7/18/10
Journaling and keeping everything written down on this trip is impossible. I hate to say it, but honestly it’s outrageously difficult. I never imagined myself so busy and so happy to be so busy on this little addi-venture. The days are slowly getting shorter but my days keep getting longer with all the things around here that I try to fit into a 24-hour period. And part, if not all of it, is a sheer bewilderment at all the things that I’ve done since getting here Tuesday night and the things I continue to do each day. I’m more sore than I could ever describe and even now I’d rather be halfway through a REM-cycle, but if I want to get all my adventures of the day written down before my battery dies I’d better stop babbling and start writing.
This morning started with a 7 am cup of tea to-go and an otter scan: no otters. Yesterday’s scan started at 6:30 (ish) and went much better with two otters seen, but I don’t let it get me down. After coming back for a bigger breakfast (slightly let down by the lack of eggs in the house but still a good bowl of life :-P), I headed out to start work on Stardust (the bigger whale-research vessel that needed washing and painting). The majority of the team except William, Bree and I (Bree is volunteer number one who showed up yesterday afternoon a day ahead of the rest) went out on drifter for the weather-permitting daily whale transect, leaving the three of us on Stardust duty. I had the awesome job last night of helping to scrape and powerwash the hull of Stardust yesterday night (God my battery’s running low already). You may think I’m being my normal sarcastic self, but really I’m completely serious about how awesome it was. I of course have never done anything remotely similar to scraping and powerwashing a boat before, and I soaked up every minute of it. Through all the foul-smell scrubbing and getting little bits of mussle/barnacle shell in my eyes and mouth, and again today getting heavy-duty copper paint in the aforementioned body parts, I had a skipper-sized smile on my face. The painting took quite a while, first with the taping along the water-line (so we wouldn’t get the environmentally UN-friendly paint in places where we didn’t need it) and then with the actual painting. We probably started that round 11 am and didn’t finish until about three. Two hours longer than expected, but the important thing was getting it done right, which I can happily say that we did.
After taking a short change break and sorting out my laundry, Bree and I headed out to check one of the two cameras that I placed yesterday morning (the one closest to camp and a short hike away). We left around the exact time that 11 of the 12 other EarthWatch volunteers showed up, so it was just a wee bit stressful finding all my gear through their crashing about, but I was definitely happy to get her and I out of the house with all that going on. We successfully checked the camera’s memory card on the field computer IN the field (awesome) to verify that the camera’s angle was set right. We adjusted it and locked it securely back to the log and made it back to the house in all under 45 minutes. From there I threw all the gear down and went through the introduction meeting/safety briefing with the volleys, after-which it was right back to the Stardust with Ty and William.
With all the paint dry she was ready to get back in the water so we stressfully went through the process of getting the wey-cable to lower her down into the little bay. Turned her around and docked her on the other side of the small dock (me trying desperately to tie three pad-buoys to the starboard side at the right length all while not falling overboard) and immediately switched over to Drifter (much smaller whaling vessel) to move her into the wey for her powerwashing (no painting thank God) and oil change. The cleaning went without a hitch but it was when we started to change the oil that things began going wrong for me and Ty. The two bolts plugging the oil tank on both motors we so badly rounded that the socket wrench wouldn’t get them off. We tried for what felt like hours trying different size sockets to no avail. Eventually we used a paper towel in a size up socket and managed to work the garbage bolts loose. Surprisngly with Huey’s tools we were able to screw the garbage bolts back on and the successfully changed the oil. I spilled a ton of old oil onto the port motor when I took the can out too slow, but it was cleaned up easy enough.
It was here where the gem of the day took place. After we got Drifter released back into the water with Huey’s help, Tyler and I took Drifter out for a ride to make sure the motors were running smoothly. As soon as we got out of eyesight of the house, Tyler didn’t even ask, just stepped away from the wheel and said, “take it”. The ten minutes that followed I’ll NEVER FORGET. It was one of the most exhilarating yet peaceful experiences I’ve ever had, having complete control over that skiff, testing her turn-radius, zig-zagging in and out, playing chicken with a local (which you NEVER do according to Ty), all the while having a perfect view of dusk over the hills and mountains of Vancouver, Flores, and Cougar Islands. The satisfaction I got from those short moments is indefinable.
Far too tired to write anymore, my shoulder’s killing me and my eyes are drooping. So until next time, smooth sailing. I know I am.
Any comfort you once took in the familiarity will be ripped to shreds as you learn to stand on your own, to delve into who you truly are and re-invent yourself into who you want to be. - Erin Stephany
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Canuck Chronicles Day 1
Best. First Day. Ever.
