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Showing posts from 2006

Traveling the World in 7 Days

11-30-06 The first leg of our great adventure began rather early this morning. But first, I will tell of a bit of the prep, as much of my stay here in Murcia came to a close in the last few days. Wednesday night, after class and grocery shopping for the trip, I returned home where all five of us roomies prepared our last dinner together. The two Cristinas left the following morning, so we had one last hoorah which lasted rather late. I woke up early the next morning to go to the market one last time. We rushed back to class at 10, printed off a few last minute documents at the locutorio, finished packing, and rushed to meet Laura, Charlie, and David at Laura and David's apartment. Together, we walked to the train station and hopped on the one to Barcelona. It was just over 7 hours, and, although there were two pesky drunk guys who paced back and forth the ENTIRE TRIP, I really enjoyed the train. We played MASH, chatted, and I watched two movies (in Spanish of course). We w

Morocco, Africa

I went to try to get my bus tickets to the Alicante airport for Friday morning on Thursday afternoon, only to find that no buses run at that time. So I had to take a taxi. It was expensive, but it wasn't a bad way to travel at 3:30 AM. The taxi driver was very amiable, and we talked about the region, changing values among the different generations, agriculture, etc., the whole drive. It was raining outside, so it took a little longer due to poor visibility. At the airport, nobody was moving, so I slept on a bench for about 45 minutes, when things started opening up. I got my boarding pass, ate a croissant, cafe con leche, and a chocolate milk for breakfast...(at 5:20 AM)...and then passed through security and such so I would be ready for my flight to board sometime after 6:20 AM. I slept the odd hour to Madrid, where the sun was up and normal people where up and about their daily lives. I didn't feel like sleeping exactly, even though I only had cat naps since 6:45 AM on Thursd

Most Embarrassing Moment Ever

So...Erin and I went running Monday. Yep. That's great. We took a new route, too. This new route took us by the soccer field that we run by after dance class all the time. All the guys were out there, practicing as usual. It was a fine night for soccer. So when the guys "accidentally" kicked the ball out of bounds...over the 13-15 foot fence...I thought, "Ahh, yeah! Great time to show these Spanish guys what American girls can do". So ran over across the grass to retrieve the escapee. I ran back to the sidewalk, and that's when time slowed. It was cinematic, really it was. I poised myself for the best throw-in ever, moving toward the fence...arms behind the head...dragging the toe...dragging the toe.......SPLAT! I tripped. Flat on my face. In front of the entire football team. Yep. Smooth move, Exlax! The ball didn't even go over the fence. Nope, it bounced back at me, lying there on the chortling ground, mocking me. And then I promptl

Murcia, España: 4-5

This weekend was my 22nd birthday. And what a birthday it was! I had originally planned to go to Granada with the rest of my classmates, but I had a nasty cold, so I decided to remain in Murcia. Laure and I went out exploring on Saturday afternoon, as I wanted to find an art store that I had seen in previous walks. However, we never did find it...(later, I discovered that we didn't find it on purpose)...but we did find Sirvent. I had strawberries in whipped cream and she had fruit with whipped cream. Both were amazing. We found many new streets and discovered that we liked Murcia even more. It's such a quaint place. We collected Iva later that afternoon and went out to dinner at Gran Mundo, a Chinese place downt the street. Good stuff! We went out after dinner for a stroll. We went to the plaza by the cathedral and they sang me happy bday when I was actually born. That was cool. We decided to get a warm drink, and were deciding where to sit when a sweet music drif

Murcia, España: 26-2

Well, since I so love adventure, I decided to embark on another one. Last night, Erin was over using her computer, and we decided that since I hadn't been to the market yet, we should go. So, due to the brevity of time we would have to check it out before our first class, Escritura (writing, in English), we decided to be villainous and skip our first class. We agreed to meet at 8:45 to go early for a chocolate croissant at Pastelería Reina. However, I took my time waking up, and Erin still didn't show by 9:15, so I decided to go check on her. I rang the telepuerta twice, with no response. I almost turned back, but our landlady looked down from her terrace, asked if I wasn't getting a response, and said I should "insist". So I rang it again. A very sleepy Efi answered. She was, of course, technically supposed to be at a class way over at Espinardo at 9, but was evidentally not. Erin was still sleeping, so I woke her. Once she was ready, Efi decided to come with us,

