Falls of the Ohio

Yesterday, Yale Alum and UofL professor John Hale took us to the Falls of the Ohio. Though some people were expecting a gorgeous waterfall like Niagra Falls, the Falls of the Ohio are rather less scenic, rather less touristy, and rather more important. The falls are the only point on the entire length of the Ohio that isn't navigable, and so ships had to portage around it (before they built a big canal there in the 19th century). So three towns grew up on each side of the river (on above, one at, and one below the falls themselves). The three in Indiana stayed three cities, while Louisville grew together after the canal was built to become the major city it is today.
Geologically, archaeologically, and anthropologically speaking, the Falls are pretty darn cool. The rock is all young limestone, which was a coral bed in the shallow, equatorial sea that most of the heartland was before continental drift went into high gear. So, we found a lot of neat coral and other marine fossils there, and a ton of species have been identified from those rocks.
It was a cool perspective; the geological and ancient history of the land we've been living on. As we're all looking back on the Louisville experience, it was a nice (if slightly corny) way to look way, way, way back into the Jurassic.

Haiku

coughcough

Cop Brutality
Kill the calf and eat it all
BUTTERMILK RANCH LAUGH

A composition by Andy Blieden, my...um..."adult" mentor

-cy

A Reflection on Louisville

If you see an out-of-service bus in NYC, the implication is "Out of Service, Screw You".
If you see an out-of-service bus in Chicago, the implication is "Out of Serivice. Oh Well."
And when you see an out-of-service bus in Louisville, it says "Out of Service. Sorry!"

How To Rediscover My Southern Accent

Drink three glasses of white wine, add a southern man or two with a thick accent, and stir. I was laying it on pretty thick tonight, buddy.

48 Hours

Friday, July 25th
4:30 - duck out of work early (Shhhhh!!!)
5:45 - leave for camping trip
6:45 - REALLY leave for camping trip
8:00 (now in Central Time) - arrive at campsite
9:00 - finish pitching tents (and a tarp lean-to for Nick, Becca, and myself because there weren't enough tents for everyone)
9:01-1:00 am - (s'mores + ghost stories + bonding) x a helluva lot of booze

Saturday, July 26th
1:01 - bedtime underneath tarp because it's starting to rain
1:02 - Me: "I feel the rain hitting the bottom of my sleeping bag."
Becca: "Curl up in the fetal position."
1:04 - Nick: "I can feel some drops on my face."
*Commence HEAVY downpour*
1:05 - Becca: "OH MY GOD! THERE'S A HUGE HOLE IN THE TARP! ABANDON SHIP - GO GO GO!!"
*Commence scrambling out of the tarp - Nick without pants on - and running through the mud field to other tents*
1:07 - scrambled into tent with Becca, Ben, and Heather.
1:08 - Me: "Where's Nick?"
Becca: "He's gone - forget him."
1:10 - Me: "Wait...is this tent waterproof?"
*Commence freaking out because water is seeping into the tent from all sides, pooling on the ground. Nick can be heard in the distance pleading to be let into tents that have no more room*
1:11-1:40 - wait in the doomed tent, waiting for the rain to subside
1:41 - GO GO GO! Sprint out of the tent, through muddied fields and to the parked cars
1:45 - 8:00 - "sleep" in uncomfortable (but dry) backseat. Becca is in another car. Nick's whereabouts are unknown.
8:01 - awake to light rain and absolutely soaked camping ground. All tents (borrowed) are soaked through, sleeping bags saturated, people drenched to the bone. Cleaning up the mess is fun. Nick is found in another car (alone), but the windows are all steamed up...
9:30 - 12:30 pm - 3-hour Mammoth Cave tour with only handheld lanterns for light (read: complete awesomeness)
1:00 - stop at Big Mike's Rock Shop (note: the road leading up to Mammoth Cave has the most impressive collection of absolutely crappy tourist shops ever known to man. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to stop by Knife & Gift Shop or The Haunted Maze)
4:30 - 6:00 - arrive home, spread everything out on grass to dry, shower
6:01 - 8:00 - dinner
8:01 - leave restaurant
8:20 - pull over to discover a flat tire
8:21 - 9:15 - hilarious attempt to fix a flat tire with Nick, Emma, and Katie trying to find a car jack (the fifth house down the street had one). We discover that Diane Sawyer from Good Morning America lives on the street.
10:00-11:15 - drinking and beer pong with the Teach Kentucky peeps
11:30 - dress-up at the dorm for the midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Note: Chris in a form-fitting dress and pink dog collar is an image I do not wish upon my worse enemies.