Woke up on a tiny island in British Columbia, Canada, this morning with the sun and a cool ocean breeze in my face and a hammock calling my name. It doesn’t sound like it, but this is all part of the job this summer. I’m interning for a professor and conducting research on river otter behavior in Ahousaht, B.C. I think I have to go ahead and say that I will probably deserve everything I get while I’m out here, good and bad, because I’ve harassed my professor to give me this research since I learned about it during May of last year.
Day one on the island was probably as action-packed as one could imagine, and it was more exciting than I ever expected. We rolled out of bed at a comfortable nine am after arriving at the island late last night, and we took our time making breakfast. We took the dime tour of our little neck of the (literally) woods from Tyler. Tyler’s a 25 yr-old smart-mouth employee of the University of Victoria Whale Research Lab, which is specifically where I’m located. After unloading the pounds and pounds of gear off our ferry last night, I first shook hands with the man after he helped our group move a multiple-hundred-pound crate off the ferry and onto the dock, and the first thing he said to me was, “Hi, I’m Tyler. Boy you all pack light, eh?” Needless to say I liked him immediately.
Back to the day. After finishing up the tour, the other two researchers with me from Redlands, Laura and Chandler who are both doing separate Grey Whale projects, and I changed into soak-able clothing and met up with another member of our jolly gang of staff, Crystal. Crystal will be my second-in command for my river-otter project, and she’s also our unofficial kayaking instructor. Our job for the morning was to learn how to successfully exit a kayak with a skirt on (kayak skirt) after the kayak has successfully capsized. We were in two-man kayaks and Crystal told us before we hit the water that our kayaks were very stable and difficult to roll. Well as anyone who knows me can guess, I took that as a challenge and managed to turn that sucker with one pull. I’ve never worn a kayak skirt before nor have I ever exited a capsized kayak, but I can confidently say from experience that it is easier than it sounds. It was a load of fun, a great way to wake up and start the day. But that wasn’t all. On our way back we were stopped by Tyler and asked to grab a 20 foot floating log and drag it across the beach, under two gangways and a pier and safely tie it to a floating wharf on the other side. Pulling your leg, you might ask? That’s exactly what I thought, but nay, he was plenty serious. So Crystal and I lashed that log to the end of the kayak and (tugboat-style) huffed and puffed and pulled that log under two gangways and a pier to the other side. To that event that I can confidently say from experience that it is not easier than it sounds. A twenty-foot long tree trunk floating in the water is still a twenty-foot long tree trunk, and it was heavy as hell to drag through the water in a kayak no less. I got my work out in for the day, but did we take a break there? Don’t count on it.
Breath, aaand….After we parked the kayaks and drained them, we walked back to the house to start lunch, but (again thanks to Tyler) had to postpone that lovely 2nd meal of the day so we could help him move another floating wharf across the beach between the dock and beach to another spot. Again, not easier than it sounds, but with two ropes attached to the far ends of the wharf, the tide coming in, and all seven of the staff working on it, we managed it fairly quickly and were able to get right back to lunch.
After lunch things slowed down. I worked on clearing the memory out of my video cameras while the others talked, read and slept. At three we congregated with Crystal again to have a go at locating one of the river otter latrine sites that she and the previous researcher had found last year. If you don’t know what a latrine site is, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to it because the tide was in and the path to it was overgrown by some very friendly thimble-berry bushes. Thimble-berry bushes are a lot like raspberry bushes except with more and bigger thorns for petting us with. We cut the hike short and decided to try again tomorrow morning. We headed back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon working on our respective projects. Crystal and I tested cameras, memory cards, and discussed logistics. It’s all the boring stuff so I’ll leave the details out.
After all the work that Tyler put us through on our first day, he came through for us at the end of it by cooking up a huge spaghetti dinner, and it was exactly what we needed.
Today was more than anything a day for living in the moment. While I stood on the dock coiling rope as we moved a floating wharf down the beach, I was happily awe-struck by the situation I successfully managed to get myself into. But I didn’t have much time to ponder my good fortune because we had to keep that floating pile of logs and nails from ramming into boats, rocks or metal gangways. I can only wait and see what six more weeks of this has in store for me.
Woke up on a tiny island in British Columbia, Canada, this morning with the sun and a cool ocean breeze in my face and a hammock calling my name. It doesn’t sound like it, but this is all part of the job this summer. I’m interning for a professor and conducting research on river otter behavior in Ahousaht, B.C. I think I have to go ahead and say that I will probably deserve everything I get while I’m out here, good and bad, because I’ve harassed my professor to give me this research since I learned about it during May of last year.
Day one on the island was probably as action-packed as one could imagine, and it was more exciting than I ever expected. We rolled out of bed at a comfortable nine am after arriving at the island late last night, and we took our time making breakfast. We took the dime tour of our little neck of the (literally) woods from Tyler. Tyler’s a 25 yr-old smart-mouth employee of the University of Victoria Whale Research Lab, which is specifically where I’m located. After unloading the pounds and pounds of gear off our ferry last night, I first shook hands with the man after he helped our group move a multiple-hundred-pound crate off the ferry and onto the dock, and the first thing he said to me was, “Hi, I’m Tyler. Boy you all pack light, eh?” Needless to say I liked him immediately.
