The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

This week I took a trip to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, which is about 20 blocks from my dorm.There was a concert there with a group called JazzNova, which played mostly bossa novas and other latin jazz styles. The leader, who played sax, was pretty good, and I really enjoyed his sound. The rest of the group was ok, although the rhythm section didn't really mesh time-wise. Overall, it was an enjoyable concert, especially considering it was only 5 bucks. The first hour was a concert, but after intermission it was a jam where anyone could go up and play. Unfortunately, I didn't know that, so I didn't bring my sax. But they're having another one in a month, so hopefully I make it to that one as well.Some of the pictures are kind of blurry--I think I forgot to check the camera settings. Or I could just say I wanted that "artsy" look.The only really recognizable person in the museum portion was Lionel Hampton, who I guess spent some of his childhood here. Most of the other musicians were sidemen with larger groups, and even a few with Duke Ellington
Some very old saxophones:

Elked!

First things first: a correction to my previous entry. I was informed that it's spelled djeetyet.

Now some events that happened before I got here. Well, first my car got elked. And by elked I mean, a freakin' elk was standing in the middle of the highway as I was driving from Spokane to Moscow. It was dark and as I rounded a corner at 60mph, I couldn't swerve enough to miss it. The damage:As you can see, the mirror was torn off, window smashed, and various damage to the front end and hood. Although I wasn't hurt, the animal wasn't so fortunate.

So that was the day before finals week--not the best way to start off, as you could imagine. Then the next day my roommate told me that he was moving out, even though he said he'd stay through the next school year. Plus at my job (working for a professor in the soils dept) there was a deadline for a paper coming up, so I ended up working over 30 hours that week, plus 4 finals. All this less than a week before I had to leave for Bama. Fortunately, I found a roommate for next year and ended up getting an A in all my 22 credits, so I guess things worked out.

So, as you can see, coming down here and only working full time has been a bit of a relief.

On a lighter note, here's some random pictures I took around Birmingham:
I found an empty parking lot except for this, near the downtown area. I'm not sure if it was some kind of low-speed battle or a re-enactment of Tianamen Square...
I found this at a store called Magnolias, which I can only describe as a combination of Spencer's and a Hallmark store. They have everything from foofy trinkets to strange/tasteless greeting cards to fake barf.

I guess next post I'll get around to talking about what I'm actually working on here...

Caio

And so it begins

The first week here was a little hectic, but not too bad. My last final at school was at noon on Friday, and I left at 3pm for Spokane the next day, so that was kind of crazy. I left Sunday morning at 6am and three planes later I was in Birmingham.

Birmingham is actually Alabama's largest city, but it's pretty spread out--even more so than Spokane.
The dorm we're in is brand new, so new that it's not even done yet. While this is great becuase everything is new (I had to remove the matress from a plastic bag), we didn't get a fridge until Monday (a week later) and still don't have internet access. So right now I'm in the physics computer lab called "Del-Square" (which is a pun you science types may get, but not a very funny one, even by my standards).
I've begun exploring the area a little bit, and found what is to be expected down here:
Yep, the good ol' gop. It took some looking, but I finally found the Democratic offices...Besides that, I've been going to Yoga classes every week day. They have a brand new rec center next door to our dorm, and it's pretty nice--and only $40 for our 10-week stay.

Alabama!

Just when people were surprised that I'd moved to Idaho, now I've gone to Alabama.

What am I doing here? Well, it's not for the weather. Earlier this year I applied to over a dozen summer internships across the country and in Germany. Although I was also accepted to work in Germany on fuel cell materials, that program barely paid enough to cover travel expenses. So I accepted the REU program at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), which pays about $3,300 plus room and travel expenses. REU stands for "Research Experience for Undergraduates," where the National Science Foundation funds college students to gain experience doing real research during the summer.

So here I am, working in the Physics department with 13 other undergrads where, after 10 weeks, we will finish a paper and a presentation on our subjects.

I'll put whatever I think may be interesting to others on this site, including pictures and whatever else I feel like writing. A feature, however, will be what I learn about the south whilst I'm here. First up, vocabulary:

Jeetyet: Asking "Did you eat yet?"
Example: "Hey Bobby Sue, jeetyet?" "No Billy Bob, but I'm fixin' to."

And a joke I heard from a local:
"Did you hear about the new law they passed in Alabama?"
"When people get divorced, it doesn't mean they're not cousins any more."

Pictures and more later.