Let's see if this actually works today. Yesterday I tried posting and it deleted my entry instead.
I think I'm starting to get the hang of things. Field work made time go by faster than I expected, and before I knew it, seven hours was up and I was back at my cabin. Saw some baby robins! They are soooo cute! They haven't opened their eyes yet. At one nest, the momma and poppa birds were totally losing it that we were there. They kept swooshing by our heads and going "HEY!....HEY!" Well you know what? Next time you have babies, don't put them so close to the ground! At the next nest, the momma bird just sat there and watched us look at her babies. She hardly even made a peep, and she didn't call poppa bird over.
Last night I cleaned off my shelf because Sonja found mouse poop in the cabinet. So I bleached it and put my stuff back. I think it's old because if it were new my stuff would have been chewed up and it wasn't. I also borrowed an electric screw driver and screws from Zach and hung a curtain between the bed/dining area and the kitchen. We lose a lot of heat to the kitchen.
When I went back to return his screw driver, I told him about how I was thinking of getting some expanding foam for all the nooks, crannies, holes, chinks, huge cracks...anywhere where there was a bad draft or where mice were getting in. He agreed with Chris that the work crew has enough on their plate and probably wouldn't do anything about it. Plus, we're the ones that know where all the holes are because we live here. Then he showed me where he also covered places in expanding foam - he'd had the same idea as me! - and he said he hasn't had a mouse since. So I left, figuring that the next time I was near a hardware store, I'd get some expanding foam. Two minutes later, Zach knocks on the door holding up a can of foam. Haha! Turns out he just had one sitting around and I used the whole thing on our cabin. I just have to get him a new can when I can. I missed a couple places, but I guess that's alright. I covered a couple of those places in excess insulation that someone tried covering one of the cracks with. I got the majority of it that we know of and there was an immediate difference in temperature in here, with the foam and curtain combined. It stays warm much better now that there aren't holes everywhere to let in the wind. Can you believe one of the humungus cracks in the wall was covered up by newspapers from 1997? That's in the garbage now. It was kind of entertaining though.
A circuit went nuts in the night or this morning. Maybe lightning, maybe something random and weird, but I thought at first that my computer wasn't registering that it was plugged in, which would be very bad. It would have meant that either the cord or the back of the computer wasn't working. I came back to find that Jamie flipped the circuit switch (wherever that is) and it works fine now. So that's good. At least my computer isn't broken.
Today is an inside work day. It's cold and crappy out and looks like it might storm, and Chris has a lot to do on the computer. That's fine by me. He set me to a few tasks that would save him a lot of time if he didn't have to do them. He'll have more for me by 1, so I came back and ate leftover stir fry. It was nice to eat a hot lunch.
Tomorrow we're going to Washington Gulch, which we have to drive to for part of the way, and then he'll take me grocery shopping. That's good that it's convenient to do that because I just ran out of cereal, and I could use more yogurt, milk, bread, cheese, and a few other things. Maybe pancake mix or something. Oh, and ice cream. Ice cream once in a while is essential to one's happiness.
Current music: "Buttons" - Pussycat Dolls
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Hypochondriac's Nightmare
They shouldn't tell someone like me about things like the Hantavirus. It's not nice. It makes people like me paranoid that we're all going to DIE. HORRIBLY. Of LUNG PLOSION. (Yes, Kristi - lung plosion!)
That said, the Hantavirus has never been seen here. There were one or two cases in Gunnison, and that's miles away, and the closest it's ever come. Still. It's 50%+ fatal. They shouldn't tell me things like that! Now I'm wondering if I cleaned up the mouse crap on the counters well enough. Probably. I used Comet disinfecting cleaner with bleach in it and it made my hands all weird. And apparently the two things that work are bleach and ammonia. So it's probably fine. There also probably isn't Hantavirus here anyway.
Still! AAH!
Jamie's parents bought her/us a space heater! Yaaaaay! AND, there was a miscommunication with a couple people that she's working with, and we're not getting a fourth roommate. Yaaaaay!
