis, the spending of time in meetings that could otherwise be spent doing something useful, and the bombardment of ‘department gossip’ around the water cooler, all made me certain now…that despite my most gallant efforts…I have entered the workforce.

It is a sad day, one that I am sure will be followed soon by me ‘growing up’, being ‘responsible’ and finally becoming ‘one of those people’ who never fail to get a wishful sparkle in their eye when they talk about their ‘school days’.

So as my reckless student days slowly diminish among 8am meetings, the payment of bills, and the shocking realization that plastic liquor bottles are no longer cool…the final question remains…the next time I watch Officespace…will I laugh…or will I cry?

Pictured: The psychology department at Notre Dame

Whoopie Pie...with your partner?

The mention of Midwestern American cuisine rarely elicits an excited response, however after a month here in Indiana I have been fortunate enough to come across a few diamonds in the gastronomical rough. First-class honors must go to the entertainingly labeled ‘whoopie pie’, a most excellent name for a most excellent snack. With two small rounds of chocolate cake encasing frosted cream, how can one go wrong? In second and third place are a couple of American favorites, the equally unhealthy Milk Duds and Ho-Ho’s. The mystery still remains as to how so much creativity can be involved in naming chocolate coated caramels and cream cakes, and yet so little evoked in American sitcom production.

To finish, a further nuance of living in the Midwest. Now in a town where supermarkets reserve parking spaces for expectant mothers, you quickly realize that if you are twenty-two and not married with children, then you are obviously lacking in some regard. In a region that is therefore quite used to attending high-school weddings, the term ‘partner’ carries somewhat different connotations to back in Australia. This was made evident to me a week ago when setting up a bank account. Upon referring to my ‘partner’, the employee promptly asked his name, and whether he would like to be on the account. While correcting her would have been easy, it was much more fun to create a joint account in both my name and my ‘partners’… George W and I are living the dream in Indiana...

Imposter!

So after four weeks as a ‘Graduate Student’… I am still standing and able to dress and feed myself. Despite the occasional temptation to curl up in a corner and rock back and forth, I am still actually enjoying being back at school. The novelty of having an office is still yet to wear off, and the campus seems to possess an unending array of things to do and explore. I have also been able to launch myself head long into my research here, running in and out of hospitals and cancer support groups, reading and preparing to submit my first conference abstract.

One of the stranger things I have come across however, is the general graduate belief in the ‘imposter syndrome’. This belief appears to persist throughout the four year degree, and involves the general impression that you were mistakenly admitted to the program through some bizarre clerical error. This underlying belief consequently entails the need to maintain the constant façade that you are indeed intelligent, otherwise you will be discovered and the error corrected. Exaggerations aside, this phenomenon is none-the-less observable in classes, particularly first-year graduate courses.

With students possessing a variety of learning backgrounds, there are of course theories, concepts and noteworthy figures that individual students will not have come across before. Strangely enough, should such an example of this be brought up in class, students will adopt a casual and confident demeanor, followed by a knowing glance or nod, much like this was something they had covered in grade school. As the class concludes, you will see various students hurry to the closest computer to immediately ‘Google’ the unknown term, and gain at least a rudimentary understanding to further protect against the unthinkable being found out. You mean…you don’t know everything?

Sweet Home Chicago!

After a grueling three weeks in ‘corn-field country’, and wondering if indeed a peak hour actually does exist in South Bend, we decided it was time to make our way back to the big smoke for a weekend in Chicago. Unfortunately, as we huddled in a doorway on the side of the road, we realized that after only three weeks in a smaller town, we both had adapted to the ‘slower’ life. The ‘bright lights’, busy roads and fast-paced lifestyle of the big city was all too much for us. We were tough though, and armed only with a hangover from the night before, and our trusty lonely planet guide, we set off for a day in downtown Chicago.