Murcia, España: 15-20

I didn't make it to chorus on Monday on account of the huge homework load I had. We had a ton of literature work to finish, as well as a big article to read for art history. Actually, I ended up skipping art history and sleeping for 4 hours. It was a GREAT sleep. I needed it. Erin and I went running for a record 17 minutes. Normally we run for 15. We ran for 17, and then we walked around for about 2-3 more hours, chatting. We had fabulous conversations. Tuesday, Erin and I went to check out a dance class near our flat. We danced salsa for an hour, with a bit of cha-cha-cha at the end. There were 3 guys, the instructor, and about 2-3 girls for every guy! Typical. :) One of the guys looks exactly like Russell Crowe. It's crazy. We went again to class on Thursday, and Laure came with. We had a female instructor this time, and we started with the cha-cha-cha. When we did some Cuban salsa, we were short on guys, so I got to take the guy part. The downside is that I still don't k

Murcia, España: 9-14

10-14-06 This Wednesday night, we all headed to check out the opening night of a new club, Taboo, which is owned by the same guy who runs Badulake. It was interesting, and had more space than Badulake, but it was darker, smokier, the music seemed louder, and it was very predominantly populated by Scandanavians. Very interesting. There were about 5-6 GINORMOUS Swedes there. One was a girl, and the others were all guys. They stood about 2-3 heads taller than every single other person in the entire place. I think they might have even rivaled the Gibsons in height! Efi came with us, and she didn't much care for the dancing, and I got sick of the heat and the smoke, so we left pretty early compared to the others. We didn't have school on Thursday or Friday, so we rested on Thursday and then headed to the beach in Alicante on Friday. The bus ride is about an hour long, and much of the landscape reminded me a lot of southern Cali/northern Baja. We ate breakfast right in Alicante and t

Murcia, España: 30-8

9-30-06 We finished our last module with Ana, which is a shame, because she is a fun professor. Now the real work begins. Laure, Iva, Galo, and I explored a bit and went out for drinks near the cathedral in a small café called Café di Roma. I had a drink called horchata which was great, and apparently is a sort of regional drink. Anyone ever hear of it outside of Spain? There were three musicians playing tangos in the plaza which really added to the atmosphere. I felt like I was in some movie. I returned home and ate tiramisu ice cream and watched some Spanish TV. What a life, eh? We had a dinner that we all sort of cooked together. I made apple pie and the other girls made a delicious seafood salad. It was nice to eat all together like a big family. 10-08-06 I have officially been in Spain for a month and a week! Crazy! When did that happen, seriously? The 2nd of October, we began classes for real. We had geography in the morning for 2 hours, 4 hours of language (2 hour

Murcia, España: 25-29

Following class on Monday, a few of us went out for tapas at the same tapas bar, (Las Tablas), that we visited with Ana. I took a two hour nap after that, and then Laure, Iva, and I took a taxi to Media Markt to buy a router. However, upon bringing it back to the flat, we were unable to get it working. It needed an IP address, and ONO, our internet provider, wouldn´t give us one. I went to chorus for the first time with the chorale from the university. But it isn´t simply composed of university students. There are several individuals who are done with school and are set in their careers. I really enjoyed it. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We visited three more museums on Tuesday. The first was Santa Clara. It began as an Arab palace back in the day, and was later converted into a nunnery-type place. So the lower part is a museum of the Arab palace and what it looked like before, etc, and the upper floor had religious art left over from the nunnery. It was a beautiful palace. Y

