Man am I tired. I think all the hiking and altitude is finally getting to me and I'm seriously considering a good long nap. Chris let me go early. He wanted to get three plots done today but knows how tired I got just today and told me to go home and rest. Before I totally left, I went on top of a small hill not far from the hiking trail and called Mom and Dad. Talked to them for maybe a total of 20 minutes, 10 each, and came home. I picked up some firewood on the way and came home to find that Sonja had already gotten some. That's fine - I'd rather have way too much than not enough any day.
We saw some deer today, a pregnant mother and her yearling twins. They make deer a lot bigger and more robust out here. I suppose they have to be to handle this environment, especially through the rough winters and cold nights.
Speaking of cold, I'm sick of being cold at night and having to tend a fire instead of turn a dial. Haha, yay for the laziness of the 21st century. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. But Chris said the nights won't get any warmer all summer. The days will get hot, in fact unbearably hot sometimes, but the nights will stay freezing cold. Joy. *gag*
I finished Pawn of Prophecy last night and I'll start Queen of Sorcery tonight. Yay for re-reading the Eddings books! They're just as good as I remember them. I've also been knitting some in my spare time. Tomorrow Chris, Matt, and maybe a few others are getting together to climb Mount Something-I-Can't-Remember tomorrow, but I might skip out. I'm so worn out and everyone else that would be climbing is much more acclimated than I am to this environment, so I'd be the slow poke. Which is fine, they'd all understand, I'd just feel like I was holding everyone up. But that's not all. I'm just really tired. Chris says he knows I'd push myself, but Rachel (Chris's girlfriend) said on the phone to him last night, "Don't wear her out!" Haha, too late. My muscles are saying no, even though my rationale says I should, just so I'll get acclimated faster. And I'd have to get up at 6. Ew.
My butt is sore. Thought you ought to know.
Someone keeps playing a recorder to get the coyotes going. Oh! And there's a mouse in the cabin! The stinker got into my nuts overnight. I'll have to make sure I keep food locked in the cupboard. Poop head. If he keeps it up, I'll have to set up a trap, and stick his dead body on the pile of other dead mice and chipmunks in the freezer so that someone can use him for a beetle experiment. That's right, he'll get whacked dead with a metal rod while trying to eat a piece of mozzarella cheese, thrown in a freezer, and observed while being consumed by beetles and their larvae. Cruel? Yes. Eating MY food when there is PLENTY outside? Stupid idea, mouse.
Song stuck in head: "La Bamba"
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost.
Yesterday Chris and I spent a few hours tromping around the woods, making a quarter-hectare plot, recording which trees had cavities, damage from sap sucking, or fungus. It's a little confusing to keep track of the trees sometimes, but I'm sure that will get easier as I go. He doesn't mind that I take a little longer as long as I am meticulous (which might as well be my middle name). Speed will come in time.
Then, we visited Matt in his cabin and made plans to meet up and eat Mexican. I brought Sonja with me and we all piled in Kevin's Jeep. But when we got there, we realized that apparently they are closed on Wednesdays. So we found another place that doesn't really specialize in anything, has a little of everything, and I ordered a fish taco since I failed to get one when I was in San Diego. It was alright. The fish-salsa combination was a little weird. We saw a porcupine, deer, and a mother elk on our way back up to the lab, and heard three different packs of coyotes yelling at each other. Chris tried wolf howling to get them going again, but they stayed quiet. The elk, however, freaked out. Poor thing.
Starting a fire last night was a little easier than the night before because our kindling was dryer. I woke up randomly at 2 am and tried to start it back up again and failed so I tried to go back to bed. But I couldn't sleep, so I went to the bathroom, came back, and still didn't sleep until after 3. I did take a moment when I was outside to enjoy the night-time scenery, which I hadn't seen until then. The mountains are all around us here, and some parts were cloudy, but the clouds were lit by an almost-full moon, which must have dipped behind a mountain. All the stars were out. You could see the milky way. I cannot possibly convey the beauty of it all - the silhouetted trees and the power of the dark mountains with shimmering blue snow, and the clouds barely obstructing this view of the universe, which is so clear with no city lights for miles.