Back to the day. After finishing up the tour, the other two researchers with me from Redlands, Laura and Chandler who are both doing separate Grey Whale projects, and I changed into soak-able clothing and met up with another member of our jolly gang of staff, Crystal. Crystal will be my second-in command for my river-otter project, and she’s also our unofficial kayaking instructor. Our job for the morning was to learn how to successfully exit a kayak with a skirt on (kayak skirt) after the kayak has successfully capsized. We were in two-man kayaks and Crystal told us before we hit the water that our kayaks were very stable and difficult to roll. Well as anyone who knows me can guess, I took that as a challenge and managed to turn that sucker with one pull. I’ve never worn a kayak skirt before nor have I ever exited a capsized kayak, but I can confidently say from experience that it is easier than it sounds. It was a load of fun, a great way to wake up and start the day. But that wasn’t all. On our way back we were stopped by Tyler and asked to grab a 20 foot floating log and drag it across the beach, under two gangways and a pier and safely tie it to a floating wharf on the other side. Pulling your leg, you might ask? That’s exactly what I thought, but nay, he was plenty serious. So Crystal and I lashed that log to the end of the kayak and (tugboat-style) huffed and puffed and pulled that log under two gangways and a pier to the other side. To that event that I can confidently say from experience that it is not easier than it sounds. A twenty-foot long tree trunk floating in the water is still a twenty-foot long tree trunk, and it was heavy as hell to drag through the water in a kayak no less. I got my work out in for the day, but did we take a break there? Don’t count on it.
Breath, aaand….After we parked the kayaks and drained them, we walked back to the house to start lunch, but (again thanks to Tyler) had to postpone that lovely 2nd meal of the day so we could help him move another floating wharf across the beach between the dock and beach to another spot. Again, not easier than it sounds, but with two ropes attached to the far ends of the wharf, the tide coming in, and all seven of the staff working on it, we managed it fairly quickly and were able to get right back to lunch.
After lunch things slowed down. I worked on clearing the memory out of my video cameras while the others talked, read and slept. At three we congregated with Crystal again to have a go at locating one of the river otter latrine sites that she and the previous researcher had found last year. If you don’t know what a latrine site is, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to it because the tide was in and the path to it was overgrown by some very friendly thimble-berry bushes. Thimble-berry bushes are a lot like raspberry bushes except with more and bigger thorns for petting us with. We cut the hike short and decided to try again tomorrow morning. We headed back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon working on our respective projects. Crystal and I tested cameras, memory cards, and discussed logistics. It’s all the boring stuff so I’ll leave the details out.
After all the work that Tyler put us through on our first day, he came through for us at the end of it by cooking up a huge spaghetti dinner, and it was exactly what we needed.
Today was more than anything a day for living in the moment. While I stood on the dock coiling rope as we moved a floating wharf down the beach, I was happily awe-struck by the situation I successfully managed to get myself into. But I didn’t have much time to ponder my good fortune because we had to keep that floating pile of logs and nails from ramming into boats, rocks or metal gangways. I can only wait and see what six more weeks of this has in store for me.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Back in Cali-land
Never before have I been so thankful for my age. Thankful that I'm still young enough and patient enough to drive from Portland, OR to Oakland, CA in one day. 650 odd miles. I won't deny I'm a little impressed with myself.
Before I left I was telling myself how much I missed California, and I'm still happy to be back, but I admit that I forgot about California traffic. In Scotland I never had to drive, and back in Oregon it was nothing like it is now. Once I hit the Bay area, I realized the return was a little bitter sweet. Yes I'm back in the land of Disney, back in the land of In-n-out, warm beaches and warmer weather... but I'm also back in the land of 6 lane freeways, carpool lanes, 80 mph traffic and drivers who can't keep a speed limit. I'd forgotten what it was like to drive here, but it all came rushing back when I began yelling at the first car that cut me off.
No doubt my frustrations will continue to rise, but I still can't deny how beautiful it is to sit here in the hills above Oakland and look out my window as I write this...before heading on the road again, this time inland to Manteca and my Uncle's family.
I miss Edinburgh (and the snowstorm that all my friends are getting to experience in full, sorry guys) but it's still good to be back.
Before I left I was telling myself how much I missed California, and I'm still happy to be back, but I admit that I forgot about California traffic. In Scotland I never had to drive, and back in Oregon it was nothing like it is now. Once I hit the Bay area, I realized the return was a little bitter sweet. Yes I'm back in the land of Disney, back in the land of In-n-out, warm beaches and warmer weather... but I'm also back in the land of 6 lane freeways, carpool lanes, 80 mph traffic and drivers who can't keep a speed limit. I'd forgotten what it was like to drive here, but it all came rushing back when I began yelling at the first car that cut me off.
