Culture Shock

I don't know if it's the changes I've been going though over the last year, or if it's how quickly I've adjusted to Oregon, but I've felt a huge sense of culture shock since leaving Oregon. There are little things - I've adjusted to quiet, small-town life with no traffic, and friendly people that aren't in a hurry, and nothing being crowded. Chicago seemed like a chaotic zoo to me! (Especially the airport.)

Then there's the materialism. I've done a good job of starting to get rid of excess things and simplify my life. I am amazed by all the gadgets people have! When I was in the airplane and looking at the airmall catalog I saw it with totally new eyes. I couldn't imagine why people would want the things in that catalog - I mean, come on, do you really need a coffee mug that has a clock on the side? What if you go to read the clock and tilt it back for a better view, and spill all your coffee? These two things just do not need to be made into one... And do we really need a separate appliance for all the types of foods that we cook?

Then at the grocery store in North Carolina there was a whole section for cool-aid, when did that become a food group? And who eats those isles and isles of pre-boxed, ready to go meals? I want to go back to my organic food co-op in Oregon!

The first week of the holiday

I've been in North Carolina now for about a week. It has been a great trip so far. I have had a lot of fun dancing with my nephew. In fact I posted a dance clip online last night:

http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/~demareed/dancing_with_ian.AVI

He is super cute! I love the butt wiggle he gives at the end of the video.










I've had a lot of good talks with my mom, and we did a puzzle together. I also helped my sister make soup to give to her son's teachers.

I went "up the mountain" to Boone and Blowing Rock on Monday to have lunch with one of the friends I made on an interview at App. State. It was good to catch up with people there, and I enjoyed finishing up my Christmas shopping before coming home. I also bought some gifts for myself :)













I've been catching up for work slowly in the evenings but last night that was at the detriment of my sleep, as I hit a productive streak and stayed up very late. Then my sister came over with her baby in the morning and of course I couldn't stay in bed with my nephew downstairs!

Finally having a good date

So I started exchanging some fun emails with someone via my online profile. It seemed like he was a pretty interesting guy though it's very hard to tell from online and just a few emails. However, I was insistent that I not let work run my life, and I should go out. I decided to ask him to meet me (he had suggested the same) because I thought it would do me good to go out and would be worth meeting him even if he wasn't worth meeting. It turns out this was a good attitude because I went on the date with no expectations, and was fairly relaxed and ready to enjoy myself no matter what. Turns out the guy was cute, and he was super great to talk to, and seemed very mature yet fun. I enjoyed meeting him so much I was ready for the 2nd date by the time the 1st one was over.

We did go out again, 2 days later. We were just going to meet briefly for drinks or something, but instead I got to town early (he lives in Portland) and we had dinner. We at at a very yummy Peruvian place, and the food was terrific. We shared a cheese appetizer, each really enjoyed our main courses and glasses of wine, then shared a trio of flavored creme brulee for dessert. He was charming, funny, and great to talk to. The best part of all was the next day when I checked my email there was a message from him saying that he looked forward to me getting back in town after the holidays.

I'm so glad I finally went out!!

The end of the Quarter

Wow - I am exhausted! I can't believe I survived teaching 250 students this quarter. My new job is amazing - I love it, it is more than I ever hoped it would be. I seem to relate well to my students. I have a lot to learn and there are a lot of things I want to do better, but I feel like I'm off to a strong start. I had a very low drop-out rate in my class, and my students did well. I feel like they really tried to achieve the things I pushed them to do. They also did pretty well on my final - I put a question on there that I thought would really challenge them and they averaged about 65% on it - which means that most of them actually managed to do it right.

I gave my students a diagnostic test to see how well we're doing in the courses before doing our curricular reform. I was worried about the results because it was my first time teaching a large-enrollment course and I was new to this student population. However, my students did great. They did far above the average large-lecture class (as compared to colleges across the country)! I am very proud of them, and myself. I feel like things are going well in the class because I relate well to my students - which is largely because I somehow fit in well in Oregon. I feel like I belong.

I also had my teaching evaluated by two senior faculty members in my department and one faculty member from the center for teaching and learning. There are great things they pointed out for me to improve on in the future, but they were also full of encouraging words and seemed to really enjoy what we were doing in the classroom. It was nerve-racking having them observe my class - but that day was very lively and I couldn't even pick them all out from the crowd so it was easy to forget I was being watched. I was a bit nervous though and accidentally dropped the brand new piece of demo equipment (that was just made by my request the previous week!) on the floor in front of all the students! Fortunately it didn't break :)

The funniest thing though was when I nearly knocked over one of my students passing a basketball to him (to show momentum conservation). I haven't passed a basketball in years - and I've been working out my upper body lately. I guess I have a lot more "umph" in my throws than either I or my students realized! I enjoy having laughter in my classroom... I am looking forward to getting back to my students in Jan.

Fun in Chicago

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to Illinois and Indiana for work the week after Thanksgiving. I flew in and out of Chicago. While I was in Chicago, I wanted to hang out with the friends I made in Las Vegas this summer. However, the girl had just gotten a new job and couldn't get off work. Fortunately the guy is pretty cool too, and I enjoy spending time with him, so I spent 2 days having a mini-vacation in Chicago.

I got in Friday afternoon. We went downtown and ate dinner, then went to an opening of a Jasper Johns exhibit at the Art Institute. The event was interesting - there were small group detailed tours, snacks, and lots of wine. After that we went to a bar with live music and watched the band "Brilliant Pebbles". They weren't very good - but it was a lot of fun. The lead singer was totally spastic and made some horrific noises at times - in fact one of her signature sounds was like a huge high-pitched sneeze! You can hear them here:

http://www.myspace.com/brilliantpebbles

I suggest you give them a try - I guarantee you've never heard anything like it! I'm glad I had a number of drinks that night because I probably wouldn't have been nearly as amused listening to this completely sober...











On Saturday there was a snow storm. We started the day with a big lunch, then went downtown to look at Christmas decorations. We did a little shopping too, mainly because my shoes sprung a leak and my feet were wet and cold! I got some great Oregon-appropriate dog-walking shoes that have gotten a lot of use since my trip. We saw the window decorations at the downtown Macy's, and we saw the bicycle puppet-theater. I've included the video Matt took of the dancing puppets!




Then we went to one of the cute smaller neighborhoods and window shopped - though mostly we were just trying to stay upright and warm waddling down the ice-covered sidewalks! We went to dinner at a fun little noddle house and lingered a while because it was warm inside. Then we went to a fancy bar with a fireplace and had a drink, then we went back to his house and freshened up before hitting a blues bar with a live band for the night.