Sunday, July 27th
12:00 am - discover that the showing is sold out. People decide to go rent a movie (which apparently was unsuccessful). I decide to stay with Becca, KB, and Matt (none in drag) to watch Reservoir Dogs.
1:45- movie ends, lights turn on, everyone sees that I am in a tiny miniskirt. Leave very, very awkwardly.
2:00-3:30 - poker in my underwear. Chris still has his eye makeup on.
10:30-12 pm - fix Chris' flat tire with "SLIME." Don't ask.
2:00-5:00 - Louisville Zoo!!! I got to see penguins. Becca got attacked by a bird.

My Girl?

I was on the phone with dear old Dad, and he asked about my girlfriend...from Chicago...yeah, oops. I told him that Katie was a good friend and not really my type...I left out details.

-cy

Life Decisions

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple days but got caught up in the madness of planning the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass closing luncheon. But now that that is over I can write about some of the plans I've begun to make for the rest of my life.

At the beginning of this summer, I had no idea what I wanted to do long-term with my life. I was pretty sure I wanted to do Teach For America, truthfully in part because then I could delay for another two years finding a career for myself. However, as I've come to the realization that I am a senior and don't have a lot more time left before I have to enter the "real world," I knew that I would have to come up with a plan for at least the next couple years after graduation. I'm not exactly a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal, and I just can't allow myself to leave my future up to the hands of fate. So basically this has been a summer of introspection for me in trying to determine where I want the path of my life to take me.

Then I checked out a John Grisham book from the library. Stupid me, I had forgotten that every time I read Grisham it always makes me want to be a lawyer, and here I find myself reading him just at the time when I'm trying to figure out my future. So a few days later when I drove my friend Matt to the bookstore to buy a GRE prep book, and I tried to determine whether I should buy an LSAT or GRE book or neither, I couldn't stop myself from buying Kaplan's LSAT prep book. I still hadn't decided whether or not I would take the test or if I even wanted to go to law school, but I figured it couldn't hurt to do a little preparation just in case. Plus many days I didn't have anything to do at work, so this was just as good a way to spend a day as any other.

I began to do a little studying during work. Read a chapter here, do some sample problems there. Then last Saturday I took a full length practice test for the first time. I absconded to the Bellarmine library and made myself do the whole damn thing. When I calculated my scores, I pleasantly discovered that I had done pretty well, especially considering that it was my first time taking the full length test.

Armed with the knowledge that I could do well on this test and several experiences from this summer confirming my hunch that the legal profession could be the one for me (meeting with judges, etc.), I registered on Tuesday to take the LSAT in February. Here follows my tentative life plan for the next five years:

Right after graduation: do TFA, Mississippi Teacher Corps, or Yale Admissions Office for two years. This plan is still hazy, and depends quite a bit on whether I'd be hired by any of these entities. Also, after working for Teach Kentucky I have my doubts as to how effective two-year teaching programs like TFA and MTC are, so I'm going to have to talk to some people about that.

After two-year hiatus from higher education: go to law school. Where? For what? I don't quite know yet. TBD.

After law school: who knows? But I am starting to consider JAG - the military's law branch. This is definitely still in the tentative phase, but I do come from a fairly military family (sister graduates from pilot training in three weeks!), so it wouldn't be unheard of for me to join the service. I just have to decide whether or not that's the path would be right for me.

Obviously, I don't quite have all the stops on my life journey completely mapped out yet, but I do have an outline, and for that reason I consider this summer a success. And now I can have a semblance of an answer when people ask me what I want to do after graduation, which makes me breathe a lot easier.

Whew, that was a long post.

Saying goodbye, a bit early

Our big closing luncheon was yesterday. Poor Becca got pretty stressed out about it, but it all went quite well! It's just sort of strange to think that a) we're 9/10 weeks done, and b) we still have a week left, even after our closing luncheon.
Our skits and such went over pretty well, and they found our sarcastic humor at least amusing. Joe dressed up as Rowan, and Becca presented Ann with flowers and Rowan with a watermelon.
Recently, I've realized how much of a support network I have, both here in Louisville as well as more generally. (Thanks to all of you-- it helps a lot more than you might suspect.) And between the closing luncheon and the sudden need for (and now, reflection on) my support network, I really appreciate how many people were willing to step up for me personally, professionally, and socially. Everyone in the Bulldogs world puts so much effort into making us feel at home here, and giving us meaningful (well, sometimes) work. And for all of you who sent me encouraging messages when I needed them, please know that I really appreciate them. I thank my lucky stars that I have such good friends, family, mentors, etc.