No doubt my frustrations will continue to rise, but I still can't deny how beautiful it is to sit here in the hills above Oakland and look out my window as I write this...before heading on the road again, this time inland to Manteca and my Uncle's family.
I miss Edinburgh (and the snowstorm that all my friends are getting to experience in full, sorry guys) but it's still good to be back.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Moving on....
Haven't updated this in a while. Apologies for the huge gap between my last post and this where a lot of juicy goodies have taken place, not the least of which includes my coming home. I suppose my only real excuse is laziness, which I've had in abundance since getting back on U.S. soil. Though to be a little more literate, I could make the argument that this blog is all about my ADVENTURES (hence the extremely creative title) and since I've been home I've tried to keep my activity level and adventuring to a minimum. A growing boy needs his beauty rest. I can, however, happily say that I failed at that effort, for adventure (the flighty temptress that she is) managed to find me.
On a few occasions she didn't just find me, she hunted me down and reminded me who was in charge. The most memorable of these accidental undertakings was my day trip to Mt. Hood. I expected an average day on the mountain, but I should have known better. Far from anything I could expect, my friends and I snowboarded for a grand total of 3 hours, in which time I busted my rental board on something I don’t even remember hitting, but by the look of the board it must have been HUGE (that’s my sarcasm talking, in case you missed it). This is where it gets good. My friends and I haggled over the price of the repairs I’d have to pay, soon after which we found out there was a freak blizzard in Portland. We decided to head down the mountain early to miss traffic, but I had the genius idea to stop for pizza. The pizza was delicious. The snowfall got worse and of course nobody was prepared for it because our extremely reliable meteorologists had insisted (RIGHT UP UNTIL THE SNOW STARTED FALLING) that there would not be any chance of snow in the greater metropolitan area. Oops. Back to little old me and my two-girl gang of ruffians, we actually made some pretty good distance in pretty good time considering the conditions, but once we made it to Gresham (about half way through our voyage) the traffic got to be too much to handle. We ended up parking the truck in a very shady part of town next to a MAX stop (for non-Portlanders, the MAX is Portland’s Metro). A long story short: 4 hours, 5 french-speaking children, 2 meth-heads, 1 pitstop at Carls Jr. and a partridge in a pear tree later…whew…we finally made it home.
Now it’s already January, and I’m just now starting to pack up (of course) two nights before I have to drive back down to southern California and the lovely UofR. I’m finding my packing process to be surprisingly difficult. I guess over the last three months I’ve been in another country with few possessions and always movin around. It’s slowly coming back to me, but it’s a strange feeling that I can’t place or describe. I get those a lot lately. It’s like leaving home to go home, and at the same time dusting away old habits and memories so that I can reuse them. My days in Scotland had their moments and it was definitely as fast as four months could possibly fly by, but maybe the trips made an even greater impact on me than I thought. I’ve discovered that my trip has made a bigger impact on the small things, the subtleties I didn’t think about before. Things that once seemed to be absolute necessities no longer have their old values, and other things have replaced them, the term “things” being used loosely to cover anything from stupid little souvenirs to ideas about who I am.
I still don’t have much of an idea who I am, but maybe the picture isn’t quite so fuzzy anymore. Every day it feels like I’m fine-tuning so that I can see the picture a little bit better than I could the day before.
But maybe I’m being over-dramatic. Maybe I’m making too much of the fact that I’m leaving behind my copy of “Animal House” for the first time. It’s a big step to say the least, but sometimes those things just have to happen, and you gotta... move on.
;-)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
That warm, NERDY feeling.
It is BLISTERING cold outside. It's overcast outside, and weather channel says its 30 degrees, but I'd say it's colder than that. I can't believe it's NOT snowing. I just got back to my place after a solid 4 hours at the library. It's only a ten minute walk from my apartment, but my left foot is still numb from the walk back, it's so cold, and it's hard to type because my hands are still freezing.
The library was packed as usual. I can't believe I used to think it could get crowded at the Redlands library, because it's insane over here. People are practically fighting for work space, and a working wall outlet is worth more than gold at this point. I managed to find myself a desk and an outlet, but the problem is that the library is already a little cold because there's construction going on (my excuse for THEM not having a properly working heating system) and being next to the wall is even colder. If I hadn't decided to print some things off from the computer lab in the library, it would have become unbearable. Luckily the computer lab was a little warmer so once I snagged a computer I just stayed there for another two hours doing my work. Despite the cold inside and out, it was a productive afternoon. I picked up this physiology book on reserve that had been recommended to me from a classmate, and I think I'm in love with it. I was lucky to find it in the first place because it's in high demand with only two copies on reserve, and then I got even more lucky when I found out the nifty rule that if you check out a reserve book (which you can usually only have for three hours) after four pm, you get to keep it until 10:30 am the next day! JACKPOT!