Speaking of peeing, I just realized yesterday that there's an outhouse RIGHT outside our cabin. No more having to walk a long ways in the cold to pee, yay! It was hidden by pine trees, which I'm sure were planted there just to hide the outhouse from us. Tricksy hobbitses.
Sonja had to get up at 6, and I don't have to get up til 8. So when I did get up, of course it was freezing in here, and warmer outside with the sun out. So I opened the doors to let light and warm air in and made myself a bowl of cereal. When I opened the side door next to my dresser and laptop, there was a hummingbird right at face level about five feet away, looking at me expectantly as though he'd knocked and I was late to answer. That was fun to see! And then I also saw three chipmunks eating grass and flowers in front of my porch steps. They are cute. I'm assuming today that Chris and I will do the same thing as yesterday in a different place.
Song stuck in head: "Seize the Day" - Avenged Sevenfold
Then, we visited Matt in his cabin and made plans to meet up and eat Mexican. I brought Sonja with me and we all piled in Kevin's Jeep. But when we got there, we realized that apparently they are closed on Wednesdays. So we found another place that doesn't really specialize in anything, has a little of everything, and I ordered a fish taco since I failed to get one when I was in San Diego. It was alright. The fish-salsa combination was a little weird. We saw a porcupine, deer, and a mother elk on our way back up to the lab, and heard three different packs of coyotes yelling at each other. Chris tried wolf howling to get them going again, but they stayed quiet. The elk, however, freaked out. Poor thing.
Starting a fire last night was a little easier than the night before because our kindling was dryer. I woke up randomly at 2 am and tried to start it back up again and failed so I tried to go back to bed. But I couldn't sleep, so I went to the bathroom, came back, and still didn't sleep until after 3. I did take a moment when I was outside to enjoy the night-time scenery, which I hadn't seen until then. The mountains are all around us here, and some parts were cloudy, but the clouds were lit by an almost-full moon, which must have dipped behind a mountain. All the stars were out. You could see the milky way. I cannot possibly convey the beauty of it all - the silhouetted trees and the power of the dark mountains with shimmering blue snow, and the clouds barely obstructing this view of the universe, which is so clear with no city lights for miles.
Speaking of peeing, I just realized yesterday that there's an outhouse RIGHT outside our cabin. No more having to walk a long ways in the cold to pee, yay! It was hidden by pine trees, which I'm sure were planted there just to hide the outhouse from us. Tricksy hobbitses.
Sonja had to get up at 6, and I don't have to get up til 8. So when I did get up, of course it was freezing in here, and warmer outside with the sun out. So I opened the doors to let light and warm air in and made myself a bowl of cereal. When I opened the side door next to my dresser and laptop, there was a hummingbird right at face level about five feet away, looking at me expectantly as though he'd knocked and I was late to answer. That was fun to see! And then I also saw three chipmunks eating grass and flowers in front of my porch steps. They are cute. I'm assuming today that Chris and I will do the same thing as yesterday in a different place.
Song stuck in head: "Seize the Day" - Avenged Sevenfold
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Day 3
Yesterday the directors hosted a potluck in their cabin. I made some rather pathetic potatoes. I tried as hard as I could to get the centers soft, but no matter what I did, they were al dente. Edible, but not the best. Matt (the guy that lived across the hall from me in Chancellors, just graduated, and is here for a month) said that last year they tried potatoes twice and they never worked out. It's the altitude. Bummer. At least they must have tasted alright, or at least people were interested in them. Most of them were gone by the time I took them home, and there's one serving left.