Frickled Pickles

The food at Genny's Diner isn't what you could call, say, 'life-prolonging,' but the burgers are pretty damn good, and the fried pickle chips ("Frickled Pickles") are a true Southern experience.

-cy

Another fun quote

Sister: Now that Batman is out, everyone is getting excited for Clone Wars.
Mom: Colon Wars? What's that?
Me: Oh, god, I don't think anyone would want to see "Colon Wars"! Either the body part or the punctuation!
Sister: Well, Brian might... he can fart on command.

Such sophisticated humor. Heehee.

A Moment of Silence

For the over 400 innocent victims of pollution, global warming, and commercial fishing. May you rest in peace, noble creatures.

Amen.

Campout at Blackacre

Saturday night the group went on a "full moon hike and campout" at Blackacre Nature Conservancy. Although it turned out to be a lot of fun, the official events were a bit lamer than they sounded in the description. The "full moon hike" took place at about 9:30, so it was barely dark, and we sure didn't see the moon. We also walked the "mile-long trail" in about 20 minutes on this path that had little to no change in elevation, so it wasn't quite what we were expecting out of this hike. As for the campout part - well, let's just say we weren't roughing it. We slept on the floor of the educational building out there, and we even had clean composting toilets! So no peeing in the bushes for us.

However, despite the lameness of the hike and our "camping" situation, it turned out to be a really fun night. This was one of the first times that a significant number of the Bulldogs could spend a lot of time together without any adults being around to pester us, and it turned into a great bonding experience. A poetry reading may or may not have occurred, and it led to general merriment and much storytelling. I really wish that we could have had this or some other sort of group bonding activity earlier in the summer and that everyone could have been there (Chris and Katie had to miss along with many others, sadly). For me, I really wanted this summer to be more about expanding my friend group rather than staying exclusively within my YPMB bubble, and this provided the perfect outlet for me to get to know some other Bulldogs. I'm really glad I had such a good weekend.

In other news: Batman was amazing, and only 9 more days of work!

Triple-A All Star Game

The Triple-A All Star Game was held in Louisville this year. Like the MLB All Star Game, it pits the "all stars" of Triple-A's Pacific Coast League with those of the International League. Unlike the MLB All Star Game, it didn't go on for fifteen innings. We watched the game on TV the night before, starting around the 7th inning. By the time it ended, it was past 1:30 in the morning - but we were too invested to turn it off before that. Dara and I represented the AL (and Yankees) fans while another lame dozen or so people rooted for the NL. The game was exciting (it would've been more exciting if we didn't have to worry about work the next morning), with both sides nearly winning in extra innings (so many bases-loaded jams!) and the AL running out of pitchers (with talk of J.D. Drew and Evan Longoria volunteering to pitch in the later innings). The Triple-A game was a little less thrilling, with the game scoreless (and actionless) until the bottom of the seventh inning when the IL scored twice. The PCL managed to put 6 (!) runs in the top of the ninth and managed to stop the three run comeback of the IL in the bottom of the ninth to win 6-5.

Jon's co-worker had four tickets she wasn't going to use and gave them to Jon...who wasn't going to use them and gave them to us! And to think, Katie wanted to actually buy tickets for this game weeks ago in advance. Don't let it ever be said that winging it never got anyone anywhere in life.

More interestingly, the crowd was entertained by the antics of the "Famous San Diego Chicken,"a crowd-pleasing (though violent - he injured the PCL shortstop doing back flips, among other staged fights) mascot.

\m/
Steve

What I like about work

As I sit in the office today, I am inspired to make a list of a few of the things that I really like about working at the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. (Check us out on facebook or on myspace!) This is not meant to be exhaustive, or in any particular order.
1. The people. All the people I work with are very intelligent, very interesting, very dedicated people. And they're good to talk to, which makes the day go by a whole lot faster when they're here.
2. The environment. I don't mean the physical environment, because at least at our soon-to-be old office, there isn't much light, and the ceiling occasionally leaks gross stuff, etc. But the psychological environment is really open and relaxed, yet professional. Everyone's opinion is considered, though not all opinions are equally valid. That to me is a mark of excellence. I never have to worry about being 'combat ready' as I am when I am, for example, with my department.
3. The flexibility. People aren't so locked into their job descriptions that they won't do something because of it. Work gets spread around pretty well, and everyone pitches in, does their part, and genuinely wants to help other people.
4. Staff meetings. Wednesday, we had a brunch staff meeting (with bagels!) to celebrate the completion of a training we'd done last week. It was a new project, and it was pretty stressful to prepare everything for it. But it went really well, and at the staff meeting, we got to talk about what was good, what was bad, what was learned and how we can all apply it to work her, or anywhere. And staff meetings are usually like that, very open and productive and shockingly helpful.
5. The coffee. Enough said.