But seriously, the enjoyment from this textbook is the reason for my title on this post. It's a thin textbook full of summarizations on all the main physiological components of all the systems. I couldn't believe it when I caught myself smiling while reading about the nervous system. I usually hate learning about electrical and chemical gradients in the cells, but this book made an action potential feel like a roller coaster ride! I don't know what it was, probably the word choices, like "surge" and "plummet". Whatever it was, it was refreshing, and actually put me in a good mood to study. Thank goodness for that, because this week's going to be a rough road.
Can't wait to be home though! This time next week I'll be glued to my big beige couch watching The Grinch and drinking eggnog!
The library was packed as usual. I can't believe I used to think it could get crowded at the Redlands library, because it's insane over here. People are practically fighting for work space, and a working wall outlet is worth more than gold at this point. I managed to find myself a desk and an outlet, but the problem is that the library is already a little cold because there's construction going on (my excuse for THEM not having a properly working heating system) and being next to the wall is even colder. If I hadn't decided to print some things off from the computer lab in the library, it would have become unbearable. Luckily the computer lab was a little warmer so once I snagged a computer I just stayed there for another two hours doing my work. Despite the cold inside and out, it was a productive afternoon. I picked up this physiology book on reserve that had been recommended to me from a classmate, and I think I'm in love with it. I was lucky to find it in the first place because it's in high demand with only two copies on reserve, and then I got even more lucky when I found out the nifty rule that if you check out a reserve book (which you can usually only have for three hours) after four pm, you get to keep it until 10:30 am the next day! JACKPOT!
But seriously, the enjoyment from this textbook is the reason for my title on this post. It's a thin textbook full of summarizations on all the main physiological components of all the systems. I couldn't believe it when I caught myself smiling while reading about the nervous system. I usually hate learning about electrical and chemical gradients in the cells, but this book made an action potential feel like a roller coaster ride! I don't know what it was, probably the word choices, like "surge" and "plummet". Whatever it was, it was refreshing, and actually put me in a good mood to study. Thank goodness for that, because this week's going to be a rough road.
Can't wait to be home though! This time next week I'll be glued to my big beige couch watching The Grinch and drinking eggnog!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Lost in the Fog
Today has been the first full day of fog I've seen in Edinburgh. Actually I can't remember the last time I experienced an actual foggy day anywhere. Has an interesting effect on the landscape and the thoughts that you have throughout the day. Being this close to Christmas...I don't know... I kind of like it, in a cold and eerie sort of way.
I just got back from the store, and my hands are still thawing out. The temperature is just around freezing, and the fog seems to only make the cold stick. I tried to stack up on things so that I can stay alive without going out to eat or going to the store again while I'm here, so basically food for the rest of the week. I'm waiting for the oven to heat up so I can throw a frozen pizza in there for lunch. When I mention that the food I bought will keep me alive, I didn't exactly mean it'd be a healthy diet the rest of the week, but I'm comfortable with that because it was all cheap. I did indulge in a little high-quality cocoa mix which was probably the most expensive thing I bought...I don't mess around when it comes to cocoa, as my parents know all too well.
I had my economics final today. I went right to the store after finishing it. the test was all multiple choice. Wasn't easy, but it didn't blow me out of the water either, which I'm thankful for. I was actually a little surprised because all of the microeconomics questions were taken from previous exams that had been available to us, so that was obviously the easy part since I'd worked over all the past exams. Macro was a little more challenging, but we'll see how it panned out.
I'm amazed at how quickly the days fly by. I just spoke to one of my flat mates who told me that his sleeping pattern has flopped because of finals and his work so that he can't even remember when he last saw daylight. I mean its dark until 9 am and dark again by four, it's ridiculous. But at this point it seems like everything around me, even the obscenely shorter days, just means its closer to the holidays, and it doesn't bother me all that much. Christmas lights look better in the dark anyway.
I've been stressing out trying to keep my spending down but also trying to buy christmas presents for everyone before I leave. I have to remind myself every so often that it isn't about the gifts. I guess that's a good thing because I've always been terrible when it comes to christmas shopping. I never plan it right and it always takes forever because I can never find just what I want for the people I'm buying gifts for... though most of the time I don't even know what to get, just that I can't seem to find whatever it is. Having the thoughtful touch to buy the perfect gifts for the people I care about isn't my strong suit. I should hate christmas shopping, and most of the time I do, but there's just something about it that I love when I stop to look around me. The lights, the music, doing something with the family, watching other families...it's the part of the trip that isn't spent actually buying stuff that really makes christmas shopping an enjoyable experience.