Apparently earlier the wind blew so hard it ripped the front screen door and its hinges right out of the wall. It also tore some of our screen out of the frame. When I checked it out, Zach next door was fixing his door, which had the same problem of being not a door anymore. He lent me his staple gun and hammer, which I used for the screen, and then helped me get the door back on where it was supposed to be. It stripped the screw holes, so we had to move the hinge up to another location. I got nervous that his electric screwdriver was making strange noises (I'm not a power tools person, don't make fun of me), so I gave it to him and held the door and he put the hinge back on. I felt like a silly girl that I couldn't use the drill myself but I didn't want to do something wrong or break something. The door works fine now. Really, we wouldn't survive without that guy. He was the reason we had water in the first place because he hooked a hose up for both our cabins, and then he helped put our door back on.
I'm gonna go back to reading fantasy fiction in order to make myself think Hantavirus doesn't exist. But Grolims do. Which is also bad. Very bad.
That said, the Hantavirus has never been seen here. There were one or two cases in Gunnison, and that's miles away, and the closest it's ever come. Still. It's 50%+ fatal. They shouldn't tell me things like that! Now I'm wondering if I cleaned up the mouse crap on the counters well enough. Probably. I used Comet disinfecting cleaner with bleach in it and it made my hands all weird. And apparently the two things that work are bleach and ammonia. So it's probably fine. There also probably isn't Hantavirus here anyway.
Still! AAH!
Jamie's parents bought her/us a space heater! Yaaaaay! AND, there was a miscommunication with a couple people that she's working with, and we're not getting a fourth roommate. Yaaaaay!
Apparently earlier the wind blew so hard it ripped the front screen door and its hinges right out of the wall. It also tore some of our screen out of the frame. When I checked it out, Zach next door was fixing his door, which had the same problem of being not a door anymore. He lent me his staple gun and hammer, which I used for the screen, and then helped me get the door back on where it was supposed to be. It stripped the screw holes, so we had to move the hinge up to another location. I got nervous that his electric screwdriver was making strange noises (I'm not a power tools person, don't make fun of me), so I gave it to him and held the door and he put the hinge back on. I felt like a silly girl that I couldn't use the drill myself but I didn't want to do something wrong or break something. The door works fine now. Really, we wouldn't survive without that guy. He was the reason we had water in the first place because he hooked a hose up for both our cabins, and then he helped put our door back on.
I'm gonna go back to reading fantasy fiction in order to make myself think Hantavirus doesn't exist. But Grolims do. Which is also bad. Very bad.
Every piston sounds like freedom, and every white line says goodbye.
It's snowing today. I took a shower earlier this morning when it was sunny but since it was cold yesterday the water wouldn't get hot. So I took a shower somewhere between lukewarm and cold. Not pleasant. Then it started snowing a little and I went and got more firewood before it got too wet, which turned out to be a good idea. I also helped Chris move Dr. Wellnitz's things out of his old lab and into his new one, then take Chris's stuff into Dr. Wellnitz's old lab. At first, the weather was sort of snow, sun, snow, sun, and then it started snowing pretty hard core and hasn't stopped. It's starting to accumulate. The snow here is different than in WI. It comes in balls like hail, but it's softer than that, and may or may not stick to things, depending on how soft it is. Now that I look outside it's starting to come in wet flakes.
We got our third roommate, Jamie, yesterday. She's here to do her Ph. D. work and she's a lot younger than I expected. She didn't spend the night, and spent it instead with her boyfriend somewhere, who helped her move in. But she came back today, did some shopping for us, and went off with her parents, who showed up a little later this morning. I want my parents (and brother) to visit! Jealousy!