Murcia, España: 19-24

A whole week has passed, and I am just now updating my journal. It was a busy, fun week. Cristina sqared, (both of my Spanish roomies are Cristinas, remember), took me to a new, gigantic shopping center...but it hadn´t opened yet, so we went instead to Carrefour. I didn´t plan on buying anything, really, but I found a green skirt made in Italy that was the last of its kind on the sale rack, and I tried it on and decided to get it. So now I have something rather comfortable and cool to wear during the day or when we go dancing. Iva, Anton, and I hung out most of the evening, and Anton and I sat out on the terrace chatting until 2:30 AM. It was his last night here. The following evening, Iva, Justin, Erin, and I went to watch Alatriste in the theater, as Wednesday nights are the cheap nights. It only cost 3.75 for ticket. It was a very violent movie indeed, and covered many years, and was at times hard to follow, but I enjoyed it. Erin and I went running after the movie and Iva

Murcia, España: 10-18

9-10-06 Again, I cleaned up the kitchen this morning and then lounged about until Erin and Laura came. We ambled down to check out what was left of the fair. Afterward, we had a homework party at my house involving homework, of course! 9-11-06 Class doesn´t start until 10 AM now, as it seems some of the students think that 9:30 is too early. I would prefer the earlier time, as we could finish earlier, but I am a minority, and therefore have no voice in the matter. We ate breakfast during our 20 minute pause at this small pastry shop called Don Croissant. They have amazing pastries with chocolate or apples as well as some with meat and cheese. Kari, (pronounced car-ee), came over after a bit and I braided her hair. It looked awesome, but she wasn´t able to leave it in very long because it gave her a headache. Tsk tsk tsk. I guess braids are not for everyone. We had an awesome chat. Later, Laura, Erin, and I...(henceforth until there are more of us who hang out regularly, I shall call us

Murcia, España: 6-9

9-6-06 Laura, the girl from Tennessee, was sick today, so Erin and I went to visit her, but she was sleeping, so we went grocery shopping with her roommate, David, instead. I didn´t do much more on this day, although a large group went out for the night and partied. 9-7-06 Not too many adventures today, although Erin and I went running at night, and explored a bit more of our "barrio". There are some very lovely residences in our neighborhood, and a few nice parks. 9-8-06 We talked about tapas today in class. These are little appetizers that one orders to eat while drinking beer or wine. Evidentally, some king made a law requiring them back in the day to minimize the effects of alcohol. I never knew this before, so it really interested me. We made a huge list of tapas in Murcia, and we defined each one. So now I actually know what I´m eating when I order "one of those..." :) Erin, Laura, and I suntanned a bit on my terrace after class, and chatted a little. Later in

Murcia, España: 31-5

8-31-06 Day 1 of my adventure has begun! Thousands of dollars and many hours have transpired since I began, and now I am boarding my plane. It feels a bit strange to be finally leaving. After all that prep work, reality swoops in and drives home the unexpected. Truly, there is no turning back. My cousin Mark got married this weekend, and the rehearsal luau was on Friday night. I spent most of my afternoon trying to contact people concerning my yet uncleared visa. I gave up for the night and went to the luau. Laura trimmed my hair on Saturday and she and Daron braided it. Sunday was a lovely time to say goodbye to the "gob", (my friends in Butte area). We went to Melaques for lunch and I bid them farewell. I had to cancel my flight and book another, which cost almost 3x what my original ticket cost. My visa actually just arrived yesterday morning. It was a good delay, however. I actually fel like I had everything ready to leave. Everything except my brain. 9-1-0

Capricious California and Rolling Roadies

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6/18/06 Mmm…just downed a cinnamon roll and some Minute-Maid orange/tangerine juice. Not a bad road trip breakfast. Mom and I are headed down to San Francisco after months of paperwork and preparation. Both of us worked yesterday, and I still had a bit of paperwork to take care of, so we left Divide about 7:30 PM. We spent the night at Penny and Coop’s. We hit the road again just before 7 AM, and have been driving ever since. We stopped in Twin Falls for food, and now are on 93 S to Wells. The sun is out, the tunes are jammin’…. 6/20/06 Oi vey. The pavement is a little chilly but otherwise the weather is tolerably amiable, although it was warmer at 4:40 AM. Yep, that’s right…I’ve been here on the sidewalk by the consulate since early this morning, although, technically, it’d only be 5:40 AM in MT. There are roughly 20 of us at this point, from all locations across the US , waiting for the Spanish consulate to open. Following my entry on the 18 th