For me at least, that experience helps me get over the fact that no matter how hard I try, most of the gifts I buy will be completely superficial and maybe never used. I mean think about it, how many christmas presents that you recieved over the years actually stick out in your memory? I used to get a pretty good amount of gifts when I was younger, being a spoiled only child (thanks mom and dad haha) but I hardly remember any of those. Most of it just ends up covered with dust, stuck under the bed or in storage and eventually sold at a garage sale or at goodwill. It ends up going from gift to just... stuff.
But every once in a while, you get lucky. Every once in a while you get that present that you didn't expect and end up loving, or something seemingly inconspicuous that you end up using over and over. Every once in a while you find the perfect gift for somebody and you know you hit the jackpot when you see the look on their faces as they tear away the wrapping. It makes the other stuff worth it, because you had to dig through all that worthless sand to find the buried treasure. And as I've gotten older, the gifts become fewer, you finally come to grips with your beliefs on Santa Claus, but the gifts you do recieve make more of an impact. I've remembered more Christmas gifts I've recieved in the last five years than in the previous 16 years, and I still charish a lot of them today.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, maybe I'm just rambling. It's sort of how my thoughtprocesses have been concerning christmas this year, all tangled up and lost in the fog. Maybe I'm just trying to reiterate the idea that Christmas is...just a little bit...about the presents, but only because of the heart and thought that are put into them. Even the gifts that become "stuff" can have special meaning if they light up your face for just one day.
Alright, I'm done, my pizza's getting cold. Can't wait to be home!
I just got back from the store, and my hands are still thawing out. The temperature is just around freezing, and the fog seems to only make the cold stick. I tried to stack up on things so that I can stay alive without going out to eat or going to the store again while I'm here, so basically food for the rest of the week. I'm waiting for the oven to heat up so I can throw a frozen pizza in there for lunch. When I mention that the food I bought will keep me alive, I didn't exactly mean it'd be a healthy diet the rest of the week, but I'm comfortable with that because it was all cheap. I did indulge in a little high-quality cocoa mix which was probably the most expensive thing I bought...I don't mess around when it comes to cocoa, as my parents know all too well.
I had my economics final today. I went right to the store after finishing it. the test was all multiple choice. Wasn't easy, but it didn't blow me out of the water either, which I'm thankful for. I was actually a little surprised because all of the microeconomics questions were taken from previous exams that had been available to us, so that was obviously the easy part since I'd worked over all the past exams. Macro was a little more challenging, but we'll see how it panned out.
I'm amazed at how quickly the days fly by. I just spoke to one of my flat mates who told me that his sleeping pattern has flopped because of finals and his work so that he can't even remember when he last saw daylight. I mean its dark until 9 am and dark again by four, it's ridiculous. But at this point it seems like everything around me, even the obscenely shorter days, just means its closer to the holidays, and it doesn't bother me all that much. Christmas lights look better in the dark anyway.
I've been stressing out trying to keep my spending down but also trying to buy christmas presents for everyone before I leave. I have to remind myself every so often that it isn't about the gifts. I guess that's a good thing because I've always been terrible when it comes to christmas shopping. I never plan it right and it always takes forever because I can never find just what I want for the people I'm buying gifts for... though most of the time I don't even know what to get, just that I can't seem to find whatever it is. Having the thoughtful touch to buy the perfect gifts for the people I care about isn't my strong suit. I should hate christmas shopping, and most of the time I do, but there's just something about it that I love when I stop to look around me. The lights, the music, doing something with the family, watching other families...it's the part of the trip that isn't spent actually buying stuff that really makes christmas shopping an enjoyable experience.
For me at least, that experience helps me get over the fact that no matter how hard I try, most of the gifts I buy will be completely superficial and maybe never used. I mean think about it, how many christmas presents that you recieved over the years actually stick out in your memory? I used to get a pretty good amount of gifts when I was younger, being a spoiled only child (thanks mom and dad haha) but I hardly remember any of those. Most of it just ends up covered with dust, stuck under the bed or in storage and eventually sold at a garage sale or at goodwill. It ends up going from gift to just... stuff.
But every once in a while, you get lucky. Every once in a while you get that present that you didn't expect and end up loving, or something seemingly inconspicuous that you end up using over and over. Every once in a while you find the perfect gift for somebody and you know you hit the jackpot when you see the look on their faces as they tear away the wrapping. It makes the other stuff worth it, because you had to dig through all that worthless sand to find the buried treasure. And as I've gotten older, the gifts become fewer, you finally come to grips with your beliefs on Santa Claus, but the gifts you do recieve make more of an impact. I've remembered more Christmas gifts I've recieved in the last five years than in the previous 16 years, and I still charish a lot of them today.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, maybe I'm just rambling. It's sort of how my thoughtprocesses have been concerning christmas this year, all tangled up and lost in the fog. Maybe I'm just trying to reiterate the idea that Christmas is...just a little bit...about the presents, but only because of the heart and thought that are put into them. Even the gifts that become "stuff" can have special meaning if they light up your face for just one day.
