Canadian Geese

The other day, at least 2 weeks ago by now, I was talking to a friend of mine on the computer who lives in Singapore. During the course of our conversation these shadows kept going across the window in my den, it was a very eerie feeling. When I went to investigate I looked to the field across the street and this is part of what I saw (all the black specks are geese!):



Flocks and flocks of Canadian Geese had been coming in for a landing! Since she had never seen a goose, and because it was pretty awe inspiring I took some pictures. I have to admit it loses something in the photo, but there were hundreds of geese all honking and eating, and walking, and sleeping. It was really amazing. Now, I know geese can be a major pain, particularly if you live on water, but I do not have to deal with that aspect of them, and to me they are part of Autumn, and I love watching them. Eventually a large portion of the geese took off, and it darkened the sky. It was funny to watch them because they seemed to be flying in circles, then one group would take the lead, and another group would go the opposite way, so they would both turn around. All I could think of was how it was a miracle they ever got to their destination! Anyway, I hope everyone who enjoys them gets to watch some geese, and hear their friendly honking!

Thanksgiving Fun!

I hope that everyone had a fun, family-filled Thanksgiving!

My holiday was quiet in most respects I think, involving baking, cooking, playing cards, watching a movie, and of course just generally chatting. I am often astounded how, as I get older, it is talking about life, the world, bad jokes, etc. that mean the most to me. It was a truly wonderful holiday! We even had snow, which was literally like icing on the cake. There is just something magical about a roaring fire in the fireplace, snow falling outside, and spending time with loved ones.

As a child we used to always go to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Connecticut for Thanksgiving (when we lived in NY), and Thanksgiving still evokes those memories of a perfect house nestled in the woods along a narrow, curvy, forest lined road. (I have a painting of the hill just above the house hanging over my bed. It will forever transport me to my childhood.) Somehow it always seemed like we were connected to nature there in a way that I didn't feel any other time. Their home borders a wildlife preserve, so mornings, if you got up early enough, involved taking their dog (at the time a lovely husky names Heidi) for a walk along trails. I always ended up coming back home after the holiday with dog treats in the pockets of my winter coat. These early morning hikes became a time where life seemed surreal in the frost, and snow, and frozen noses. The hike started out going through a prairie area where often as not we could see deer, then through woods, to what I remember being a large resevoir. We often saw wild Turkeys and numerous other animals. It was also a time to get to know my family as we walked, and as we talked throughout the day. In the afternoons, we used to do craft projects, my mother being the original (and ultimately cooler - being a true artist) Martha Stewart. We did wheat weaving, and stamping, and cross stitch, and simple sewing, and it was always fun. As I have gotten older I still hold onto my Normal Rockwell-esque childhood memories, though they mean other things to me as well. Now that I have more understanding of "the world" they show me how much my family cares for each other, having taken the time to celebrate with each other, and how the post-card quality of the "house in the woods" is lovely (and I really hope to make it back some day soon), it was really all of the love that makes those memories so special, and sadly it seems unusual, compared to many others I have talked to. So many people seemed to be almost dreading the time they were going to spend with their families over Thanksgiving, I could not wait to see mine! I just wish more of my extended family lived near by. So, I am once again reminded that one of the things I am most thankful for is my family, not despite their insanity, but because of it. :)

This year, as part of our wonderful holiday, my mother decided to re-introduce the craft project to our day. She surprised my sister and I both with Gingerbread house kits to build and decorate. Watching us would have made a good study of "contrasting personality traits in siblings". I was anal, my sister was unabashed, I was more traditional, she was incredibly creative! (who else would flatten gum drops and then carve smoke to come out of the chimney, or wreaths for the windows, or a silhouette of a child for my front window!) In the end though, we both created fantastic (if I may say so myself) Gingerbread houses, and we were BOTH covered in sticky icing, lol. It was great fun. In school, I find myself spending a lot of time looking at how certain thoughts become possible, or impossible, and how all of the little variables of our lives shape how we live, and the choices we perceive as having. My sister and I are excellent examples of this phenomenon, and I am also very thankful we now appreciate our differences, and enjoy each other all the more for them.

For a bit of fun, and because posts are more fun with pictures! Here (don't forget you have to go to the actual blog to see the pictures) are some pictures of the houses!

The Front:



The Back:



The top:


I hope everyone had a great holiday!!!

Grad Life in a Nutshell

For those of you who have chosen to make enough money to live on, or maintain some semblance of sanity, and actually join "the real world" (in one way or another), you may wonder what grad school is like. Full of interesting new ideas? Incredible epiphanies? Freedom of thought, action, and intelligence? hehehe. Maybe in retrospect. :)

This is one of my favorite comic strips, and just as I was feeling like a failure, and the worst grad student ever, I came across this comic. If it is in a comic, it has to be normal, right?

So, without further ado, this is how it feels to be a grad student... Enjoy!