Una tía también

Craziness...I'm an aunt. Ridiculous...my younger bro is a father. Yipes. It's not like it's a huge surprise, we've all been expecting the news pretty much ever since those two got married just over a year ago, but it's still crazy. My sis-in-law is now 8 weeks along. My niece/nephew...(shall I refer to the child as my nephiece until I'm sure?)...developed most of the major organs this week. The heartbeat has been there for several weeks already. What an amazing miracle new life is, eh? So I asked my parents what they want to be called as grandparents. Mom said she didn't want to be called Nana, cuz that was the dog's name in Peter Pan. *sigh* Silly mother. :D She didn't mind just being plain 'ol "Grandma". Dad is not so ready to be a grandfather yet. He said, "I know I look old enough to be a grandpa, and I limp like one, but I just don't FEEL old enough yet. The kid can just call me Steve, until it's old enough to talk, a

Archaic Attitudes and Corrective Cognition

Well, school is over...and I'm already throat-deep in work. I spent my week of summer vacation with my sister and bro-in-law, which was sweet. I got to play two soccer games with Laura's city league soccer team, (both of which we lost, but we were oh-so-close), watch movies, eat fabulous food, and play a few board games. That, and Laura took me shopping for a skirt to take to Spain. Funny thing was, as hard as I am trying to change my style and worldview on the whole femininity issue, it was SHE who left Ross with a skirt, and I with two shirts. :) *sigh* I'm closer...inching...closer...ACK...PANIC ATTACK! ;) jk I got back from Lolo on Saturday night, went to church the next morning, saw some old faces as well as a couple new ones, went home, and worked on the yard. And then I drove to work the next morning. I'm getting a new utility truck...one of these days. They dismantled my old truck, expecting to have to tranfer everything to the new one...and then the

Gopher Guts and the Beasts of the Field

I went home this weekend to spend some time with my family. I went to watch Mateo's soccer game, yada yada, my other bro Seth and his wife Caia have a nice new Nissan Sentra with some inside red detailing that Seth and Jason, (bro-in-law), are working on...and a radar detector, yada yada, and then we went out to get Dad for dinner, and then we saw hundreds of gophers all over the place, yada yada, and I pretty much blew them to bits...17 of the little rodents. What a fabulous weekend. And yes, I'm pretty much related to Annie Oakley. ;)

Fancy Dancers and Easter on the Roof

We didn't have class on Good Friday, although the university has changed the name to "University Day" to be PC. So I worked instead. I showed up at the Fieldhouse around noonish, helped set up for the Pow Wow. Genevieve set me in charge of concessions this year, which was a new experience. I've never really been in charge of something like that before. We set up two lines instead of one this year, and it made all the difference. We opened up for business about 5:30 PM, about a 1/2 hour before the first grand entry. I heard the drums, but I saw none of the dancing that night. We were constantly moving/serving/running upstairs for refills and more supplies. The health inspectors came this year, and we had to set up a handwashing station. At first, I thought it would just be an extra hassle, but in the end, it was lovely to be able to wash my hands in between the chaotic messes. That, and I didn't get sick this year directly after. So I think it helped.

Tacky Twirls and Dated Dances

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UCF had an 80's dance this past Friday. Gotta love dancin'...gotta love/hate the 80's. I signed up for cleanup, but Rod called me mid-afternoon and asked if they could borrow our TV, so I brought it over and helped with setup as well. For those of you who know me well, you KNOW I'm not a decorator. OK, so I like painting...but my walls are bare, with the exception of my calendar, and nothing in my bedroom matches. But I decided I like decorating with a bunch of guys. :) Just my style. We used streamers to line the walls, and tacked it to the walls with a staple gun in various places. We mixed colors such as orange and yellow, green and purple, and hung Christmas lights above the dance floor. We put out yellow and blue chairs, (probably from the 60's or something), around the dance floor, and blew up over a 100 balloons to grace the dance floor. We also sprinkled confetti and tinsel all over the floor. We had one strip of colored cellophane over the tables, and 3 TV