Naturally, as college students we had an important decision to make as the day started. We could see Chicago in style: full of limousine rides, fine-dining, shopping and helicopter rides…or…we could get down and dirty and see what the Windy City had to offer on foot (complete with an energy bar for lunch, window shopping, and I believe we may have even seen a helicopter). Being the adventurous soles that we are (get it…walking…soles…you know you want to laugh) we chose the low road…and began our day long trek through Chicago.

Graced with blue skies and sun, we walked the length of the city, from downtown to Wrigley Field, with many stops between. We stumbled upon Chicago’s yearly jazz festival, checked out the beaches along the lake, wandered through the zoo, and counted our pennies as we strolled the Magnificent Mile. It was an amazing weekend, and great way for Jen to see the city for the first time. While I can’t say we really missed the corn, it was nice to return home to our apartment, and now we will have time to prepare ourselves properly for our next adventure to the big smoke!

Chicago Pictures

Downtown Chicago
Weird Chicago
Chicago SkylineBaseball in Chicago

New Photography Website

Greetings all,

I have managed to setup a site to display photos from our past, present and future trips. Just click on the link ‘Errol J: Photography’ below and to the right, or go to http://erroljphotography.blogspot.com

I will try to keep it updated with new photos as we make our way to different parts of the area.

Swimming anyone?

The past week has also seen Jen start school and land an awesome part time job. She starts this weekend and I am sure is looking forward to having something better to do with her days than study or watch movies…hmmm…maybe not. We have also continued to explore this area, tracking down an incredible farmers market…which for the first time that I have seen actually includes the farmers at the market. All that Midwestern goodness is on sale: from corn, to home-made cookies and pie, to corn, to peaches, apples, and corn. We also tracked down a nice set of parks along the river, attended a few more parties (taking our ‘friend’ count into double digits!) and checked out the Irish pub in town. To our surprise, ‘Fiddlers’ was as close to a Melbourne pub as I have seen in America, dispensing decent beer in a uniquely offensive surrounding…beautiful!
The adventure continues this weekend with a trip to the site of the world’s largest rocking chair…and people said Indiana would be dull!

Pictured: Our ‘welcoming’ pool sign – doesn’t the mention of diarrhea make you just want to jump right in!

First day of school...

The first day of school, whether it be kindergarten or as a graduate, is in many ways the same. After making myself look nice, obtaining a packed lunch from Jennifer and briefly contemplating how nice the past few weeks of doing very little with my brain had been, I trundled off to campus. Once there, I made my way through the ‘quad’ to the psychology building, and assembled in a small room with 10 other kids who were trying to look slightly intelligent and confident of their new surroundings.

As I looked around the room at my fellow first years there was still that same level of tension and social discomfort that plagues all first meetings. The great thing about psychology courses though, is that it seems to attract the two extremes of social society. At one end of the room you have the ultra-social students, laughing and introducing themselves confidently as they discuss the various traveling or drinking escapades that brought them to South Bend over the summer. Then, like in a movie, you have the other end of the social scale, a group of recluses that the field of psychology seems to not only service professionally, but also attract to the academic world. Thus, huddled uncomfortably in the corner, attempting to make various degrees of eye contact and mimic socially acceptable greetings, are the students who will emerge from their studies to eat and occasionally sleep, while declining the majority of potential social contact.

While the work will no doubt be unending, there does appear to be a significant degree of perks to this whole graduate deal. Remembering my days as an undergraduate, it was a proud moment being handed my own office key, shown my mailbox, and the bottomless coffee pot in the lounge to aid us in our studies. The department faculty seem friendly, my advisor and lab partner are both great, and apparently the first year grads aren’t given too hard of a time in regard to work load. I am also expected to fulfill my role as a teaching assistant in a first year psych course which should be interesting…very interesting.

So this was as the first day began, and first day ended. A wealth of introductions, and an overwhelming amount of information regarding our duties as students over the next five years. While it is early days, it seems as though this program will be both interesting and exciting, in other words…vastly different to my undergraduate days.

So ladies and gentleman, I have survived my first week at my new school and am, strangely enough, looking forward to the next…if such a trend continues I am going to need glasses, a retainer, and a ‘pocket protector’.