The next morning we ate big bowls of oatmeal and then he took me to the airport. He was a great host, and I had a nice trip.

Working Too Hard!!

So I haven't posted to my blog in about a month... After having an amazing long Thanksgiving weekend, things at work started moving full speed ahead. I reverted back to grad school habits of replacing meals with protein bars so I can keep working, and working late into the night and skipping sleep.

What, you may ask, can be keeping me so busy when I only teach for 3 hours per week? Wow - makes me feel like I can't manage my time well putting it that way! But then we should keep in mind that I also have a research project going on (the one I stared in Cape Town) - and a masters student to manage who is working on that data. I'm also leading a journal club with faculty and grad students reading about my research area. Then there is my committee work. I'm in charge of the women in physics committee, and am working on taking charge of the service course committee which fortunately has been lead so far by a senior faculty member while I get situated. I was hired to take charge of service course (large introductory course) reform, so this is a very important committee.

This course reform work is what is taking the bulk of my time lately. A week after Thanksgiving I went to Illinois and Indiana to visit two schools who have done course reform work we'd like to borrow from. That was a very hectic but useful trip. Even more exciting than that is the classroom remodel work that is going on. The public classrooms in our building are being remodeled and I have been collecting information and going to meetings to contribute to those plans. We're also interested in making a private classroom just for us out of some under-used space in our building. That required talking to the foundation about raising private funds. It looks like all of this is coming together which is very exciting!

Then there was the decisions about switching to the new text book, which I was in charge of - meeting with the publishers was really annoying.

And teaching only 3 hours per week does not take into account that I have 4 TAs to train and about 250 students who all have individual needs and issues. Then there's preparing for teaching the next term. That took a lot of time before the holidays because I only had 4 days where the person I'm team teaching with and I could work together on it.

I'm probably forgetting various and sundry things I did, but you get the picture... I'm trying to get caught up over the holidays so I can have a less stressed quarter when school starts back Jan 7th. I don't want to loose the free-spirit I cultivated this summer!

Busy Thanksgiving weekend

I took full advantage of the 4 day weekend to socialize with new friends, hike with Audrey, and get things done both at work and at home. Thursday I ate two Thanksgiving meals - one with some new faculty friends and the other at the house of the brother of an old friend. I had stayed with his family when I came out here to look for a house early this summer. Their 2 little girls are adorable and after dinner I ended up being a horse and jungle-gym for a few hours. At least I felt less guilty about eating 2 meals after getting that exercise!

Friday I went for a local hike with one of the new faculty members in my department, his wife, and their adorable 1-year old girl. She really likes dogs and had fun playing with Audrey. It felt really nice that they had asked me to be social with them. He is fairly quiet and when he talks he asks very direct questions, so I was not sure how friendly he had wanted to be. We have had some good talks about teaching issues though, and the hike was nice.

Saturday I went wine tasting with another new faculty member - actually in the same department as the wife I had hiked with Friday. The wineries have special hours and offers for Thanksgiving weekend - many had live music. Some had the tasting in the cellars so there was more room for the big event. The crowds really picked up in the later afternoon, including many people who had hired limos to take them around with friends. At least that prevents some drunk driving! Neither her nor I drink much so we did the 2-sips and dump the rest for almost all the wines we tasted - but it was still fun.











This lady is nice, and has a thing for Ann Taylor clothes as I do - I'm sure we'll go shopping together at some point though I really don't need anything and am all shopped out for the moment. She had gone to the outlet stores on Friday and apparently they also get into the after Thanksgiving sales - things were marked down way more than usual but only until 10am. Maybe next year I'll do that. This year I have gifts already from my trip to Cape Town.

This person is interesting - she is from Korea and was a hair away from going to the Olympics on their archery team. She gave me some tips for improving my push ups. Funny thing is she doesn't exercise anymore - and has very little interest in such things. In part I'm sure this is because she hurt her shoulder and has some back pain - but it is a shame. She is going home to Korea this December for the 1st time in 3 years - she is very excited.

We went to 6 wineries and a yummy bistro for lunch. One winery had great local products so I bought some as gifts. Another was located in a gorgeous setting. This pic is a view from it toward another one - I recall thinking this particular view looked like a painting - and that feeling is totally captured in this picture I found online.










I didn't bring my camera, unfortunately, but my friend did. She took the following pic of me indulging in a huge dessert at the bistro (I only managed to eat just less than half!):















She also got the following one of me opening the door at the place that had the wine we both liked the most. Unfortunately we couldn't buy it then - as it was a preview taste for wine that won't be released until spring.














Today I went hiking with Audrey again - this time to the highest peak in the coastal range (only about 4000 ft) which is about a 1/2 hour drive from home. I went there because there was snow - and Audrey loves to play in the snow! Unfortunately they don't maintain the road, so they close it at the snow level. That meant I had to hike up the road before joining trails to the summit. That ended up being good on the way down since it was dusk and getting dark fast. I did see a beautiful sunset over the mountains - unfortunately I forgot my camera again because the view was amazing. I could also see several of the large mountains in the Cascades - including 3 sisters, and I think Mt. Hood. There was another large peak between them I could see clearly as well.

This first pic shows Mary's peak from my valley, and the 2nd shows a view from the top - though it does not do justice to what I saw today...

No longer feeling guilty

Well, that period of feeling on top of things didn't last long! Turns out everyone scrambles toward the end of the quarter, in panic that they haven't accomplished enough yet - and all committee work seems to go full steam ahead! I've been working 12 hour days most days for the last 2 weeks, though I have still made some time for fun. I'm posting this from work on a Sunday night, though - and I do have more work to do before I can go home - I should get back to it!

The most exciting thing is that the classroom remodel committee was not only happy with my ideas about the changes to the large lecture hall I teach in, but they were practically willing to throw millions of dollars at me because they need a new prototype large lecture classroom - and I'm the one bringing forward ideas. And here I was worrying about how I was going to be able to improve our teaching spaces (one of the things they hoped I'd do when they hired me). Here is a pic of the room I currently teach in - it's a monster, about 266 seats and none of them comfortable - and many with poor visibility to the board.











Other than that, I've been taking a salsa class in town with a new friend (who is someone I work with and was hired at the same time as me - we actually had met once before that), have gone boutique shopping in Portland with someone who is the friend of one of my cousins in rural Alabama (what a coincidence!), done some more great hikes (including finally making it to the top of the big hill behind my house - it took 3 hours round trip - not bad), and been out to eat a few times (food here is still great!)