Sonja - and yes, she's German, from Munich - and I went on the quest yesterday for firewood and were successful in finding some pretty damp stuff. The most useful stuff we found was some dead, dry grass. It must have taken us an hour or two last night to get a good fire started, with the help of the wood that's been sitting around for a year which is dry. And then the fire alarm went off because there must have been something blocking the flu, or it wasn't venting properly. So as soon as we got that calmed down, and the fire had totally choked itself out even though the flu was open, I went next door to get Zach to see if he knew any tricks. Zach is a grad student who's been here about five years researching the effects of global warming on plants. He's a nice guy. Anyway, he came over, and said he didn't know much, but he ran back to his house to get a head lamp to check the flu, some newspaper since we didn't have any, and some fire starters. I guess we burned out whatever was in the flu because it started working and he said when he looked over earlier he could see smoke coming out, so it wasn't totally blocked. It took two fire starters to really get it going, but once we did, we went to sleep warm. And the fire alarm went off once more from our attempts to start a semi-wet fire, so that was an adventure.
Sometime in the middle of the night, the fire burned itself out and we woke up cold. But at least the sun is out and the cabin should warm up a little along with the earth, and then we can *hopefully* start another fire tonight. I don't know. I placed some of the wet-ish logs near the stove to see if they'd dry out (a good suggestion from my boyfriend), but they don't look like they budged much because the bark is so corky and damp and full of fungus.
Chris will be here shortly to pick me up. Yesterday he showed me around the lab and took me to Judd Falls and back. Today he's going to show me some research methods and see if we can't figure out how we're going to approach the question. I'll update again eventually. Take it easy, all.
Sonja - and yes, she's German, from Munich - and I went on the quest yesterday for firewood and were successful in finding some pretty damp stuff. The most useful stuff we found was some dead, dry grass. It must have taken us an hour or two last night to get a good fire started, with the help of the wood that's been sitting around for a year which is dry. And then the fire alarm went off because there must have been something blocking the flu, or it wasn't venting properly. So as soon as we got that calmed down, and the fire had totally choked itself out even though the flu was open, I went next door to get Zach to see if he knew any tricks. Zach is a grad student who's been here about five years researching the effects of global warming on plants. He's a nice guy. Anyway, he came over, and said he didn't know much, but he ran back to his house to get a head lamp to check the flu, some newspaper since we didn't have any, and some fire starters. I guess we burned out whatever was in the flu because it started working and he said when he looked over earlier he could see smoke coming out, so it wasn't totally blocked. It took two fire starters to really get it going, but once we did, we went to sleep warm. And the fire alarm went off once more from our attempts to start a semi-wet fire, so that was an adventure.
Sometime in the middle of the night, the fire burned itself out and we woke up cold. But at least the sun is out and the cabin should warm up a little along with the earth, and then we can *hopefully* start another fire tonight. I don't know. I placed some of the wet-ish logs near the stove to see if they'd dry out (a good suggestion from my boyfriend), but they don't look like they budged much because the bark is so corky and damp and full of fungus.
Chris will be here shortly to pick me up. Yesterday he showed me around the lab and took me to Judd Falls and back. Today he's going to show me some research methods and see if we can't figure out how we're going to approach the question. I'll update again eventually. Take it easy, all.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hello from Colorado! So far it's been quite the trip.
Last night when I got here, I already had one roommate, Sonja. I think she might be from Germany or something, but I haven't asked. She's nice. :] Last night was mostly about getting groceries in the cupboard and fridge, and making my bed so I could sleep in it. I also hooked up the computer and made sure the Internet was working, which is is, just fine. Last night's dinner was cereal, which I ate in a Tupperware bowl that I bought, with my hands, because I couldn't find any bowls or silverware. And then once I was done eating and washing out my bowl, I found the cupboard with the dishes. So at least now I know where that is, and I know it's possible to eat cereal without a spoon.
It was very, very cold last night. Luckily, I know where the flushing toilet is, inside a heated building. Muahaha. Except I have to go uphill to get back to my cabin, and I don't have enough red blood cells yet to handle the altitude, so every time I get back from peeing, I feel like I'm trying to run a marathon or something. At least my sleeping bag keeps me nice and cozy, even though neither Sonya nor I had had the foresight to get firewood, so we had no heating. I'll try to find some today so we can be a little cozier tonight.