Pictured: The ‘quad’ at Notre Dame.

Life as a temporary Hoosier...

Greetings friends and family – so another week has passed here in Northern Indiana – and we are slowly but surely making ourselves at home. With every relocation comes a host of potential pros and cons to the situation – or perhaps it is better psychologically to consider this a list of the ‘differences’ –

Pros:
No traffic - Maximum driving distance to anywhere is 10 mins in traffic
$1 movie theaters
Everything is cheaper
We can have corn whenever we want
Cheap petrol/gas

Cons:
It’s Indiana
You can’t buy alcohol on a Sunday – an atrocity and nearly reason enough to leave the state all together –
We can have corn whenever we want
Stating you have just moved to Indiana – and being constantly asked ‘Why?’
No In’n’Out – but there is a Steak’n’Shake – which just has my taste-buds rearing to go!
It’s Indiana

The past week also included my international orientation at ND – a morning full of questions, confused foreigners, and a handy list of 101 ways to get kicked out of the USA. With the majority of my immigration responsibilities now complete, I am free to enjoy all the benefits that American society has to offer…aww crap…we live in Indiana.

We also had our first Indiana ‘kegger’ – a party put on by one of the older students in my department. It turned out to be a great night, with plenty of drinks and the comforting thought that students who had lived here for nearly four years were still relatively normal. We also made our way to Lake Michigan, a thoroughly confusing site for poor Jennifer, who was not expecting to see a beach for a long long time. It was a beautiful day and the perfect way to farewell the lake before it freezes over next week…

So with preparations for school under way – and classes beginning this week – I am officially a first year again. Tomorrow we are off to school…with our sack lunches, our hair combed and sporting our favorite pair of underwear (for that extra bit of confidence) we are ready to go!

Pictured: It had to be done – a cornfield – I would like to say we had to drive a long way to take this picture…but that would be lying…this particularly attractive cornfield is all of 2 minutes away from our ‘downtown’ apartment.

And above – Lake Michigan – as close to a beach as Jennifer will be getting for awhile.

Get off my leg...

Ok so we have made it through our first week in Indiana, and what a week it has been! Our main priority was getting our apartment set up before school starts, and thus we have been in and out of more furniture stores in the past week than I ever wish to see again. We have hunted high and low for furniture that we could afford and that didn’t have an ‘interesting’ past, or smelt like curry, and have had our legs humped by almost every salesman in town – an experience that somehow leaves you feeling dirty and cheap...and has left very little desire to own a home with more than one bedroom.

But finally, with a bit of wheeling and dealing, we have managed to get most of the basics taken care of – and our apartment is now very much livable…although we now have to wait almost a week for the internet and cable tv to be connected - a fact that Jen believes excludes us from considering the apartment to be in any way livable.

So all is going very well – with our apartment coming together nicely, and Jen and I still talking to each other – it seems we have passed our first test. We now have about a week before school starts in earnest, so we are going to try and settle down and relax – with our days spent near a pool and our nights spent thinking of new corn recipes – ahh the life -

Pictured: Our apartment – complete with the cut price furniture we nearly killed ourselves finding (color still to come) and above - our first look at the Notre Dame campus.

First Impressions...

So after five days on the road, we were both pretty nervous as we drove into our apartment complex in South Bend/Mishawaka - our home for the next few years. Given the general impressions that a smaller city in Indiana evokes (mullets, cornfields…and…ahh...well), we were happy to find that our apartment lay just off a main road, with shops and a mall, and not in the middle of a field. The apartment complex is beautiful and indeed has all the things we were told about: two lakes, complete with ducks, a gazebo and a waterfall, tennis courts, basketball courts and swimming pools. As for our apartment, it turned out to be much bigger than expected, with a balcony and plenty of room for the small amount of stuff we have brought with us.

So we signed our lease, collected our keys, and moved our stuff in (about a 30 second process), and now are happily deciding where exactly to put our inflatable mattress - a tough decision when you have no other furniture to speak of. Now, after a year long application process, much preparation, and five days driving across the country, it seems all is well, and we will be happily able to carve out our own little piece of existence in northern Indiana.