Busy - but no complaints here!

Feeling guilty

So this week has been far from typical. I think spending so long in school has finally paid off, because this kind of work is awesome. Monday we had a visitor in town who does research in the same field I do, so there were a lot of functions related to his visit for me to attend, including a lunch and a dinner. Of course I was expected to be there and have good conversations with this guy, which wasn't hard. Especially since we went to my favorite all veg restaurant for dinner, yum :) Then Tuesday I had my ballet class, and in the evening I had 2 hour salsa class. Work, did anyone say work? What?? Wednesday I slept in, took Audrey for a 1 h walk, and in the evening ate dinner at a microbrewery one block from my office - complete with a glass of wheat ale. Today also inspired me to finish getting my fish tank together and buy fish - there are now 4 goldfish in a 20 gallon tank in my office. I'll have name them soon - I'm just hoping they live through the night with the shock of being in a new environment.

Yes... I have been working... in fact I seem to be on track, and people seem quite happy with all that I've accomplished. I think the pace here is a bit less than it was at Ohio State, plus I think once you're full time they expect you to be going home to a family and not working so hard you'll burn out quickly. Since I have no family here, I can just work whenever. In fact, now that I've come home and given all the animals some much needed attention, I'm going to read another journal article before bed. Work is so tough! :)

I didn't blog about it, but not only did I hike in the cascades on Saturday, but Sunday I went west to the coast, and took a nice walk on the beach followed by a little drive up the coast and a nice dinner with an amazing view. I was joined by a new friend here and it was a very pleasant day. I even managed to get some work done in the evening - AFTER the sun had gone down and there was no more day to enjoy :)

Today's outing

Today I got some things done around the house - which was sorely needed, so I didn't get on the road as early as I would have liked. At least I did manage to go to the Cascades, hike, as well as get my chores done, so I will take it overall as a great success. I finally took all those clothes to donation - and I took care of the leaves in my front yard that had started to take over the driveway of both my neighbors :( They have been quite patient with me thus far but I didn't want to test that any further! I also did dishes and laundry and other sundry stuff that seems never ending...

Then I headed out of town. I stopped first at a bakery to pick up some lunch - I got a slice of fritatta that was very tasty! I want to try to make one of those - shouldn't be too hard. Hardest part for me will probably be remembering to look up then pick up the ingredients and remember to use them before they spoil!!

Audrey and I drove east toward the Cascade mountains and the tiny town of "sisters" that sits between two of the "sister" volcanoes that are some of the highest peaks in the state. Around 3pm I realized I'd need to find a place to hike because there were only ~2 good hours left before dusk. I stopped at the first spot to find that it was only a 1/4 mile trail - but it did have a great creek for Audrey to play in. We stayed only briefly in order to find a better trail.



















The 2nd trail I found was much longer, called "rooster rock". We never did find the rooster rock - according to the one set of people I met we went about 2/3 of the way up - but after 1 h of hiking I knew it would be wise to head back without making it to the end, least I find myself heading back in the dark. The trail wasn't very well used, and would not have been nice to hike at dusk. Apparently the view is worth it - in fact I found this online:

http://www.oregonphotos.com/TableRock-Pan.html

I may try the hike again someday - or maybe just push on up the road and find a new trail! There are way too many to choose from - I could probably never see them all. I got some nice pics on this hike, mostly of trees since that's about all I saw the whole time. I did have one odd experience - I kept seeing two people ahead of me, but then they would disappear. At first I thought I was seeing things - maybe it hadn't been a person - plus I was shocked because I hadn't heard or seen anyone the whole time and I wasn't walking fast so I doubted I could have possibly caught up to other hikers. Just when I was thinking I may need to start believing in ghosts (haha) I realized what they were doing - they were picking mushrooms! They kept going off the trail and bending over and such, which is why they kept popping out of sight. And that's also why they were going slow enough for me to catch up to them. Crazy locals :) People here are fun... We stopped back at the creek so Audrey could cool off - she seemed a bit hot from the hike. I actually took those pics on the way back. On my way home I stopped in a small town at an authentic looking Mexican place and had a big yummy burrito. Here are some pics I liked from the day (there's a woodpecker in one of them... maybe you can spot him?):





































I have to interject my blog right now with a random thing - my roommate is listening to some compilation album of uniquely American songs (so nice of this foreigner to try to learn our culture, but somewhat misguided effort, I think!) Currently playing is "home on the range" - oh Uncle Bob, I will never forget your lyric: "show me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a dirty house" - I have quite the urge to sing along right now using those lyrics :)

Funny things around town

I've mentioned a bit before about what kind of town this is - but it really is something unique. I see something unique nearly every day. I've seen a few different people riding to school on unicycles, and the other day I saw someone riding a bike that had been jacked up so that the height of his seat was higher than the cars. It was at least double the height of a normal bike. I would have liked to see how he gets on and off of it!

Friday I took my dog to the meadows east of my neighborhood for a dusk walk (since I didn't want to head into the woods at dusk). We encountered a lady who was not only walking her dog, but also walking her parrot! The parrot's name was "Socrates" and apparently he doesn't like to come out of the trees to go home until dark, but he always comes down eventually. She was trying to coax him down early...

There are small things here and there around town that remind me that I'm in a very nature-oriented place. one of the funny things that I had noticed and liked even in March when I came here to interview was the signs to the building I work in. They are like signs at state parks, made from carved wood. They are like this kind of sign (except without the lower part that, I believe, shows elevation):

A mini-vacation: 16 hour one-day road trip!

Last Sunday I wanted to go to southern Oregon for a sheep herding competition so I could scope out the scene here and find a new trainer for Audrey. I left the house at 6am - totally unprecedented for me! It was about a 3.5 hour drive down there, so I decided to make a road trip of it and see a new part of the state while I was out and about. On the way down I stopped for gas and coffee - at both places they offered Audrey dog treats. People here are so friendly! The competition was nice - the people seemed friendly and gave me good information. It was in Ashland, OR, which is almost on the border with California. The setting for the competition was stunning - I included a picture below. Unfortunately my camera battery decided to die just then so I didn't get a full panorama nor did I get pics of the later parts of the day.











After the competition, I went a bit north to Medford for lunch and to see the big Harry and David store. Oddly enough I decided nothing there looked enticing because I'm quite spoiled with the good food here, so those fresh fruits and nuts were not remarkable to me anymore! They did have a huge pumpkin statue being carved with 3 giant pumpkins on top of each other like a totem poll - it was pretty cool. While I was at lunch some people told me about a nice dog park across the street so I decided to take Audrey to check it out. People there were very friendly and the dogs were too, but Audrey as usual wanted to play with me and not the other dogs so on our way we went.

