What in the hill is going on?

We have been in Philadelphia for almost on a month and I'm finally getting used to walking down and up our 11% grade hill to the train station each day (that's actually a lie but it's what I tell myself). I'm getting used to opening a cookbook and trying to extend my repertoire of entrees past chicken-alfredo pasta, plain chicken with ketchup(or BBQ sauce) and frozen pizzas. I'm getting used to walking past a long line of "customers" checking in for their parole at the court house and then patients loitering in front of a mental retardation clinic on my way to school each day. I'm getting used to going to my studio every day hoping to generate and idea out of nothing and create enough artwork to impress my professors at weekly critiques. I am not however, getting used to life WITHOUT A DISHWASHER! Seriously. Sometimes I think our sink grows dishes when we aren't looking. They never go away. But I guess in the scheme of things its really not that bad and I shouldn't complain.

So. Red Bull Soap Box Derby went out with a bang this weekend, literally, Tropical Storm Hanna showed up for the event. Fortunately for Gregg and I the event took place in our front yard and we could watch from the window as 35+ different teams threw themselves down the steepest hill in Philadelphia, aka the same 11% grade hill that I walk up and down each day. To "protect" the teams' riders Red Bull put hay bails up and down both sides of the street to "cushion" and impact should a team lose control and slide to their doom. I think by some miracle most of the teams made it down relatively unharmed. I say most because at one point in the race a team member was carried up the hill bleeding on a stretcher. It was disturbing to say the least. By 4 o'clock the event was over and 1,000 sopping wet die hard soap box derby fans headed home. That was the Red Bull soap box derby. I will be holding my breath until the next one. We may post some pictures that we took from our windows.
The pictures were taken from our apt window.

Art school is going really well so far. I am quickly getting used to having my own studio and loving it at the same time. This semester I am enrolled in an MFA Drawing and Painting class, a figure modeling class, a seminar with the 16 other students in my program and have weekly individual critiques with professors. I spend most of last week being intimidated but I am off to a great start this week and am really excited for this year. It's funny going to a school where the "campus" is an 11-story building with four elevators and everyone I see is an art student. I'll try to post pictures of some of my artwork as it gets created, I'm always up to input, ideas or title suggestions. Hope everyone is doing well.

Libby