Alright, I'm done, my pizza's getting cold. Can't wait to be home!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Christmas Ceilidh!!
What is a Ceilidh, you ask? Good question. How do you even pronounce it? Even better question. I was wondering the same thing when I found out that this was the title of the last party that my study-abroad program would be hosting before we left to come back home, and by the length of this post, you know it's going to be as interesting as it's name.
Turns out that Ceilidh is a Scottish tradition (go figure) and it's pronounced, at least I think, just like the name Kailey (kay-lee). The "d" is silent, I guess it's a scottish thing. It's a traditional dance that's a mix between the old english dances straight out of Pride and Prejudice together with country line-dancing. Basically that equals a rockin' good time. Ceilidh is also (at least in Scotland) sort of it's own genre of music, with guitars and bass and drums and all that, but usually including an accordion, recorder, fiddle, or a combination of the three.
I almost didn't even attend this rockin' good time either. I signed up the DAY after the deadline and got put on the waiting list. Lucky for me, I was able to use my boyish charm to talk up one of our directors to bump my spot on the waiting list, and ended up getting a spot. Note that "getting a spot" at these kind of events is important, at least for me, because it always means a free meal, and if you know me, you KNOW how important a free meal is.
Anyway, this function was to be held at the world-famous Belmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It looks like a miniature Parliament Building, when you're looking down on the city at night, it's so well lit that you can't possibly miss it, AND it's only a five-minute walk from my apartment. Needless to say I was more than a little excited to finally see the inside of the place after walking by it so many times. I was more than happy to put on for the first time the slacks that I had brought solely for this end-of-the-year event, and I even managed to get my tie on straight (with some minor help from my cultured room-mate Oli).
When all of us were outside, the big group of IFSA-Butler students living in my apartment block (let's see...6 girls and me...good odds) all walked down to the hotel together, and I with my trusty camcorder (which proved to be not so trust-worthy, more on that later). We walked through the atypical revolving doors into the foyer, and though it was not as enormous as I first imagined, it was definately a beautiful entrance, with christmas decorations spread out and a big lit-up white christmas tree smack in the center of it all. It was definately the type of place that could smack an embarassing smile on your face with one look. We took our coats off after taking a few snapshots and followed our ears to the next room dead ahead, which was a lounge complete with mini-bar, piano, more christmas decorations and even a crackling fire-place.
We were ushered into a waiting room with another mini bar and a coat hanger, and a couple young girls passing out drinks. The hot cider I recieved was some of the best I've ever had, with little chunks of apple and whole clove stalks stuck right in it. It was delicious.
Sorry, I've been talking poetically about my night before the actual bulk of the night even started. Well we had dinner (which was this chicken wrapped in bacon with garlic mashed potatoes, not bad) in this huge banquet hall that had a view of the whole city, and we were waiting in anticipation for the main event, me still not knowing exactly what kind of "dancing" was going to go on. I had a feeling it would be a type of line-dancing thing, but that was just from the rumors I'd heard. Turns out it was. The live band (brilliant, by the way), had an electric and acoustic guitar, bass, fiddle (which was electric blue) and drummer, and they gave us some music to finish our desserts by before the announcer asked everyone to the dance floor. After that, it gets a little difficult to explain. We essentially listened to what he told us, found our partners (which, depending on the dance, varied from 2-6 people!) and we'd learn the dance moves. I remember them a little, and Hailey wrote them all down, so if you want to know about them, let me know and I'll find out more. It was all extremely fast-paced, with only a couple reviews of the moves before they'd start the music. This was fine though, it made it more fun. Like I said, it's hard to explain, but that's why I recorded it. I'll let the video explain ;-)
All-in-all it was a wonderful evening, like a night at the ball. I had some good times with the people that I saw first when I made it to the country, and it was awkward saying good-bye to a few of them. It was sad that it was the last event as well (and not JUST because I wouldn't get any more free meals). I don't know, this whole trip to Scotland has been a whirlwind tour, and it's hard to believe that the big finale with my program is already over. It's even harder to believe that I'm going to be home in fifteen days. I remember my first two weeks like they were yesterday. I knew this would happen, but it doesn't make it easier. I'm still ready to be home and see everyone. But one of my friends that I met here who lives just downstairs from me is going home tomorrow. Her and I had some good times, and realizing that she's actually leaving made me also realize just how much I'll miss this place and all the people I've met.