We drove north on the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway.
http://www.oregon.com/byways/rogue_umpqua.cfm
It was phenomenally beautiful and I will go again - many times in fact. This would be a place worth buying a little cabin someday. Audrey and I walked along the Rogue river (" one of the original eight rivers designated as "Wild and Scenic" by Congress in 1968 for its amazing beauty and wilderness"), and she swam in it. This river is good for rafting and kayaking - I will have to try it next summer! The rapids get too hard for me in places, but it has a dam, so if I stay above the dam I'll be fine. I don't have my own pics, I stole these from online:











Then we kept driving and stopped at Mill creek falls - we hiked to the falls. It was an amazingly beautiful day - sunny and clear, but it had been rainy the week before so the falls had a lot of water. They were breathtaking.















We continued driving and went to Crater lake. I didn't realize crater lake was formed from in the blown-off top of a volcano. Therefore it is at a high altitude and as we went higher and higher in the mountains we found snow. Audrey LOVES snow! I loved seeing her eyes get huge when I let her out of the car to play in it! It was very deep - I think at least 2 feet (deep considering I'd seen no signs of snow where I live!) and Audrey was jumping through it like a kangaroo leaving holes a few feet apart through the snow showing her hopping tracks. She tried to chase a bird but couldn't get much speed - it was pretty funny! She tossed her nose in it and rolled around - she was a very happy dog.

Crater lake itself is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I can't wait to go back - though I think it's closed most of winter. It supposedly has some of the most pure waters in the world. It was extremely tranquil that day too, because it was off season and there was so much snow, so tourists weren't there. I wanted to stay longer, but it was already getting near dusk and I had a long drive home ahead of me, through icy mountain roads. They have winter snowshoe tours - maybe that can be my next trip there? Can't take Audrey on that one though, and she is a very good travel companion!











I got home exhausted around 10pm, but feeling like I had a real vacation that day. It was a very wonderful day!

A near-perfect day

Before I get started - I found out yesterday that a friend of mine just got her certification to box - I think that's awesome! Now she can spar for real, and possibly enter non-pro competitions!

Today was a really nice day. I started by taking a walk through the neighborhood with my house-mate's wife (who is visiting and must return to Taiwan this week - they are very sad!) Then I had a good and productive day at work during my best work hours - roughly 11am to 8pm. The day itself was nice because I got a lot of little things done making me feel that the tasks I need to do aren't so daunting. My class also went well - two students thanked me at the end of class for a good class! That felt great :) At the start of class I did the famous "pull a tablecloth out from under the dishes" trick. That's always fun. I have only done it before with a few things on the table. The demo guy set it up for me with china, a wine glass, a vase of silk flowers and a burning candle! That certainly added to the flare!

At the end of the day I came home with energy to spare - which seems rare these days. I was able to play the piano a bit which I did a lot when I unpacked it the first week I was here (I missed it over the summer!) but had neglected the last two weeks. I then decided to work on a puzzle in front of a fire. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful at starting a fire. I was too optimistic and didn't build a good enough base - especially considering the wood was damp. I will keep a few pieces inside from now on so they are easier to burn. I spent so much time with the fire that I ended up not working on the puzzle either! Then I had a late dinner consisting of a hearty version of miso soup that I made this weekend, and this absolutely delicious brie I got at the food co-op with rice crackers.

It's now time for me to get to bed early - and read a research paper in bed which will certainly send me into a sound slumber :)

Good night!

This earth-friendly town

I love this town I live in. I feel so comfortable here. It's not a town for everyone. It's the kind of place where in many restaurants there is no service, and you have to clear your own dishes. I've heard a few people complain about that - but I don't mind. It's also the kind of place where recycling is so part of the culture that even the normal trash cans on campus have notices on them for where the nearest recycling bin is if you want to throw away things that should be recycled. And in all the restaurants you put your bottles in a different place. I normally recycle but I need to be better about sorting things. Another thing I like is the little woodsy touches, like the building I work in on campus - the sign depicting its name is a carved plank of wood like something you'd see in a national park.

the trees

The amazing trees here that I love so much are western redcedars, actually - which are apparently not even a true form of cedar. They are not redwood trees like I originally thought. Redwoods (or giant sequoias) can grow over 100 m tall (the tallest is ~115m) but these only grow to 50-60m tall. They are babies in comparison. They are still very tall and majestic. There's one clump of them near my house - I like to take Audrey walking back there, and walk between them. There's one spot where I'm between them all and it is dark even when the sun is bright. It feels like a magic place that I would make into a private fort as a kid. I would like to go there and have a picnic - even though it's just behind someone's house :)

Audrey

Most of you know already as it has been my biggest news of late, but Audrey has Lyme's disease. Fortunately my over-protectiveness paid off since I rushed her to the vet at first signs something was wrong, and insisted on the expensive test the vet didn't think would be needed. Catching it early is the best way to assure quick and full recovery. Shortly after my last Sept. post Audrey started limping, and it quickly got worse. I had pulled ticks off her in Massachusetts back in May (and one off myself) and knew that Lyme's was a real concern out there. What I did not know at the time was that a quick onset of a single front leg limping after a 4-5 month dormant period is quite characteristic of Lyme's in dogs. It is unfortunate the vet here didn't know much about the disease, but I am so glad that I thought of testing her for it - I did know it caused joint problems, though I thought it would effect all legs and not just one.

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/lyme.html

Audrey was back to full energy after only a few days of antibiotics, and is now back to her usual antics. She has to take antibiotics for 4 weeks though - there's still about 10 days to go. 4 pills a day! I coat them in peanut butter and at first she ate them willingly. She now refuses though, and I have to slip them in her mouth between her teeth. I can't blame her, I think they make her nauseous. I can't feed her in the mornings as she keeps throwing up. It's worth it though because Lyme's is not to be messed around with. I'm so happy she is doing well...

Home

My new home is terrific - it is so peaceful here, and so easy to take care of. I am fairly settled in though there are still little things to do here and there. I had an open house in September which was well attended and nice. I made sure to get the downstairs settled before people came, so I do have Nick knacks unpacked and some art on the walls. Although at the moment it isn't as clean, you can see what I've done with the main living areas:



















One thing to notice is the chandelier. I made it from hand-carved ostrich eggs I brought back from South Africa. I absolutely love it. I also have missed my piano, and am enjoying the fireplace, and being able to use some of my nicer things.

