Category Archives: Monterey

Antidisestablishmentarianism

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

One of the longest “words” in the English language, antidisestablishmentarianism means, more or less, that back in the day some of the British political factions didn’t want to break up with the Establishment, aka the Church of England. Oddly enough, … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, California, Catholocism, Goal setting, grammar, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, Sports, Writing | Tagged 3D pritinting, accounting, additive manufacturing, antidisestablishemntarianism, astronauts, British politics, BS (butyl stearate), Catholic Church, chemistry, Church of England, comfortable shoes, heated lumbar support, how do it know, longest word in the English dictionary, Mary Chapin Carpenter, materials science, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Postraduate School, PAN (polyacrlyonitrile), pants with pockets, Passionate Kisses, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), phase change materials, physicists, textiles | Leave a comment

Merry, Merry

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

My department chair jinxed me during finals week. He didn’t mean to. I’m sure if he was cognizant of his superpowers, he’d have magicked up a big-time scholarship donor or a higher departmental CPA exam passage rate. He wouldn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, Navy, Writing | Tagged amazon web services, Calgon take me away, California, cpa exam, exams, flooding, highland road, hurricane Ida, internet outage, Louisiana, LSU, magick, Monterey, Naval Postgraduate School, no good deed goes unpunished, NPS, wall street journal | Leave a comment

Take Five

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

This song by Dave Brubeck is on my Chillin’ playlist. It’s a jazz instrumental and at first I didn’t recognize it. When I looked at the name, I was transported back to a stuffy Unity Church sanctuary in Pacific Grove. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, gumbo, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, music, Navy, parks & recreation, weather, Writing | Tagged algae, biking, call sign, cool front, Dave Brubeck, gumbo season, heat, hiking, humidity, LSU Lakes, Monterey, naval aviator, Pacific Grove, Take Five, traffic | Leave a comment

Me, Myself, & Monterey

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Hermits are crotchety for a reason. Their interactions are limited to watering silent orchids, thwarting random ant invasions, and forcibly, but humanely, removing unwanted spiders from the lavatory. Are hermits lonely? Absolutely. Do they want company? Absolutely NOT! Imagine if … Continue reading →

Posted in California, family, Louisiana, Monterey, weather, Writing | Tagged ants, evacuees, family, fortunate, hedgehog, hurricane Ida, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, orchids, spiders | Leave a comment

Trap Day

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

To quote the wise Admiral Ackbar: Monterey slang for the “summer” months includes the terms June Gloom and Foggust. This week has been stunning on the peninsula. Bright blue skies and daytime temps in the mid-60’s. we call these kinds … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Monterey, weather, Writing | Tagged beaches, beauty, Carmel-by-the-Sea, dogwoods, fog, glorious, Monterey, mountains, roses | Leave a comment

Budget Crunch Decision Criteria

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

If I were The Decider at a university facing budget cuts and needing to trim personnel, here’s my hot take on some low-hanging fruit. 1st to go: Person(s) who have either (a) emailed the entire 752 person campus list-serv about … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, Education, karma, Monterey, Navy, Politics, Saving Money, technology | Tagged budget cuts, budget solutions, guillotine, I'm the decider, impertinent, list-serv, low-hanging fruit, mute, off with their heads, reply-all, Zoom | Leave a comment

Queen of the General Ledger

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Once upon a time, when I worked at Exchange Bank, I told my boss that I wanted to be called Queen of the General Ledger, and so he did. Not to brag, but Je suis tres avante garde. And by … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, Goal setting, Louisiana, Monterey | Tagged banking, Cashier, CFO, Elon Musk, Exchange Bank, follow me, i see the future, Master of Coin, Pandora’s box, Queen of the General Ledger, Technoking of Tesla | Leave a comment

The Weekend

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Sleeping in feels great until you discover that there is more light later in the day, which means you can see the inside of your microwave. Mine looks like the aftermath of a gremlins’ pizza party. My microwave repertoire consists … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, Politics, Writing | Tagged boiling water, Bourbon, daylight savings time, en vie, first world problems, gremlins, hot toddy, instant grits, microwave, mystery, Ole Miss, pizza party, Santa Cruz, science, silver spoon, spring cleaning, stainless steel, sterling, The Mystery Spot, time change, weekend | Leave a comment

House Arrest

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

I stared too long into the abyss… and TikTok stared back. Californians have been on house arrest for a year now, with no time off for good behavior, wildfires, or mudslides. If you’re not too depressed to get out of … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Continuouse Improvement, Monterey, parks & recreation, Writing | Tagged anxiety, beaches, bevy of quail, California Quail, covid lockdown, coyotes, deer, depression, every little bit counts, forests, good behavior, hair of the dog, house arrest, James McMurtry, mudslide, outdoors, overwhelmed, raccoons, small bites, TikTok, wildfire, wildlife | Leave a comment

Hoist With My Own Petard

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

People warned me about Monterey before I moved here. It’s cold, they said. Fantastic! I said, for I had been hot my whole life (there are numerous historical blog posts to attest to the accuracy of this statement). Oh, how … Continue reading →

Posted in Ash Wednesday, California, Continuouse Improvement, Home Improvement, karma, Monterey, Statistics, weather, Writing | Tagged Bubba Gump, cashmere sheets, cold in Monterey, Dallas, down comforter, Ice Capades, icicles, leggings, Nike shorts, regression discontinuity, Snowpacalypse 2021, summer uniform, sweaters, tank tops, Texas, The Company Store, winter | 1 Comment