Farewell Day #1

Sorely missed:

Sneak Reviews Video Store. I don't know how I really survived before I had found this video store. They really do have everything, and with my friend Jen working the desk, it's a great place to not only find a movie I've been curious about for years, but also to have an exciting conversation. The vintage films, television shows, and queer movies have been great, and the upstairs area organized by director has also been impressive. They had _2046_ before it had even hit American theaters and they also own a copy of the Star Wars Christmas special that features Bea Arthur as a special guest. Need I say more? Here's a picture of the store dog:

Good Riddance:

The Newcomb Hall post office. Being on the academic job market means lots of postage, but I rarely was able to get something sent out of Newcomb Hall. The postage machine was always broken, the workers were sometimes busy selling girl scout cookies on the side, and the line was often very long. To top it off, it was always apparent that the people working there did not want to be there. I know service jobs suck, but these people really made it painful. I think it would have been a modern miracle if someone had cracked a smile. The other post offices in C'ville, though sometimes slow, were solid, though this one was a big disappointment.

Top ten

A few years ago, Kate Webber, a friend of mine who was departing from Charlottesville after time in university's MFA program, set about to give her fond farewell. Kate did this by assembling a top ten list that discussed the ten things she would miss about the city (and the graduate school experience) and ten things that she would not miss. I liked the format of this farewell. Since I don't have much time left in the Commonwealth, I'm going to go ahead and shamelessly copy Kate. I'll be providing one thing I'll miss and one thing I won't in each blog entry. I hope everyone out there enjoys this!

Decompressing

Well I have finally turned in the thesis after a few months of intense work. I'm surprised to be where I am, leaving the 'ville in a little over a month...It's really happening fast after what's been a really long haul here in Cville.

I've had a nice weekend doing some things that I hadn't been able to do during the work period. In the last 24 hours I have

1. Read around 180 pages in David Mitchell's novel _Cloud Atlas_...an odd combination of sci-fi, Borges, and Joyce that I'd recommend to just about everyone who's willing to, well, pick up a novel.

2. Watched Douglas Sirk's _Written on the Wind_. After toiling for days over melodrama, it was fun to just watch one...especially one involving Rock Hudson.

3. Watching two episodes of Boston Legal while drinking Hoegarden. Shatner shooting a homeless man with a paintball gun was certainly worthwhile.

Tonight, Flapjack and I celebrate six months of goodness...I don't know what we're doing yet, but it should be memorable. It may even involve _Thoroughly Modern Milly_ on DVD.