On the other hand I've also been struggling with excess - knowing that I have too much stuff, and a lot of useless stuff I don't value. Since I'm unpacked, I've started to go through things and make donation piles of stuff I no longer want. This week I picked 100 items out of my closet that I don't want anymore. There's still a lot more clothes in there! I also cleaned out my linens, books, and some other items when I unpacked. I have a rather growing pile of stuff to donate in my garage.

My new job

This time my breech in posting was not due to dating, but rather was due to starting my new job. It has been hectic, but great! I feel the burden of responsibility now, though, much more so than I have in the past. Not only do I have roughly 250 students to manage, but I also have a graduate student working for me for research, 4 working for me for teaching, and 2 undergrads working for me for grading. Plus I'm in charge of some committees and have also started a journal club where I am the local "expert" in the field and am thus expected to be able to answer everyone's in-depth questions. Overall I feel I'm up to the task, but this past week I was quite congested and groggy (adjusting to the rainy climate here, I think) and I was not thinking very quickly or well. I hope no one things ill of me based on seeing me not at my peak this week!

I have realized something about myself that is both a blessing and a curse. I have an amazing ability to see everything that I do that could be done better. This, I'm sure, has enabled me to constantly push myself to improve, and thus be successful. However, it also makes me feel like I'm constantly screwing up. I need to shift my mindset to seeing things as ways I can improve next time instead of ways I have failed. I hardly think anything I have done here has been a failure by any stretch - and I need to cut myself some slack.

This past week especially has been up and down. I had what I thought was a great lecture planned for Monday, and the students were underwhelmed by a demo I was using to illustrate an important concept. As a result I felt they weren't really thinking about what was happening, and thus missed the point. Then Wednesday went far better than I expected it to, and was followed by a student telling me he's taken (and dropped) the class twice before and I'm by far the best instructor he's seen. I did another demo by having a student skateboard in front of the class while throwing/dropping a basketball. This was used to show relative motion and was fun and had some results that surprised the students and kept their attention. Friday again was underwhelming - I think by then I was really not feeling well, and my energy level was very down. I think all classes must go this way - some days better than others. I need to learn to take everything in stride and quit worrying so much.

One thing that has been great is my graduate teaching assistants - they are really on board with the teaching and making sure we emphasize the same points and goals in the class. We're coordinating well to keep the labs, recitations and lectures on pace and emphasizing common key points. I hope this is coming across to the students as well. They often think they know this stuff, but they usually need to see it multiple times before they stop making common mistakes.

My big day of flirtations

This weekend I had my first date in Oregon. It was underwhelming. At least I got out and met someone! The date was a fix up - actually my realtor's son. His eyes reminded me of a pale-eyed boarder collie - a ghostly gray-blue with one slightly darker than the other. They always seemed very cold and harsh to me. Other than that he seemed quite concerned about showing he wasn't a geek but managed to convince me quite thoroughly that he was!

In the same evening I went dancing with a postdoc to a place that specializes in Argentine Tango. The couple featured under the "events" part of the webpage are young professional tango dancers and were great to watch.

http://www.tangocenter.org/

That was my first time dancing non-ballroom style tango. The two dances are in fact very different. Here is the most noticeable difference as described in wikipedia:

"A striking difference between Argentine tango and ballroom tango is in the shape and feel of the embrace. Ballroom technique dictates that partners arch their upper bodies away from each other, while maintaining contact at the hip, in an offset frame.In Argentine tango, it is nearly the opposite: the dancers' chests are closer to each other than are their hips, and often there is contact at about the level of the sternums (the contact point differing, depending on the height of the leader and the closeness of the embrace). In close embrace, the sternums of both the leader and the follower are in complete contact and they are dancing cheek to cheek (or in the case of a larger height difference chin to forehead)."

In addition to the frame, the dance feels very different. It is much smoother, slower, and more improvisational than ballroom tango. The male lead is very strong but also very subtle. You follow the male because his body is moving a certain way, not because he has given you a cue with the arms. The arms really do nothing. In fact before the social dancing began there was an hour of free lessons - I was lucky to be there when they had a very well known instructor as a guest. And for almost the entire hour we were dancing without using our arms - so the entire lead was just by feeling the man's chest against yours.

The actual dancing felt very different based on who I was dancing with. Making an analogy between dancing and sex is very played out - but it very much was like that. With some people it was like sex - fun, efficient, a bit demanding, while with others it was like making love, where the person was not only giving me subtle cues to respond to but also adjusting his movements based on how I responded. With some people it was like bad sex - with toes in the wrong places, and a lack of ability to communicate (via body language) about which leg goes where...

I'm glad I gave it a try, and I hope to go back again! Maybe next time I'll be slightly less awkward? Probably not though!

Hiking the bigger hill

Today I tried the bigger hill that I mentioned in my last post. I have hiked since then - it's been about 3 weeks since I've posted! However, we have had a lot of rain, so the amount of days I've been able to hike has gone down a lot. This weekend was beautiful, though. Yesterday I went on a similar hike as the one I posted last time - but I tried different paths. I ended up on a service road that had another entrance to the park, where I found some trail maps. Finally! Now I had some idea when I went in there of if I would need to turn back or if the path I took would loop to another one. Armed with my trail map, and a picnic lunch for myself (though admittedly I didn't eat it until near 6pm!) I headed back out again today. I am frustrated to report that I didn't quite make it to the top of dimple hill (the larger of two hills in this park) but I made it quite close. Another hiker told me it was about another 10 minutes to the top. I knew darkness would come fast, though, and I rightly guessed adding 20 more minutes to my hike wouldn't be good. As it is I just emerged from the forest at dusk and finished walking home after dark. The total trip time from my front door was about 2.5 hours but today I went at a brisker pace than I have been hiking. According to the trail guide I found online:

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/DansTrailMac_1890.asp

this trail should take about 3.5 hours and that's not including the time I spent inside my neighborhood since I didn't drive to the park. However, I was passed by a lady probably in her 50's who's pace on the trail totally smoked mine! We also saw several mountain bikers. When one of them passed me I was trying to keep Audrey out of the way so I told her to stay - and the biker replied "I can't stay!" It was pretty funny... My legs are quite tired now - and Audrey looks very calm - I think she enjoyed it!

Today's hike

Today I managed to find the way between the two access points I had used previously to get into the forest and park behind my neighborhood. There is a 126 acre park that backs up to a 11,250 acre forest managed by the university. Plus there is the open space that belongs to my community (to remain undeveloped). I scratched the surface of these 3 "parks" today and made a nice loop that connected back to the paths through my neighborhood. I have shown an aerial map here with a rough red line giving a vague idea of where I hiked. Some of the paths are pretty curvy, but you get the general idea... This was a little over an hour and a half for the total trip, front door to front door, but I am rather tired today so I wasn't trying to walk fast.