Compulsivity

So I was just chatting with one of my bosses at work today, and she triggered some thought. She told me of something she had heard/read recently about this drug they medical science is working with for victims of Parkinson's disease. Evidently, the treatment has come to the attention of the healthcare providers because one of the side effects of this drug is to cause average, stable people to become compulsive gamblers. So the drug company is now working with researchers to look further into the matter. Supposedly, the drug targets the substantia nigra section of the midbrain, (this is the area that controls smoothing out body movements), but this section of the brain is surrounded by other portions that control the pleasure center. Normal brains have something that regulates the production of dopamine, (a neurotransmitter that is associated with the pleasure and reinforcement portions of the brain). So, basically, when the balance is off, behavior is thrown out of balance as

A Calf Named Forrest

Ah, the delights of spring break! I tried to make it to Butte by 11 on Sunday morning, but made it there at 12 instead. Oh well. It was a delightful morning to pack, clean, and get all my ducks in a row. (No, I was not out terrorizing the poor ducks at the pond...) I met my family at church as it got out, and we switched vehicles. I sent all my gungadin home, so my electronics and guitar wouldn't get too cold sitting around in my car all day. Tassie and I decided to drive all over Butte in search of a new place to eat...but in the end, we ended up at Melaques anyway. :) Gotta love Mexican food! In the afternoon, shortly after parting ways with Tassie, I made a quick visit to the Liesches before going to the Wolstein's for Jeff's b-day party. It was great to see the family again. The food was fantastic, as always, and I enjoyed myself heartily. The following day, I pretty much did nothing useful. I read some more of Frye's "A Natural Perspective" fo

The Art of Ant Torture

When I was a child, I took great fiendish delight in burying ants. I remained steadily amused for several minutes dropping handfuls of dirt on poor, innocent ants, and chortling with delight as they would tunnel through the obstacle and break through to the sunlight…only to have me drop another trap on their unsuspecting heads. But I was discriminatory. I did not bury ants that were one solid color, or ones that were small and harmless. Oh no, I only buried the big smelly red ones with the black butts. They were my enemy. They were the ones that built gigantic ant mounds in my back yard, along the fences, in the fields along the irrigation ditches, the base of the trees I so liked to climb, and virtually everywhere a child roams. Their bites hurt. So I buried them until they gave up trying to tunnel out. If I was feeling particularly generous on any given day, I would award only the most persistent ant his life. He would struggle to freedom over and over again, dis

Chaotic Crushes and Discombobulated Donkeys

No, I do not have a crush on someone. The 'crush' refers to school, work, life in general. You know, the feeling of a great weight upon your chest that slowly squeezes the air from your diaphragm and keeps on pushin'? The claustrophobic intensity of "stuff and things" that tends to send the once-rational mind spinning off into oblivion, seemingly with no compass to put it back on course? That's how this week has been for me. Especially today. Boy okey, especially today. So I woke up at my customary 6:45ish to work on homework. No, I do not normally wake up to work on homework, but today I did. And then I took a shower. You know it's gonna be a rough day when I shower in the morning. Night is so much better. I love going to bed squeaky clean and smelling oh-so..........um.....clean? :D Morning showers are depressing, because you just get dirty during the day anyway, and then you have nothing to look forward to. At least at night, I can enjoy

Candid Cadets and Glamorous Gowns

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1/20/06 Have I ever mentioned how much I love accents and languages? I am sitting in the airport in Minneapolis . I’m not hearing anything but the TV at the moment, but on the flight here, I was delighted to be in the same vicinity as several Bostonians. They don’t say their “r’s”! Fantastic, really. To recap a bit, I’m on my way to Ne w York . Last night, I sang with the somewhat reduced worship team. Alex, Jen, and Matt were there. The rest of the team is in Colorado or something. I left after practice to pack. I took a shower and continued getting ready. Chuck called to finalize details, and Dad also called. I finished sewing velvet over the snaps on the halter part of my dress and Melissa helped me check my flight and such things. I didn’t get to sleep very early. I slept for a few hours and my alarm reminded me I had to get up. Melissa drove me to the airport at 6:30 AM. It was more simple than I had imagined it would be. I read more of the arti