We don't really have a stove. It's sitting disconnected in the middle of the kitchen with a retro speaker next to it. Maybe it has a leak or something. But we do have those countertop burners that you have to light with a match. It's kind of scary, and every time you light it you're pretty sure your hand is going to combust, but I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. The water here is good. It is whatever temperature the water is outside because we have no heating or cooling, but that's alright. Apparently it comes right from the mountains, then they put chlorine in it because the state says they have to, and it comes to the faucets. Chris said if you just leave a glass of water to sit out overnight, the chlorine will evaporate by morning, and you'll have yourself a glassful of pure mountain water.
Everything here is beautiful.
Chris just stopped by. I was going to see if I could find his cabin when I was done updating here. He's going to show me around the lab. So I should go. Cheerio!
Last night when I got here, I already had one roommate, Sonja. I think she might be from Germany or something, but I haven't asked. She's nice. :] Last night was mostly about getting groceries in the cupboard and fridge, and making my bed so I could sleep in it. I also hooked up the computer and made sure the Internet was working, which is is, just fine. Last night's dinner was cereal, which I ate in a Tupperware bowl that I bought, with my hands, because I couldn't find any bowls or silverware. And then once I was done eating and washing out my bowl, I found the cupboard with the dishes. So at least now I know where that is, and I know it's possible to eat cereal without a spoon.
It was very, very cold last night. Luckily, I know where the flushing toilet is, inside a heated building. Muahaha. Except I have to go uphill to get back to my cabin, and I don't have enough red blood cells yet to handle the altitude, so every time I get back from peeing, I feel like I'm trying to run a marathon or something. At least my sleeping bag keeps me nice and cozy, even though neither Sonya nor I had had the foresight to get firewood, so we had no heating. I'll try to find some today so we can be a little cozier tonight.
We don't really have a stove. It's sitting disconnected in the middle of the kitchen with a retro speaker next to it. Maybe it has a leak or something. But we do have those countertop burners that you have to light with a match. It's kind of scary, and every time you light it you're pretty sure your hand is going to combust, but I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. The water here is good. It is whatever temperature the water is outside because we have no heating or cooling, but that's alright. Apparently it comes right from the mountains, then they put chlorine in it because the state says they have to, and it comes to the faucets. Chris said if you just leave a glass of water to sit out overnight, the chlorine will evaporate by morning, and you'll have yourself a glassful of pure mountain water.
Everything here is beautiful.
Chris just stopped by. I was going to see if I could find his cabin when I was done updating here. He's going to show me around the lab. So I should go. Cheerio!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
I'm doing science and I'm still alive!
Soooo I leave for Colorado in four days. I am so not ready. I am, however, going to print out all my tabs that I have saved on my bookmarks so that I can bring an anthology of music that I can play on the guitar. I also have to notify a bunch of people on LJ and Facebook and give them the link to this blog again, because I might never go on either site for the entire two months. Or I'll check them more rarely.
I'm going to ask my parents about a going away party on Sunday. Not anything crazy with pin the tail on the donkey, or beer pong, or anything like that, but maybe an outdoor cookout kind of thing. We'll see. :]
Actually, I'm getting a little nervous for this whole Colorado thing. I think I'll have lots of fun, but I've never done something like this before, so it's new and scary for me. It's exciting though, too.
Asking parents time!
Current song stuck in head: "Still Alive" - Portal soundtrack (end credits for Windows)
Edit: No going away party! A coming back party, probably August 15 (Saturday).
I'm going to ask my parents about a going away party on Sunday. Not anything crazy with pin the tail on the donkey, or beer pong, or anything like that, but maybe an outdoor cookout kind of thing. We'll see. :]
Actually, I'm getting a little nervous for this whole Colorado thing. I think I'll have lots of fun, but I've never done something like this before, so it's new and scary for me. It's exciting though, too.