The overlook I like is only about 700 ft in altitude, so it's not a very hard hike, but it is a good one, and is just a walk outside my door - so who can complain? I can certainly go a lot further another time - there are mile and miles of trails back there! There is another hill toward the north-west of my neighborhood that is about twice this height - I should try that one next!

Taking a walk with me

Instead of inserting these pics into the previous posts, I'll just show them here. These are the paths I keep talking about that are within my neighborhood, and the hike I found that goes up the hill behind my neighborhood and into one of the parks, and the views from up on the hill.

The start of the biggest, most secluded path is about 2 blocks from my house. Today I found a way to get there in the common space behind the houses so I am off-street nearly the whole time. There are amazing tall trees there you have to pass under - I keep calling them redwoods, but I don't think they are. They are very straight, tall, big around, and have a red-ish tent, so they may be related. At any rate, this is just inside the path, near the start. Notice Audrey is ahead of me - she always likes to lead the way :)























Then you pass a little stream Audrey likes to get muddy in - it should have more water soon when the rains start. And you get to a part which is a bit more meadow-like. My neighbor says the eastern part of this neighborhood didn't have the trees cut; rather it used to be meadow - where our part has these amazing trees. Even though our part is older, I far prefer it. You can see one of the new mc-mansions I have to pass once I exit the path before I get to the park land and the hill just beyond.











It is hard to see in this pic (you can click on it to expand it) but this is the view from the top of the hill. To the left just out of view is the cascades and some peaks that are over 10,000 ft high, and to the right is the smaller coastal range with Mary's peak at just over 4000 ft.




Here is a close-up of the moss that is prevalent here. I think it looks amazing - it is stiff, like starched string. I was so surprised the first time I reached up to touch it and found it was so dry and hard - not soft and moist like I expected.

Taking Saturday off

Today my mom reminded me that I had made a promise to myself to try to take Saturdays off. I mentioned to her that I was going to work some today - how quickly I had forgotten the promise! I have managed not to work today - so thanks, mom, you were able to save me :) Tomorrow is going to be a long day though! I hope to fit in another hike but that will probably be it.

Today I rode my bike (here's a pic of it in front of my house) for the first real trip in my new town - I rode it downtown (about 3 miles one way) to a fall arts and music festival. It was delightful! I thought I'd be too tired to ride it back home and may take the city bus if needed, but it was great. I had to walk the last two blocks since my neighborhood is on a hill (I stopped to take this pic on the way home - the hill in the background is the one I've been hiking up, my neighborhood being at the base), but the ride was fairly easy. It took just over 30 minutes though - I am slow. I need to get a basket for the bike, and a thing to hold a water bottle. This town is great for biking - there are dedicated bike lanes on nearly every street. I felt safe the whole time, despite not doing in-town biking for a very long time.

Later in the day (after spending some more time enjoying my hammock and porch!) I decided to drive 15 miles to Costco to activate my gift membership and look around (I'd love a fire pit for the porch) - it's in the next town. I got there 10 minutes after they had closed, however, so I had to turn around and drive back home. It was such a beautiful day, though, and the valley is lovely - the length of the trip was only the time it took to listen to 5 great songs on my stereo while looking at beautiful scenery. Whenever I count driving distance by the number of songs I get to listen to, I always think of "The Point" - the time it takes to get to the pointed forest is exactly the time it takes to sing a song...

Points to you if you remember which song it is :)

I really love it here!

I have had a very busy week and Monday seems like it was long ago. Someone today asked me when I started my job and I said "last week" then I quickly corrected myself - "no, this week, but Monday seems like it was over a week ago!" Everyone here totally understands that is how it is at the start of the quarter, and compounded by the fact that I am new here. I couldn't ask for people to be more helpful or friendly than those in my new department.

Besides preparing for my fall course, I have had some fun this week. There was a college of science party on Wednesday, a department party on Thursday, and a lab party today - 3 days in a row! It has been nice to learn some names, socialize, and get free snacks :) I am still learning the names and faces of the graduate students, but since the faculty is fairly small (14 full time and 2 semi-retired plus 3 staff instructors) I know them mostly all fairly well already.

I used my kitchen for the first time Tuesday preparing for the department picnic. Thanks to the recipe of a friend of mine, I made very successful mini egg-custard pies with cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top. They were very tasty and addictive, and somewhat healthy (at least for my low blood sugar due to the lower sugar and high protein content.)

The nicest part of the week, though, was probably in my last hour. After taking a well-needed rest upon arriving home, I spent a few hours collapsing boxes that I had piled in my garage, then re-organizing things there so I could start cleaning out the random boxes in the house. This was great progress - I finally feel the house is nearly settled. I suspect by the end of this weekend I'll be fully unpacked. This wasn't the nice part though.

When I went outside to load some things (I had borrowed) into my car, I noticed how beautiful the night sky looked, with all the stars clear and a beautiful moon. So I went outside and set up the camping hammock that mom had sent on the back porch, turned out all the lights and enjoyed my little corner of the world. It was so peaceful - it was the first time I had really enjoyed my yard - and probably my house, for that matter. I know I will love living here.

More on the food here...

I was talking to the lady who does our accounting today - and I have only scratched the surface. Apparently along the street bordering our side of campus with all the restaurants has pretty much every type of cuisine within 6 blocks of my office.

There is: mexican (fast food and sit down), chinese, thai, japanese, middle-eastern (again two types), vegetarian, hawaiian, a few pizza places, the soup place, a bar/burger place and more that I'm not remembering off hand.

Maybe I should start at one end and work my way down the street and try everything...

Today I had the left over pizza from last night at home. I stayed home to do some more unpacking (I really needed to find my teaching notes) and then took a really nice hike up the hill to the park near my house. I'll post pictures soon...

On my way to getting fat :)

I hope the title of this post is a joke - since I'll be hiking and doing other physical activities enough to counterbalance the eating...

I am writing this post from my favorite pizza place - probably anywhere in the world. I'm eating pizza with an olive oil base, cheese, artichokes and garlic - no sauce. It's yummy! With it, I'm drinking a sparkling apple juice that is nearly as good as the "appletizer" drink I became addicted to in Cape Town. This place has the best choices - 4 different bases, about 30 different toppings... you get the idea. At lunch time they have pre-made slices of lots of different flavors. This is actually the first place I ever ate here, when I came for my job interview. The decor is great, with creative murals like guys snorkeling in an underwater pizza paradise, and painted chairs with crazy and random themes.