While we survived the trip across the country, we are both fighting off colds and severely sleep deprived from various coughing fits throughout the night. Now armed with little sense, even less money, and two weeks before we start school, we are going to attempt to furnish our apartment…no doubt the true test of a relationship.

Pictured: The view from our balcony - and our apartment complex.

Day 6: Greeting the Fighting Irish

Well my friends and family, we are now only a few hours from reaching South Bend and our new home for the next four years. After an amazing road trip that enabled us to meet new friends and see parts of America that we had never laid eyes upon, it is now time to settle into our new apartment and city.
The adventure continues...

Pictured: The clouds form to see us out of Iowa.

Day 5: Where's my mullet?

As we passed into Iowa the scenery began to change into beautifully kept farmland, and our excitement was growing at being only a few states from our final destination. While the author Bill Bryson remarked that the only reason he was from Iowa was ‘because someone had to be’, we found the state and its main city of Des Moines to be a rather beautiful place. We managed to find a diner whose specialty was a ‘cake shake’, a beverage that enabled you to ‘have your cake and drink it too’. This awesome creation of chocolate cake churned into a vanilla shake was damn good, and may potentially represent the highlight of our time in Iowa. We continued our drive an hour past Des Moines to the college town of Iowa City, our final nightly stop and couchsurfing experience. After touring the town and campus briefly, we met our hosts, Melissa, her son Rain, and sister Christina, at what is apparently the towns premier Thai restaurant. After a beautiful meal, we settled down in a now all to familiar humidity, and enjoyed a few beers. The last leg of our journey awaited us, with our arrival in South Bend, our apartment, and our home for the next few years, only a few hours away.

Pictured: Who said Iowa didn’t have its fair share of tourist attractions? Welcome to the Largest Truck Stop in the WORLD.

Day 4: You can't stop and drop...

Despite the hype, the interstate through Nebraska lived up to all expectations, and after not moving the steering wheel in four hours, we decided that indeed this may be one of the most boring stretches of road we had seen. Luckily, we had a further couchsurfing host awaiting our arrival in Grand Island, Nebraska. Liz was from Massachusetts, and had decided to move to the middle of Nebraska in order to ‘see what it would be like to live in the middle of nowhere’. Upon seeing the town, and awarding prizes for the top three mullets we had seen, we decided that she deserved a lot more credit than one would think. After an evening of drinking and watching Arrested Development, our host proclaimed that this was about as exciting as it got on a Saturday night in Grand Island.

While we appreciated being able to visit the Las Vegas of Nebraska, it was time to move on the next morning. The trip through Grand Island was however made almost worthwhile simply due to observing one of the best signs we have seen on the trip. As we drove back to the interstate, we passed a church that proclaimed to passers by that ‘Stop, drop and roll will not work in hell’. Can you imagine the Sunday sermons?

Pictured: The Nebraskan 'ever-changing landscape' and Grand 'Las Vegas' Island

Day 3: Beef Country!

As a vegetarian, one can only feel slightly out of place when entering a state that introduces itself to travelers as ‘Beef Country’, with the temptation of Beef Jerky soaked in Jim Beam proving to be almost unbearable. With this test of my willpower complete, we set our course for the small town of Laramie, and our first couchsurfing experience. For those unfamiliar with this wonderful idea, check out the website (www.couchsurfing.com), but in brief, this site enables travelers from all over the world to stay with, and host, other travelers. We had been lucky enough to find one such host in Laramie, and after spending 6 minutes and 38 seconds seeing the town, we arrived at the home of Michelle, Joel and Jordan. After greeting the 3ft iguana in the front room we settled down for a fine night of drinking, obscene jokes, movies and our first true Midwestern cream pie. Our first couchsurfing experience was great, and with some new friends and a hangover, we climbed back in the ‘red devil’ and set course for Nebraska and for what is reputably one of the most uninteresting stretches of road in the country…

Pictured: Laramie

Day 2: Moutain views...

