catching up

as i sifted through the endless boxes of notes and diaries of the colonial doctor victor heiser, i realized that it would be a good idea to actual write in my journal. who knows, one day someone might be interested in my random thoughts. more importantly, i could go back and remember what exactly happened in my life.

anyways, i have nothing better to do, as i'm just sitting by myself in a philadelphia hotel, watching john and kate plus 8 reruns.

so let me start with today, and then i'll slowly go backwards...and try to catch up. i really feel like this is important because 2008 has been a crazy year for me! crazy, in good ways and in bad.

so today:

i'm here in philadelphia, doing predissertation research. I luckily, got a small research grant and decided to check out the American Philosophical Society. I didn't think that I would find that much stuff, but amazingly they have a really great Philippine collection! The archivist there was really helpful and excited that I'm doing work in Philippine Studies. I know this may sound nerdy, but I was so excited when he told me about their extensive collections. Much love to the staff at the American Philosophical Society. They are so friendly and open with their sources, unlike some archives, where they can be unfriendly, unhelpful, and pretentious.

Also, being the history nerd that i am, i thought it was pretty awesome that i was doing research in the building right next to liberty hall (and the liberty bell). when i'm not so lazy, i'll post some pictures.

the only downside of my first day of research was going to the bathroom. i had to climb down these scary stairs down to the basement. although the building is refurbished, i think it's actually really quite old. as in 200 years old. so i'm sure that there were ghosts lurking around the basement.

overall, philadelphia is great! even though i'm by myself, i've been able to walk around a bit and i think it's really cute city.
and if you ever find yourself here, try this restaurant. i loved it. i've already eaten there twice. and i'll probably eat there again tomorrow. but for breakfast. i haven't tried that yet.
http://www.marathongrill.com/index2.html