Asking parents time!
Current song stuck in head: "Still Alive" - Portal soundtrack (end credits for Windows)
Edit: No going away party! A coming back party, probably August 15 (Saturday).
Friday, May 15, 2009
SUPERMAX!
Gothic is a four hour drive from our country's only federal super-maximum security prison, where 22% of the inmates have killed other inmates, and 35% have tried to, so they keep most of the prisoners in solitary confinement for 23 hours (or more) of the day. And even then they only get to exercise alone because the only people they ever interact with there are correctional staff until they are proven worthy to send to a NORMAL maximum security prison.
Awesome.
Of course, the stats are from Wikipedia so take them with a grain of salt. But still. I could tour the only federal supermax this country has, from behind glass. And if a prisoner escapes, that's always fun. Though I doubt they will. They'd probably get killed by attack dogs and razor wire trying to escape.
Oh my God! The Unabomber is at that prison! And a couple Islamic terrorists. And someone convicted of aiding terrorists. And...a Christian Identity terrorist? And a surgeon-turned-serial-killer that poisoned his patients/victims instead of curing them. But that could sound worse than it is if it was assisted suicide. The Oklahoma City Bomber went there and was executed in 2001.
This whole post is almost totally irrelevant. I was just studying for criminal justice and decided to see how far I would be from the "Alcatraz of the Rockies."
Edit: Here is an article from Times. Apparently the solitary confinement methods border on torture.
Awesome.
Of course, the stats are from Wikipedia so take them with a grain of salt. But still. I could tour the only federal supermax this country has, from behind glass. And if a prisoner escapes, that's always fun. Though I doubt they will. They'd probably get killed by attack dogs and razor wire trying to escape.
Oh my God! The Unabomber is at that prison! And a couple Islamic terrorists. And someone convicted of aiding terrorists. And...a Christian Identity terrorist? And a surgeon-turned-serial-killer that poisoned his patients/victims instead of curing them. But that could sound worse than it is if it was assisted suicide. The Oklahoma City Bomber went there and was executed in 2001.
This whole post is almost totally irrelevant. I was just studying for criminal justice and decided to see how far I would be from the "Alcatraz of the Rockies."
Edit: Here is an article from Times. Apparently the solitary confinement methods border on torture.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
So my plane schedule changed again. Hopefully this is the last time it will do so. But it might not be.
I dropped off my sleeping bag, sheets, blankets, and guitar for Chris to take to Colorado with him. And now I have no guitar. Sad face. =(
But on Sunday, Keri and I leave for San Diego! Woo hoo! And then home! Woo hoo again! Anywhere but school is okay with me. I only have one more exam left to go, in criminal justice, but I'm finding it difficult to study for it. I know it won't be very difficult, and I know that I could screw up on it and still be fine in the class because I've kept a pretty steady B in it all semester. I think I calculated that if I get a C on the final, I still get a B in the class. Though I guess I should go back to studying.
My friends and me are going to Buffalo Wild Wings tonight! Another woo hoo!
This is me after too much studying!
Currently listening to: "Wheel In The Sky" - Journey
I dropped off my sleeping bag, sheets, blankets, and guitar for Chris to take to Colorado with him. And now I have no guitar. Sad face. =(
But on Sunday, Keri and I leave for San Diego! Woo hoo! And then home! Woo hoo again! Anywhere but school is okay with me. I only have one more exam left to go, in criminal justice, but I'm finding it difficult to study for it. I know it won't be very difficult, and I know that I could screw up on it and still be fine in the class because I've kept a pretty steady B in it all semester. I think I calculated that if I get a C on the final, I still get a B in the class. Though I guess I should go back to studying.
My friends and me are going to Buffalo Wild Wings tonight! Another woo hoo!
This is me after too much studying!
Currently listening to: "Wheel In The Sky" - Journey
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