I also had a terrific lunch today - there is a Japanese noodle and sushi place just across from my department. I had a great Bento (lunch "box") with edamame, stir-fried veggies, rice and tofu (each in their own little compartment) and a side of miso soup. There are other great lunch combos that I can't wait to try - and of course I'll try the sushi. There was a Bento place at Ohio State I kept intending to go to but only went to a few times - now is my chance to take advantage of one. This place seems a lot better, too, if only for the fact it is clearly a mom and pop (who barely speak English) who are lovingly running the place, and not some commercial operation.

Other great food places include an all vegetarian place with all sorts of crazy dishes inspired from mexican, asian, and american food. There's also a soup and salad place with 8 varieties of soup on any given day (and when I've been at least 3 are vegetarian). There's also a bar-style place with a great portobello sandwich if I get a craving for french fries :) These are all close walks to my office :) I haven't even mentioned the other decent places, or the places I'm not likely to try... Then there are the restaurants downtown, and the restaurants along the shopping strip... All this in such a small town?

Enjoying the quiet

So here I am, living in a small town in the middle of a rural valley. Not all the students have arrived yet - school does not start yet until a week from today, but I must say the peace and quiet of this town is terrific. I can walk around and across campus so easily, and there are so few cars on the road. I wonder if things will be much different next week? I recall how much nicer summers at ohio state were than during the regular school year just because of the quiet on campus. I think because the town is so small, though, that much of the quiet here will remain. Our student body is also about half the size of ohio state, too, so that helps!

One thing that was WONDERFUL was that Saturday we had the first home football game since I've been here, and I completely forgot about it. It was so quiet in my neighborhood and I didn't see or hear any evidence of a football game all day. I may actually start to appreciate the game under these conditions! At ohio state I lived way too close to campus and the crowds, parties, trash, and noise were horrible. One thing that is the same here as there is that there is no parking on campus during game days unless you're going to the game. Hopefully the weather will be ok enough that I can bike to campus those days if I need to go in. I hope to not work on Saturdays though - at least that is my goal :)

I'm listening to the people at the table next to me complaining about how loud their neighbors are - I am so glad I'm living where I am. So far the only thing I've heard from inside my house is a dog barking.

The weather here seems somewhat unpredictable in the sense that (except for June-Aug) there can be heavy cloud cover on any given day that may or may not burn off from the sun. If it burns off the weather will be great and warm; if it does not, it will be chilly and unpleasant. Today after getting my faculty ID I was shocked to realize that I was squinting when I reemerged from the admin building basement - the sun had actually managed to come out after a 4 day hiatus! At least, so far, the cloud cover has been interesting, and the air at ground level is still fairly clear, so it's not like an overall gray haze that I am used to from ohio winters.

Reflections on my summer

This summer was totally amazing in many different ways. I was free to choose my own goals, and free to explore life in ways I had never done before. I didn't have a job to worry about (though thankfully I had a paycheck - I love academia!) and since my stuff was in storage all my old projects could be forgotten. I was thrilled to have a new job - my dream job, to look forward to, and thrilled to be done with my first job which I was glad to leave. This feeling of liberation and accomplishment gave me the confidence to be open to the world and to enjoy my interactions with new people and places during the summer.

The summer started before I left Massachusetts, with a long visit from my mom. Together, we drove up to Maine for my first ever visit there, and on the way up we went to a terrific music hall in the middle of nowhere for some great modern folk-style music. We also went on a whale watching cruise off the Boston coast. We did a little hiking including the cedar swamps that feel magical to be in.




Then I sent my stuff into storage, loaded up my car with my summer essentials and pets, and headed to North Carolina to spend the summer with family. I had my own apartment waiting for me and I knew more of my neighbors within a week than I had known after a year in Massachusetts - people were much friendlier in N.C.! I was thrilled to spend time with my mom and sister, and especially to get to know my adorable nephew.

Shortly after arriving in N.C. I flew out to Oregon to find a house. There was one I had in mind when I flew out; walking distance to campus and quite cute. However, the neighbors were reportedly drug dealing and the street just wasn't good. Fortunately the place I ended up buying went on the market while I was there, and I jumped on it after seeing it and exploring the neighborhood. That was after having been up and down nearly every street in town - and picking up every for sale flier I could find. There was little here in my meager price range. I was happy to stay with a friend's brother and his family while looking for a house - they live only about 20 miles away from where I now live. It is nice to know good people here. I will have them over after I unpack.

Once I returned to N.C. I got started on an old research project that had been sitting in my files. I knew if the data was decent I could get a small paper from it this summer, and I intended to present it at a conference which was fortunately near home. Having worked hard on that project I was ready to spoil myself, so when I found out a guy I knew would be in Vegas and said I could join him and his friends I got online and used a voucher I had to go there for only $100. With all my job interviews I have made elite status on NWA, so I was upgraded to first class - funny since I booked it 2 days in advance and paid so little...

I made a friend on the plane and he invited me to join him and his friends the following evening for a show. After being fairly bored with the guys I was hanging out with (they were math grad students and mostly interested in star trek and poker...) I jumped at the chance to join my new friend for a show. The girl he had gone on the trip with met us there, and she was a hoot. We are still in touch. She had friends from Poland she was meeting there and she invited me to party with them. We stayed up dancing all night and went in Caesar's fountain at 4am - this is a lot more fun than the Star Trek exhibit! I went to my first gay bar that night - I saw a transvestite pole dancing, a midget on the dance floor, and the guy from the plane got us free drinks because the bartender was hitting on him. These people were a lot of fun and we ended up staying up until morning joking and laughing. I am still in touch with the lady - she is hilarious.

Upon returning home I had to nearly immediately leave again to go with my mom and sister to help take care of a cousin (and very close friend of my mom) who broke her hip. It was not an easy trip because my mom's old home town is very depressed, and the conditions of our cousin's hospital and home life were hard to deal with. I also had trouble finding healthy food and felt sick for most of the week. It was, however, a great time to spend with my sister as the two of us continued on and saw a few aunts, uncles and cousins in Birmingham while my mom stayed in the country with our cousin. My favorite part of the trip, however, was the final drive home when we started singing the songs we used to sing as kids - and ended up calling an old babysitter to help remember some lyrics. She was at work, but joined in the singing over the speaker phone :)

Even visiting these people was different from my usual experiences. I went out clubbing with a cousin and saw a lifestyle I had never experienced. She is such a beautiful and sweet girl that everyone is drawn to her and wants to do things for her. Her friends were very welcoming to me which was nice because they are not like people I usually hang out with. One is a model and all were seemingly more interested in beauty than academics. Charles Barkley was at the club we went to, which was rather cool. I didn't go talk to him though - he seemed bombarded. My cousin did as one of her friends knew him. After leaving the club we went for food at the only place still open - a late night bar which was rather seedy. Some guy who tried to convince us he was a vampire was trying so hard to pick up my cousin's friend. She was understandably totally uninterested and gave him a very hard time in return. We had a fun evening and had a good time laughing about it on the way home and the next morning.