Quote of the Day

Woman: I need more boy-toys.
Man: I've got all you need.

Place: McDonalds. Unfortunately, I believe they were discussing happy meal toys but it took me a second to figure that out.

Tales from Tennessee

So, I don't want to write a long we-did-this kind of entry. But a few things:

1) We went horseback riding. Including Chris, who is ironically highly allergic to horses.













2) After riding, this exchange happened:
Becca: That horse was so fat! My hamstrings hurt.
Steve: You just have to learn to spread your legs wider.
3) Mr. Young has a nice fishing boat, and we went down to the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake and had a great day in the sun and water. This was awesome, and I haven't had that much fun in a rather long time.
4) Upon returning home, we discovered large areas of extremely impressive sunburn. My knees, Becca's ears, and Steve's entire front above the waist, which is now an impressive color. Somewhere between salmon and magenta. And the best part of that: the tan line, where his shorts blocked the sun. It looks like it was ruled on with scientific precision.
5) Old photo albums! With pictures of Chris as a really young'un. Hehehe.

More pictures can be found on facebook!

"Equus" is happening

For the past two months, I've been negotiating with Samuel French, Inc., to secure the rights to produce Peter Shaffer's "Equus" as a Sudler Fund production at Yale in mid-February. I was originally denied the rights, because there will be a first-class production in New York (i.e. on Broadway) for 22 weeks in 2008/2009 (starring Daniel Radcliffe), meaning that access to the play is not currently available to the general public and probably won't be until mid-2009.

But somehow I talked to the right person (i.e. Peter Shaffer's lawyer...I wasn't supposed to get his number, but I did...oops...), and he's helped me get special permission to produce the play.

It's happening.

If you're interested in working on the production, please contact me (christopher.m.young@yale.edu) AND my producer, Steve Lao (steven.lao@yale.edu). The production is planned for Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14, 2009.

Christopher Young, Director
Steven Lao, Producer

New York Times

Because of nytimes.com and lack of stuff to do at work, Steve and I have realized that we can no longer tell each other anything that we didn't already know because we have both already read it. Case in point: dancing video, chocolate chip cookies cookies, and really quite a few other things that I can't remember right now. We really should diversify our news sources so that we can talk about new topics.

Tidbits

~My office has a lease! That's pretty exciting, since we're moving on Friday.
~Moving on Friday means lots of work at the office, but unfortunately, pretty boring office-moving type work.
~I got a hair cut! Pictures to follow some time when I'm feeling more photogenic.
~We're going to Tennessee for the weekend! We're going to visit Chris' dad down there, and it's going to be crazy! Expect some new "Tales from the South" next week.

Hat

I love hats. It's a thing. I'm not sure when it started, or why, but it did, and so it is.

I've been on the hunt for a new hat for months. I retired my oldest and most beloved hat in 2007, and since then, there's been a gaping hole in my heart and an empty nob in my dresser. This was not OK.

But hats are not something to be purchased too rashly. A hat and its bearer have to connect on an emotional and spiritual level. In many respects, the hat chooses the head. Suffice it to say, it's a complicated process.

However, my search is over. Today, in an U.S. Army surplus store, I found a camo cap, made to military standard. I tried it on, and it was good, and now, it is mine.

-cy

Kitchen Duty

I have a confession to make. Last night I had kitchen duty, and I didn't do it. It was perhaps the grossest kitchen I have ever seen - black chunky stuff in the sink, food on the floor, dishes everywhere. I did not see it as reasonable to expect me to clean that up, so I didn't. I should also point out that I don't use the kitchen, don't cook, and generally try to stay as far away from it as possible. But today, somebody stormed into my room, and in not so many words demanded that I go clean it up, and I refused. Then another person sent out a bitchy email to the panlist complaining about the disgusting state of the kitchen, and named me as one of the people who should have cleaned it.