Well, enough mushy stuff, I need to go to bed. It's like one in the morning right now! ARRGGH.
P.S. Don't make too much fun of me for the video. These dances were tricky! haha and I'm extremely sorry for the poor quality. Like I said, my camcorder was not being very trustworthy OR cooperative, it kept losing focus and the lighting is really poor. I still haven't found a FLASH on the stupid thing, but I still love it. Enjoy!
Turns out that Ceilidh is a Scottish tradition (go figure) and it's pronounced, at least I think, just like the name Kailey (kay-lee). The "d" is silent, I guess it's a scottish thing. It's a traditional dance that's a mix between the old english dances straight out of Pride and Prejudice together with country line-dancing. Basically that equals a rockin' good time. Ceilidh is also (at least in Scotland) sort of it's own genre of music, with guitars and bass and drums and all that, but usually including an accordion, recorder, fiddle, or a combination of the three.
I almost didn't even attend this rockin' good time either. I signed up the DAY after the deadline and got put on the waiting list. Lucky for me, I was able to use my boyish charm to talk up one of our directors to bump my spot on the waiting list, and ended up getting a spot. Note that "getting a spot" at these kind of events is important, at least for me, because it always means a free meal, and if you know me, you KNOW how important a free meal is.
Anyway, this function was to be held at the world-famous Belmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It looks like a miniature Parliament Building, when you're looking down on the city at night, it's so well lit that you can't possibly miss it, AND it's only a five-minute walk from my apartment. Needless to say I was more than a little excited to finally see the inside of the place after walking by it so many times. I was more than happy to put on for the first time the slacks that I had brought solely for this end-of-the-year event, and I even managed to get my tie on straight (with some minor help from my cultured room-mate Oli).
When all of us were outside, the big group of IFSA-Butler students living in my apartment block (let's see...6 girls and me...good odds) all walked down to the hotel together, and I with my trusty camcorder (which proved to be not so trust-worthy, more on that later). We walked through the atypical revolving doors into the foyer, and though it was not as enormous as I first imagined, it was definately a beautiful entrance, with christmas decorations spread out and a big lit-up white christmas tree smack in the center of it all. It was definately the type of place that could smack an embarassing smile on your face with one look. We took our coats off after taking a few snapshots and followed our ears to the next room dead ahead, which was a lounge complete with mini-bar, piano, more christmas decorations and even a crackling fire-place.
We were ushered into a waiting room with another mini bar and a coat hanger, and a couple young girls passing out drinks. The hot cider I recieved was some of the best I've ever had, with little chunks of apple and whole clove stalks stuck right in it. It was delicious.
Sorry, I've been talking poetically about my night before the actual bulk of the night even started. Well we had dinner (which was this chicken wrapped in bacon with garlic mashed potatoes, not bad) in this huge banquet hall that had a view of the whole city, and we were waiting in anticipation for the main event, me still not knowing exactly what kind of "dancing" was going to go on. I had a feeling it would be a type of line-dancing thing, but that was just from the rumors I'd heard. Turns out it was. The live band (brilliant, by the way), had an electric and acoustic guitar, bass, fiddle (which was electric blue) and drummer, and they gave us some music to finish our desserts by before the announcer asked everyone to the dance floor. After that, it gets a little difficult to explain. We essentially listened to what he told us, found our partners (which, depending on the dance, varied from 2-6 people!) and we'd learn the dance moves. I remember them a little, and Hailey wrote them all down, so if you want to know about them, let me know and I'll find out more. It was all extremely fast-paced, with only a couple reviews of the moves before they'd start the music. This was fine though, it made it more fun. Like I said, it's hard to explain, but that's why I recorded it. I'll let the video explain ;-)
All-in-all it was a wonderful evening, like a night at the ball. I had some good times with the people that I saw first when I made it to the country, and it was awkward saying good-bye to a few of them. It was sad that it was the last event as well (and not JUST because I wouldn't get any more free meals). I don't know, this whole trip to Scotland has been a whirlwind tour, and it's hard to believe that the big finale with my program is already over. It's even harder to believe that I'm going to be home in fifteen days. I remember my first two weeks like they were yesterday. I knew this would happen, but it doesn't make it easier. I'm still ready to be home and see everyone. But one of my friends that I met here who lives just downstairs from me is going home tomorrow. Her and I had some good times, and realizing that she's actually leaving made me also realize just how much I'll miss this place and all the people I've met.
Well, enough mushy stuff, I need to go to bed. It's like one in the morning right now! ARRGGH.
P.S. Don't make too much fun of me for the video. These dances were tricky! haha and I'm extremely sorry for the poor quality. Like I said, my camcorder was not being very trustworthy OR cooperative, it kept losing focus and the lighting is really poor. I still haven't found a FLASH on the stupid thing, but I still love it. Enjoy!
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