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=312


ps - Just a clarifying remark, this doesn't mean that I am planning on leaving grad school... and no, that is not something I can explain... or really anyone can, lol! :)

A really interesting Video

I actually saw the first of these videos on a friend's facebook page. I really liked his argument for action, and realized he had an updated video and many, many "bonus feature" videos as well! This is an argument for action to counter Global Climate Change... Even if you aren't a person who "watches that type of stuff" I think you should still watch it. I found it very interesting! Who knows, maybe he has even already addressed questions you have! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_anaVcCXg

A lesson Re-Learned

Oh Dear! Did I really miss the ENTIRE month of October somehow? Well, I am not sure that I find it that unbelievable, it was a crazy month. Nothing special, just school, work, school, school, work. :-D One of these days I will get through my "back blog" of posts about it. (I know that was pretty bad wasn't it. lol).

For the moment though, I just thought I would share a lesson I just learned, or probably relearned. I just realized that the reason people (or at least myself) put off cleaning their closet(s) is not because of the amount of work, which is substantial, but because it not only cleans the closet, it messes up the rest of the house that WAS clean. Now, admittedly, this is an extreme case because my closet was (this being the operative word) full of boxes I had not yet unpacked*. The contents of which are know located in the "room they belong in"... all of which are already full. lol. The other things in my closet can best be classified as "uhh, what am I supposed to do with THAT". A notable example would be my english riding saddle. It is a faithful companion I am just not prepared to sell, but does need to be stored in a fairly climate controlled environment (since it isn't being used), but it does takes up a noteworthy amount of space... Not a problem when you have a spare room/finished attic/craft room/etc. but when you are already leveraging "living in a one bedroom" for all it is worth this becomes a quandary I am, quite frankly, not sure I am up for solving... For the moment it is sitting in the middle of my living room. So, if you come visit me soon (and you absolutely should) just enjoy the ambiance of the saddle, and just smile. :)

I hope everyone is taking their allergy medicine and enjoying the Autumn! I know I certainly am!!! :)

*Yes I realized I moved over a year ago, I still have a storage closet full of unpacked boxes to go through as well. Any help would be decidedly welcome! Especially if you are a person who is good at sorting what should be kept, and get excited about throwing things out! :)

Just an update, nothing snazzy

I just realized it has been almost a week since my last post, so I thought I would say hello to everyone. (As an aside, a fly just landed on my computer screen, and perfectly centered itself lengthwise over the right hand border of the text box I am writing in. It seems like that should be significant somehow.)

This week has been acceptable, but nothing particularly note worthy. I have weird allergies that are the worst right after a cold snap, so they went a little nutso last weekend, and then I had a "re-root canal" yesterday that pretty much knocked me down for the day. I am still a little out of it today. On that topic, I *would* like to say that there should be some cosmic rule DIS-allowing things such as "re-root canals". Root canals in general don't phase me anymore, but this one, while not painful (yaaa modern medicine), has been a lot more sore after the fact. I think it probably has to do with getting all the metal out they put in the FIRST time (grrr). Anyway, my face isn't noticeably swollen today (yaaa), so hopefully I won't look like a freak at the wedding this weekend (a friends, definitely not mine, you are not that out of the loop. :) ). Thank goodness for health and dental insurance. lol.

A somewhat amusing thing did happen to me last night. I went swimming as usual, and when I was done made a "dash" for the locker room (and hot tub). Since the pool is heated swimming when it is 60 (or colder) isn't a big deal, but getting OUT of the pool in such weather is rather chilly. Anyway, I went to go inside, and found that I had been locked out! I live in the building directly next to the pool, so you wouldn't think this would be all that worrisome, but there is a 7 ft fence around the pool, and the only entrance/exit that doesn't set off an alarm is the ones to the locker rooms! Luckily just as I was getting ready to call the emergency maintenance number for the complex I thought to look around the corner of the building and see if anyone was coming or going, since many people use the weight room at that time of night. It happened that some people were, so they let me in. I have to say they found it rather amusing. Probably equally amusing as the idea I was swimming in such chilly weather. Honestly though, there is nothing like swimming under the stars, rain or shine, warm or cold! :) Sadly, the pool will close on Monday though, so tonight is likely my last night to swim outside until Spring. Until then, back to the athletic club! (ewwww).

Purdue *Usually* wins...

In my world, Purdue usually wins. Spend most of a decade someplace and it is bound to capture some part of your heart. However, today I had 3 hours between events on campus, and I needed to read an article and preferably get some lunch during that time. My options at Purdue would not have been bad at all, probably grab something at the Union, then sit in academy park, or in my office. Both pleasant and acceptable options.

Here in Madison though, there is something fondly referred to as "The Terrace", which is on the WATER (yes water) side of the Memorial Union. Purdue definitely won on the lunch choices, but it is easy to eat only "eh" food when you are sitting outside, on a perfect day, listening to the sound of water lap the shore, and watching SAILBOATS & windsurfers float around. That is definitely something Purdue can't do. lol. Admittedly, my productivity increased significantly when after 2 hours, fearing for the fate of my pale skin, I retreated back to the library, but the relaxation garnered while getting some work done was well worth the sacrifice of a little efficiency (and potentially a little sunburn, lol).

Here are some pictures of what I was looking at while studying. (The ducks made excellent study partners. :) ) Enjoy!

(a reminder to those reading this on email - you have to go to the actual blog at http://superherophd.blogspot.com/ to see the pictures! :) You can do it!)