Shortly after returning to N.C. I left again for Ohio to see old friends. On the way (well, not really on the way but I made it work anyway) I went to Nashville to use the gift certificate I got for my birthday. It entitled me to laps in an Indy race car and a Stock car, each going up to 180 mph. I didn't even know what those two types of cars were before booking my rides! It was awesome - probably the best gift ever. Thanks mom! Next time I'm driving :) A friend of mine - in fact an older student from my last quarter in Ohio, invited me to join her family for a day at the mid-Ohio race tracks to round out my racing weekend. That was awesome. I got to see both types of cars in action, and we got passes where we could go behind the pit crews and see behind the scenes. I loved the smells, the sounds, and the adrenalin in the air. I had no idea racing would appeal to me, but it did. I was glad to have that new experience!

In Ohio I had bad sleeping arrangements as my friend (the same one that helped me make the drive to Oregon) had a horrible house mate. That house mate had invited his (previously unmentioned) wife and two kids to stay for what he said was a week or two, and it had been 6 weeks and they were still there. They were total slobs, too, and freaked out by my dog. I didn't enjoy that at all and spent as little time there as I could. That freed me up nicely though to see other friends. I have 3 friends there who are artists - though one has yet to decide if she will ever part with anything, even though she has had nice offers for purchasing some of them. The other two both have works I would like to buy and I enjoyed visiting with them again.

One of those artist friends is the one that originally rescued my dog. She had me over to party, got tipsy, and told me more of the story of her rescue than she ever had in the past. Apparently she thought I would feel guilty and want to return my dog - but after 2 years now there is no way - she is mine for good. She found out who the owners were about a month after I took the dog in and had kept the secret all this time. Apparently the owners had bought a new house in the country and couldn't move in yet, but couldn't have a dog in their apartment. So they (after having obtained the dog in exchange for work done for a breeder) dumped the puppy outside and left it there for over a month until they could also go live there. When my friend's grandma found the puppy, she was covered in tics and fleas, dehydrated, and malnourished. I don't think these people deserved to have her - I am glad she is mine. I also think my friend did the right thing to not tell me immediately - I would have felt guilty then, but my bond with her is too strong now.

I also went out with another friend to a fancy new restaurant/bar/club in a restored church. The place could be really cool but probably will not do well. The service was horrific. Our waitress seemed totally inept and clueless, and seemed to think it was cute that she was that way! And this at a place where entrees start at $20 for a small plate. After the dinner we went to a lesbian dance club - also a first for me. I had not even known of it my whole 7 years living in Columbus. I have to say it was really liberating to be there. There were no pretenses and no snobbery like I felt at the place I went to with my cousin earlier in the month. There were straight couples, gay couples, but mostly just groups of friends dancing and having a good time. No one was dressed fancy and everyone seemed accepted and comfortable. There were even very nerdy looking guys confident enough to dance on the tables - that I would never see at some hip trendy club. I had also never been dancing with this friend before - it was a weekend unlike any other I had ever spent in Ohio.

When I returned back to N.C. I was happy to be dating a really fun, nice and cute guy I had met just before my trip. We had probably the most fun date ever, starting with a good dinner at a Thai restaurant, then an impromptu canoe trip down a river around midnight. This was tricky as there were lots of downed trees blocking our paths and places where we had to wade through in the dark. I ended up bruised up a bit but it was fun. Then we talked for a while on his porch and ended up cuddling in a hammock until dawn next to a horse pasture. I had actually dated more since April than I had in the last 2 years combined. And although this guy was the first person I liked enough to spend so much time with, overall the dating has been fun and positive and gives me hope for the future. I am starting to enjoy meeting people, getting to know them, and am meeting people that are worth knowing. On another fun date with the N.C. guy we camped out by the river - my first time sleeping outside in a long time. I was comfortable outside and I can't wait to get back into camping now that I'm on the west coast. A day that I also really enjoyed involved hiking, eating homemade ice cream on the porch with locals at a little country store, then helping him move bales of hay on the farm. That's hard work - I was sweaty, filthy, and sore after that - but it was fun :) This is the same friend that fixed up the bike for me as I mentioned in an earlier post. The last evening I saw him, just before the move to Oregon he also took me on my first motorcycle ride which I really enjoyed - it felt liberating!

Then it was time for my conference. I had submitted my paper and was ready to give my talk, which was well-received. I made a lot of new friends at the conference as well as spent quality time with some old friends. A friend I had made a few years ago (and not seen since) had lost over 100 lbs since she had started power lifting, and she can now dead lift 270 lbs! It was great to catch up with her and hear of all her adventures. It was also terrific to see how empowered she is becoming, and how great she looks! I have been inspired (by more than one source) to be more physically strong this summer, having spent a lot of time at my sister's yoga studio and gotten a private work-out routine worked out with one of the instructors there based on my personal goals and target areas.

At the conference since I wasn't stressed about anything I was able to hang out with people much more than usual. This allowed me to see things I don't normally see. I found out things about people I never would have guessed - personal things I would not post here. I also participated in drinking games (though I didn't drink - I was still accepted) at 2am in the hotel lobby with a bunch of professors and teachers ranging in age from mid-20's to probably about 60. I had no idea such behavior went on at conferences and although I'm glad I saw it, I'll probably avoid it next time :)

After the conference two old friends came back to my mom's house with me and we hiked, went canoeing and on the jet ski, and had some nice meals both out and at home. It was great to have visitors, catch up with friends, and to do some more activities before heading to South Africa.

This summer was just amazing. Not only did I get the quality time with family I had been missing, but I also learned things about people I never knew, met people I would have never met in my past, experienced loads of awesome new things, and enjoyed every minute of it. I also had the chance to re-evaluate goals, set and work on new ones, and re-think how I want to shape my future. All this and I still got a paper accepted for publication :)

And all this BEFORE my amazing trip to South Africa!!