With neither of us having visited Salt Lake City before, and of course being exposed to the numerous Mormon jokes that any mention of Utah elicits, we weren’t sure what to expect from Salt Lake. The city turned out to be a highlight of the trip across the country, with a beautiful downtown and a city area that is surrounded by incredible mountains. After little sleep the night before, and our longest drive of the trip, we arrived exhausted at the home of Jo and Allan, our hosts for this part of the journey and a further extension of the incredibly generous Maxwell clan. Their house, perched upon the side of the mountain, provided amazing views of the city and valley below, and with their ability to make us feel at home, it was a perfect stop.

Our day in Salt Lake was spent touring the downtown area with Jo, one that is dominated by the Mormon culture and their famous Temple. Religious preferences aside, the gardens and buildings here were amazing, and the people themselves (Mormon or not) were very helpful and friendly. It must be noted however, that one of the highlights of the Mormon Temple is the ability to send Missionaries with promotional videos to visit you at your home address. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our new address in South Bend with us, but felt it would be sad to not be able to take advantage of such an offer, so should someone visit, just remember to be open minded. Next, with a little help from our hosts, we were able to locate one of the few stores in the city that sold Mormon shot glasses and hip flasks…ahhh the classic irony! Our time in Salt Lake concluded with an incredible drive into the mountains in order to reintroduce Jennifer to fresh air, and dinner with our generous hosts. After a nights rest, our adventure would continue into Wyoming and the Midwest.

Pictured: Salt Lake City from Jo and Allan's balcony.

Day 1: 'In 'N' Out' of Los Angeles

The beginning of a big trip is always an overwhelming experience, full of mixed feelings, goodbyes and as much excitement as one can muster at 6am. This one was no different. Jen carefully timed her bout of flu to coincide with the majority of the packing for our trip, and thus left me to pack our car and contemplate just how much stuff can be crammed into a four-door sedan. Having succeeded in squeezing our lives into a car, with the bonus being that there was room for us to sit, we made our way out of Los Angeles.

A departure from the west coast of America is only complete once a traveler has fulfilled one critical gastronomical task: a final meal at In-N-Out. I must admit that as far as fast food goes, this place is the best I have come across, even as a vegetarian, and the irony of a fast-food chain whose name describes not only your eating experience, but the digestive course of your food, seems only to enhance the enjoyment of the meal. It was thus with sadness that we sped away from Las Vegas, having gambled, drank and completed our final culinary mission, and set our sights on the Mormon capital of the world, Salt Lake City.

(Picture: In'N'Out...oh how you will be missed)

'Stoned' in Los Angeles

Well it has been only a week since my departure from Melbourne, and quite an adjustment it has been. The move from Melbourne's winter to a Southern Californian heat wave hit me hard, with 40 degree heat and jetlag taking its toll. Naturally, my ability to maintain a pasty white complexion, despite hours in the sun, remains unchallenged.

As the cobwebs cleared and I began to slowly adjust to the heat, the final kicker came through - a kidney stone! Needless to say, I didn't really see this one coming, and after two days of excruciating pain, it was finally time to acquaint myself with the infamous American health care system. A surprisingly pleasant experience, which didn’t require a bank loan, and with the help of Jennifer I am slowly recovering.

Now despite getting 'stoned', it has been incredible being back in LA. With final goodbyes now being said, the preparations for the trip are going into full force. Six days and counting before our road trip across America begins.

So...do you know someone?

So as our departure draws closer, the full implications of spending a week with just each other in a car is dawning on us. Consequently, we need your help. If anyone happens to know someone in any of the areas that we will be driving through who would be willing to show us around their part of the country for an afternoon, then let us know. Email me or leave a comment here, it would be much appreciated.

Road Trip 2006

Itinerary:

19^th July 06:
Fly from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

19^th July 06 – 2nd August 06:
Los Angeles stop over.

2^nd August 06 – 7^th August 06:
Drive 2000 miles from Los Angeles to South Bend, Indiana.

7^th August 06:
Arrive at Notre Dame.