Friday night I went to a bonfire. It was fun. I brought my guitar. Got to know some more people. Everyone is nice here; I like them (though I'm inclined to like just about anybody). Of course, when biologists get together and there's peach-ginger moonshine, whiskey, a couple cases of beer, a really big fire, and Cody, we get into some pretty hilarious conversations. For example, if we want to roast a pig on a stick, and stuff it with pineapple, how are we gonna come up with an excuse for bringing a pig to the lab in the first place? Some good excuses were that it's roadkill, even though the speed limit is 20.
Also, people were talking about how when they get to this altitude sometimes they have weird dreams. I didn't experience this until possibly last night (though my dreams are usually vivid and sort of trippy). "Alive" by SR-71 came on the radio in my dream, and I got really excited about it, and belted along with the song to a gray and black old dog, which sat there and listened to me sing. Of course, the dog could understand what I was saying to it, as I explained that this song never comes on the radio. I got through the second verse before I woke up, and it's been in my head all day. I think I also dreamed that Adam was in Boy Scouts or something similar, and they were all dressed in old style uniforms with red shirts, blue shorts, high white socks, and little hats like you see illustrated sometimes in books from like the '50's. They were going on some sort of adventure. He was little again. That's all I remember about that.
I'm trying to hold off lighting a fire because I want to save wood. We'll see how long that lasts. It's stopped snowing again for now and the sun came back out. Freaking mountain weather - it can't make up its mind!
We got that mouse. I stuck it in the freezer in the lab. I told Kevin that when we set the trap, we were thinking of him because he's the one that needs the mice for his experiment. He replied, "Thanks! I'm glad you think of me when you think of death and killing!" :P
And on that note, I'm gonna either see what's up today or keep reading. Eddings is so addictive. I blame Frances for that one. So is SR-71 and I blame Joe for that one.
Song stuck in head: "Alive" - SR-71
We got our third roommate, Jamie, yesterday. She's here to do her Ph. D. work and she's a lot younger than I expected. She didn't spend the night, and spent it instead with her boyfriend somewhere, who helped her move in. But she came back today, did some shopping for us, and went off with her parents, who showed up a little later this morning. I want my parents (and brother) to visit! Jealousy!
Friday night I went to a bonfire. It was fun. I brought my guitar. Got to know some more people. Everyone is nice here; I like them (though I'm inclined to like just about anybody). Of course, when biologists get together and there's peach-ginger moonshine, whiskey, a couple cases of beer, a really big fire, and Cody, we get into some pretty hilarious conversations. For example, if we want to roast a pig on a stick, and stuff it with pineapple, how are we gonna come up with an excuse for bringing a pig to the lab in the first place? Some good excuses were that it's roadkill, even though the speed limit is 20.
Also, people were talking about how when they get to this altitude sometimes they have weird dreams. I didn't experience this until possibly last night (though my dreams are usually vivid and sort of trippy). "Alive" by SR-71 came on the radio in my dream, and I got really excited about it, and belted along with the song to a gray and black old dog, which sat there and listened to me sing. Of course, the dog could understand what I was saying to it, as I explained that this song never comes on the radio. I got through the second verse before I woke up, and it's been in my head all day. I think I also dreamed that Adam was in Boy Scouts or something similar, and they were all dressed in old style uniforms with red shirts, blue shorts, high white socks, and little hats like you see illustrated sometimes in books from like the '50's. They were going on some sort of adventure. He was little again. That's all I remember about that.
I'm trying to hold off lighting a fire because I want to save wood. We'll see how long that lasts. It's stopped snowing again for now and the sun came back out. Freaking mountain weather - it can't make up its mind!
We got that mouse. I stuck it in the freezer in the lab. I told Kevin that when we set the trap, we were thinking of him because he's the one that needs the mice for his experiment. He replied, "Thanks! I'm glad you think of me when you think of death and killing!" :P
And on that note, I'm gonna either see what's up today or keep reading. Eddings is so addictive. I blame Frances for that one. So is SR-71 and I blame Joe for that one.
Song stuck in head: "Alive" - SR-71
Friday, June 5, 2009
Yo no soy marinero!
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"
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"
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!
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