At this point, I kind of snapped and sent out a bitchy email of my own, and basically told people that they need to clean their own damn messes. Grr, I hate being angry at people, but I also hate being blamed for problems that really aren't my fault.

Stuck

I'm at home again tonight after American cancelled my flight to Louisville. It's going to be awesome when I have 6 hours of flying and layovers to get somewhere I could drive too in less than 6 hours (not counting the time today in the airport or the time tonight at home). I got routed through Raleigh-Durham tomorrow, and from there to Louisville.
And if you're interested, I've got all the details of the weekend that won't end and the awkwardness of seeing people again. Woo. On the other hand, I have some lovely new dresses, a nice hair cut, and a great family. And I don't have to/get to go to work tomorrow.

The Little Guys

There's been a bit of a shuffle at Brooklawn, and now I'm working with the group collectively known as "The Little Guys." For the most part, they're ages 6-9, stereotypically cute kids who happen to be...um, let's use disruptive. I have 10 guys in the unit (Daubert Cottage) and 9 in the classroom.

Overall, they were pretty damn good today, though one had to go into seclusion for a bit this morning and several took a time-out at some point during the day. All this happened either this morning or after school when we were in the unit, where they usually make a lot more trouble than in class; when they're in a very rigid and structured environment, they're good about staying on task, but give 'em a little leeway, and it all goes to Hell.

The most exciting moment for me was when one of the boys (who had just gotten out of time-out) decided he was pissed at another resident and started pressuring him to fight. I picked him up kicking, screaming, biting, scratching, punching, and everything in between, and basically dragged him to the time-out room. My shirt, legs, and balls took a slight beating. It was fun times.

But seriously, today was pretty fun. The Little Guys are definitely a handle. They go into crisis situations a lot more frequently and are just much more difficult to control in general, but it's really a blast. They keep you on your toes, and the day goes by so much faster. Plus, when they're on task, they're great kids, and I loved working with them.

-cy

Frustration

So tonight the plan is to have the Bulldogs watch two films made by independent local movie director Stu Pollard in the common room of our dorm, and then we'll have a Q and A session with him afterwards. Unfortunately for me, however, Mr. Pollard is being all finicky and movie director like. Screening the movies off a laptop onto a projector isn't good enough - the laptop might crash during the middle of the movie. Ok, I say to myself, why don't we hook up a dvd player to the projector, that would work, right? I talked to the IT desk at Bellarmine on Thursday, and they told me yes, that would work. I called today to set things up, and they informed me that sure, they could screen the movie with a dvd player and projector, but it wouldn't have any sound. At this point I'm beginning to panic. Luckily, the nice man at the IT desk is very helpful and friendly and recommended some classrooms on campus that would be good for a movie screening. Hopefully this will work, and my stress level can go down a little bit.

home is where the heart is...

...but that's not chicago any more. I'm just really glad this weekend is over. It's been absurdly stressful, and I'm happy to be headed back to Louisville, back to work, and I cannot wait for school to start again. The wedding is over, but I am not done freaking out about the fact that she's married. And I think I may have achieved some closure about my exes here (read: they're kind of jerks).
I did get my hair cut, and I do now own an amazingly hot dress that I'll be inventing occasions to wear for some time. Pictures to follow at some point.

Mom's Mexicana

So, I visited Mother this past weekend. All was well and good, except maybe our kitchen and dining room...um, yeah, my mom thought it would be a good idea to get more in touch with her Mexican heritage. Now, I'm not really an expert on what constitutes "Mexican heritage," but I'm pretty sure it's not limited to the peppers that now hang over that entire section of the house. Red peppers. Green peppers. Chili peppers. On the walls. On the table. On the counter and in the china cabinet...and then there's the piñata that's hanging in the our kitchen...oh Mom...

-cy

Happy Fourth!

Hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July! This was kind of a different weekend for all of us - Katie went to Chicago and Chris went to mom's in Muncie and basically no one from the Bulldogs program was in town. My parents, however, came to Louisville! They decided to drive, which my dad was pretty bummed about until he realized the drive to Louisville from Jefferson, at about 11 hours, was shorter than the drive to the other end of Texas.

I took them to do all the touristy things you have to do when you come to Louisville - we went to the Louisville Slugger Museum, checked out the bathrooms at 21C, lost money at Churchill Downs while sipping a mint julep, and watched the Louisville Bats play. We ate lots and lots of delicious foods at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, Mark's Feed Store, Fat Jimmy's, and the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. I don't think I've eaten so much food since I got here.

