The Specific Ways that Recovering from an Adult Tonsillectomy Is Miserable

I wrote this on Day 9 after the surgery. Pre-surgery, I was trying to find info on what the experience was like. Everyone said it was miserable, but couldn’t explain anything beyond that. So, yeah. Read this, and then you’ll know. The first couple of nights, there was phlegm or something in the back of

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The Beard at Max Power

This is how far it got. It looks like a professional head shot because it is (I needed one for the school website). Was taken in March I’m not sure there’s much else to say about it. It got trimmed several times before March, but I guess that’d be about a year of growing to

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Revisiting Places Where I Used to Live: Twin Falls

Driving up to Boise to see the Modest Mouse concert in September gave me keen opportunity to drive through Twin Falls, a place where I used to live. Hence the post title. I also drove through Rupert, where I lived for like a week before moving to Twin (as the locals call it). In Rupert,

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Living in Norman, Okla.: A Review

About a year ago, I had a random Mormon guy I’d never met before ask me via email about what it was like living in Norman, as he was considering a job at OU. With a few edits, this was my response. Let it serve as a warning to you all. OU OU is what I’d call a

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The Beard at Six Months

When I interviewed at Utah State back in October, it seemed like things had gone pretty well, and I was kind of confident I’d get a job offer. So I figured I could be done interviewing and, relatedly, done having to shave. This launched me on a magical journey in which I continued to not shave (or

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The Most Dangerous Thing I’ve Ever Done

Am heading back to Kauai for New Year’s this year. Was thinking about going on another ultralight flight like I did in ’08. This is the guy I took the lesson from: (source: http://beatofhawaii.com/crash-on-kauai-how-safe-are-ultralights/) And then the company he worked for back when I took the lesson is also now out of business because the owner

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Map for My Post-Dissertation Road Trip

Although it’s also sort of a during-dissertation road trip. Not pictured is the flying from San Diego to Pittsburgh and back. Long may it remain unpictured! Presumed worst parts (in chronological order): Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois OK to the Rockies I-80 across Wyo (time permitting, maybe I’ll drive the Colorado route instead) North Texas bkd

The Problems with Living in Pittsburgh

Here’s the short version: the roads, the weather, and the blue-collar mentality. That doesn’t sound so bad, right? Everywhere’s got at least three problems… Long version: As ever, I know that once I move, I’m going to eventually start thinking about how much easier life would be if I were only back in Pittsburgh. Preemptively

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My Life, 1998-2010, As Seen through My Amazon Purchases

More show, less tell: 1998 The Mac Is Not a Typewriter, Robin Williams Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis Ball Four, Jim Bouton 1999 Stats Minor League Handbook 2000, Bill James Stats Major League Handbook 2000, Bill James Best American Short Stories 1999, Amy Tan (ed.) A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin Scream, Dracula, Scream, Rocket

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The 48-State Road Trip: One Year Later

Labor day a year ago, I was waking up at 4:30 AM and heading out onto the Nina Moose River with a rented canoe, heading toward Lake Agnes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. This year on Labor Day? I’m writing blog posts in order to avoid doing readings for school. What a difference a

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