WHOOO-HOOO!!!

Last assignment of the semester is DONE! I am so proud of myself that I am concerned it will seep into other aspects of my life and I'll start requiring that people refer to me as "Her Most Awesomeness." But, for today, anyway, I am just thrilled that I have completed my first two classes, and did pretty darn well, if I must say. So my last assignment was to make a webpage with all of the things I have done during the course of my one class (a portfolio of my assignments for LIS2600- Introduction to Information Technologies) and I know it my be boring to most of you, but for those of you that want to know what I've been doing all summer- I thought I would put it here. Be amazed!!

Why, Blogspot, Why?

Ever since I returned to Doha, every time I go to my blog page (but before I sign in) all of the Blogspot tabs at the top of the page are in Arabic. So I hit the
and after that its all in English. I know, I know, one or two mouse-clicks is not really something I should be complaining about, but its still frustrating.
I am still finishing up the last assignment for 2600, but the end is not just in sight, its an arms-length away. Too bad my plan to celebrate pool-side has been thwarted by a sand storm... Maybe tomorrow. And good news for the folks back home: once I am done with school-work blog stuff I can start serious work on cute-photos-of-Henry blog stuff!

Copyright Law is Hard

Reading all this copyright material and writing the final paper for my Intro Class just reminds my why I'm soooo glad I'm not in Law school. (among many other reasons) It's convoluted. It's complicated. It is at times VERY counter-intuitive. And even the experts don't know everything there is to know about it. This is NOT my favorite section (maybe that's why they put it last) and I will be glad when I don't have to read about it anymore.

Despite how important it is to my profession and consumers as a whole...

I blame Mickey Mouse.

Semester 1- almost over

I was just talking to family on Skype and I realized that my first semester of Graduate school is almost over. Whoo-Hoo! I really enjoyed this semester. I really enjoy the program and everything I have learned so far, despite (or in part- because of ) how much work its required. I know I should be updating the blog a bit more, but I really am glad I started one, and I am sure I'll keep up with it if for no other reason than to post photos of my son. But I can't wait for the end of term so I can go back to reading for fun. I have just barely had time to read everything I need to for class and NO free time to read so that is what the month of August is going to be about. I already have my first book picked out and sitting next to the bed. Gore Vidal's The Smithsonian Institution: A Novel. I book that I have had for a while now- I think I got it at one of those BIG used book sales they used to have in the mall or in State College, at the Agricultural Stadium/Barn.

Jet Lag is a cruel mistress...

I am home!
Whoo- hoo!
The flight went better than expected, despite the minor detour to New Orleans on the Pittsburgh to Houston trip. (Thunderstorms. Won't have any of that in Doha!) But the 17hour flight from Houston to Doha was great. Henry & I got comfy, had dinner and then we both slept for 9 hours! I could not ask for a better son. :) Then we had breakfast and were left with only 2 hours to kill before landing. Even immigration was a snap. If only I could say the same for the jet lag... Wikipedia does not do justice to what I have felt the last 48+ hours. I will not go into details other than to say I am showing all five of the symptoms listed on that site and then some.
My husband is a saint for still being happy that I am here.
Henry is doing OK, but not sleeping normally, yet.

I ♥ Harry Potter

I leave for home (Doha) in a day and while I am anxious to get there, I will miss many things about the States. Some are really obvious:
-Family
-Friends
-Pork (Bacon, chops, HAM)
-Readily available alcohol
-Books!
But the ones that are not so obvious include, but are not limited to:
-huge #'s of choice @ stores
-yarn
-Movie Theaters
Let me explain the last one, because they DO have movie theaters in Doha, but we don't go. Because there are limits to what the country will allow when it comes to Western influence- the movies are cut/censored. But you can never know how badly something has been changed until you see a US copy it's really not worth it (to me) to see it in an unintended form. Especially when I am seeing something for the 1st time and am therefore in an impressionable state. Especially when it is something I REALLY want to see.
Like Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.
I got to see it w/ my sister and all I can say is if I had done nothing else on the trip, but see this I think it would have been worth it.
Go. See. It.

This annoys me:

I have enjoyed my time in PA, but I am ready to be back in the Middle East. I'm so sick of people assuming that
a) I am crazy for living there
b) I am not there by choice
c) my husband is somehow affiliated with the military
because it COULDN"T be
d) helping people receive an education from one of the best engineering schools in the U.S.

Why do we assume that the only reason anyone needs to be in the Middle East is for military purposes? It shows a real ignorance on our part to only see it as a place to occupy rather than a place to live. If I said I lived in Ireland no one would look at me like I was insane- they would think it was cool. And while it is not cool (temp.-wise) in the desert that is Qatar, its a great place to experience for awhile. I am so glad I have the opportunity to experience something outside of the comfort zone that was Eastern U.S.A.
Here is some info about Education City

While I was reading...

While I was reading Everything is Miscellaneous for class it had a reference to a site for cataloging your personal book collection call LibraryThing. Truly a horrible name, but I have a personal library of over 1200 books and my organization method consists of an Excel Spreadsheet. Needless to say I was interested. I created an account and added one book- both tasks were very easy. I will have to see how it fairs after I have added a 100 or so. I have head of other programs that can catalog for you, but this is the first website that I have ever heard referenced.

Independence Day in the capital (of P.A.)

We had fun. We played. I took photos. Some of us got injured and got big Jesus Band Aids for our trouble...

We went to an old fashion Toy Store in Hummlestown. Also I got to go to not one, but two yarn stores. ( I LOVE yarn•love)We went to City Island and the park. Plus we went to Spiral Path Farms which was so great, its one of the things I miss most about PA and the U.S.- farms! And with the mint we snipped fresh from the garden, we had FANTASTIC Mojitos! Another thing I miss- GOOD RUM! So thanks Nat- we had a wonderful time!