We also went blueberry picking in Indiana with my mentor family, which brings me to my next point - mentor families. Each Bulldog is assigned a mentor whose job is basically to just be our friend throughout the summer, and let me tell you, I won the mentor jackpot. The Pauw family is perfect. They are incredibly nice and friendly, and they have three smiling, well-behaved blond-haired and blue-eyed daughters that are absolutely gorgeous. They've been having me over to dinner once a week since we got here, and I've even been invited to the middle daughter's piano recital in two weeks. It's been really great to have a Louisville family that takes care of me while I'm here and helps me feel integrated into the community, so even when my parents aren't in town I can still feel loved.

Yay Bulldogs! Yay parents! Yay mentors! Yay Louisville! Now I just wish Katie and Chris would hurry back home...

from the mouths of babes

I'm home!! Hurray! It's great to be not-in-Louisville this weekend, woo.

Anyway, we went to see some fireworks with my young cousins. They're going into first grade in the fall! They were so excited to see me... I haven't seen them in a long time, and I can't even remember the last time I felt that popular.

Anyway, I fielded a number of interesting questions. Some were for the "genius": how do fireworks work, what is the smoke made of, etc. But two were particularly scary.

1) I was explaining that I'm almost done with college. One says, "After that, what will you do?" Another girl (not related to me) suggests that I should go to High School. But then my cousin says, "No, silly! Then she's going to get married! Right?"

2) "Are you a single mom?" I said "...no..." "Is your sister a single mom?" "...No..."
I have no idea where that one came from. But it freaks me out a little bit that 5 year old girls are asking me these questions.

Three Day Weekend! And Penguins.

Except for Chris.

I haven't been this excited since middle school. Stupid Catholic high schools with no holidays.

On an unrelated note, owners who dress dogs in sweaters should be shot. I'm conflicted about penguin owners, though. I mean, it's pretty cold in the Antarctic, right? And if you knit them yourself, it's not buying into commercialism...right?

Also, my dear friend Rita is a sweetheart that has offered to knit me something before graduation. After not being able to make up my mind and switching back and forth between banana hammocks and hobo gloves, I've finally made up my mind:

Penguin.

\m/
Steve

no address

So, my office is moving. Our move date: July 11. That is one week, two days from today. We do not have a lease yet. And much more amusingly... we no longer have an address. We'd been working on the assumption that our address was going to be 321 W. Broadway. Unfortunately, the U.S. Post Office informed us today that 321 W. Broadway does not exist, and the Metro Government of Louisville (to be posted on at some point) had changed our address. Awesome. ADDITION: Thursday, July 3, noon We almost had to scrap $300 worth of printing and $315 worth of postage because of the wrong address thing, and we almost had to start over on this horrendous mailing which has our (wrong) address at the bottom. Ye gods!

Transit

I specifically got a request from Julia to blog today, and I've been meaning to post for a few days anyway. I think I'm going to give a vent to a little frustration I have with Louisville, which is a great city in general.
However, it is a terrible city not to have a car in.
I do not have a car, and I do not want a car. I don't want to live somewhere I need to have a car, and frankly, Louisville is a terribly hard city to live in without one. Especially living where we do, on a very isolated college campus, it's incredibly hard to get to even the most basic necessities on foot, though it's much better on a bike. I don't have a bike either, though, so that doesn't help me much.
Everyone here is very dependent on their cars and reluctant to use any other way to get around. Nick has some horror stories about the general unfriendliness towards cyclists when he's riding downtown, and the roads are not built for sharing. The transit system is old, and while the routes seem quite comprehensive, they don't run very often. For example, the bus I take to work every day comes about once an hour. That's fine for getting to and from work, when you can easily leave at a scheduled time every day. It's much harder if you were relying on the bus to, for example, go to the post office or go grocery shopping.
And while it might seem corny, the car-only mentality here (and most places, really) is exactly the start of the floating blobs of fat that humans have become in Wall-e. (If you haven't seen it, go! Right now! It's amazingly good, and makes you want to hold someone's hand. And walk places so you don't turn into a floating fat blob.)

Moral of the story: cities have to change their patterns, and get smaller in terms of land area so public transit (and really all public infrastructure) is more efficient. People need to invest in that by not driving everywhere. And until then, I'm going to need to live somewhere I can get around by foot/bike/public transit.