Tonight was one of those nights where I furiously uploaded photos taken in the past several weeks. The big additions are three new albums: spring flowers, my sister and I on the playground, and this weekend’s trip to Cleveland. I highlight a few of my favorites from each behind the cut.
Continue reading ‘Recent Images’
Tag Archive for 'mark'
The past week has primarily been spent doing long hours of research. There was one ten-hour-straight-non-stop experiment last week and we’re currently in the middle of a second one as I type. It’s a sucky way to spend a Monday, but it does represent some progress toward having results to present at that aforementioned conference.
The highlight of the weekend was a visit from Mark, who I then dragged all over Ithaca. Among our weekend exploits were a trip to the Johnson Museum of Art, a tour of the Ithaca Beer Company, a hike at Buttermilk Falls State Park, and a stop by Ithaca Falls. It was my first proper trip to all of the above, which meant that things got to be engaging and new for me as well as him.
We hit some standby favorites, too: ice cream at the Cornell Dairy Bar, pizza at the Nines with friends, a bit of Soul Calibur II, and plenty of movies–including last night’s still hysterical Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Despite having watched it together many times as undergrads, we still noticed new things to laugh at last night, like random three second musical interludes with no discernible rhyme or reason. And Alan Rickman is still what makes the movie worthwhile.
Otherwise, life in Ithaca is mostly work these days. Soul-sucking, energy-draining work. Can I get a weekend please?
It seems that I spoke too soon about Myst. It turns out that all I needed were a few little hints to get started, and now, now the puzzles are starting to get addictive. It feels surprisingly like my last graduate homework assignment. It took a little while for me to catch on, but once I did, it was pretty smooth sailing and it didn’t feel much like work. That same impulse to figure things out has hit with the game.
In other news, Mark was awesome enough to get me Civilization III Complete. I’ve resisted the urge to install it so far–I still have a bit more research-related stuff to finish and then there’s that whole packing thing–but I did start reading the manual. And I predict that, not only will I love this game, but I’m certain that my little sister will want to play it, too. She’s too much of a history geek (and possibly a meglomaniac like her sister?) not to love it.
Officially, my undergraduate education is over. Classes are over. Project reports have been handed in. Final grades have been posted. I got all A’s this semester, and am graduating with a 3.79 and magna cum laude status. I must admit that I had wanted to graduate with a 3.8-, but I seem to be the only person who thinks less of myself for having failed to.
My research is not quite where I wanted it to be when I left. I won’t be able to conduct the last experiment, but I’m hoping to have it set up so that the graduate student I’ve worked with is able to run it once he comes back. The next few days, with the exception of Tuesday’s trip to Cedar Point, will be spent in the lab working on that. I feel as though I ought to have been in the lab this weekend, but in talking to others–my advisor included–it seems like they think it best if I take a few days for myself and relax. The rainy weather we’ve been having has only encouraged this lethargic feeling.
A bunch of us went to Borders a few days ago, where I picked up What Do You Care What Other People Think? and The Right Stuff. Both are scientifically-oriented people stories, which says something about the state of my mind, I’m sure. Much of this afternoon has been spent chuckling over WDYCWOPT; Richard Feynman and his stories never cease to amuse me. (As an aside, someone’s uploaded a copy of a documentary with him here, and I recommend it to anyone who has the time to watch.) Another thunderstorm’s come up: perfect weather for curling in bed with a book. Either that or sleeping, another thing which I’ve been doing a fair bit of lately.
Yesterday included a trip to Best Buy, where Mark got to spent the gift card he picked out. Among other things, he got Civilization IV, which I’ve been watching him play. (I, incidentally, got a collection of the first three Myst games, none of which I’ve played before.) I grew up in a household where gaming was not allowed beyond educational games, and I certainly played more than enough of Oregon Trail II and Carmen Sandiego (the third “Where in the world” version for those interested) to justify their prices. But I never got to make the jump from games like those–which were still directly educational–to games like Myst and the Civilization games, which, though educational, were not games purely dedicated to education. This is something I’ve always been a little disappointed about because I simply cannot count the number of times people have told me that I would love those games. And I fear that the time during which I would have enjoyed them–Myst, in particular–may be past. Civilization, on the other hand… well, the meglomaniac in me just refuses to let go of that one. We’ll see what happens when I get my hands on a copy. I’m sure there will be reports on how I’m conquering the world.
All in all, things feel a bit surreal at the moment. I still can’t fathom that in one week I’ll be receiving my diploma, packing my bags, and leaving for good. There’s no way to really express my sorrow yet because it’s just not real. I’m trying instead to focus on enjoying what remains in terms of time with friends, work on research problems, and in simply being here. In some ways, it’s kind of how I felt when my time in Tanzania was coming to an end. I knew that, very soon, I would be leaving a wonderful place (two wonderful places, actually: Tanzania and Germany) and wonderful people for a period of purgatory in a place that was unfamiliar and unexciting before making another move to something to which I actually look forward. The advantages this time are that there’s a good chance that I’ll be able to see my friends again; my place of purgatory is not entirely unfamiliar; I’m only there for a couple of months this time instead of a year; and I already know what I have to look forward to, namely graduate school at Cornell. In fact, as part of my efforts to look brightly forward, I will be wearing the blouse that Bill Nye dubbed “Cornell red” at Commencement next Sunday.
Weeks ago I got an urge to make some chocolate chip cookies but didn’t have enough chocolate chips for them, so I went down to the Village Convenience Store to get some M&Msfor a substitute . I ended up giving the woman working the counter a couple of the cookies when I was done. Today she saw me on my way out of Starbucks (with an espresso brownie!) and had to ask me how I got my cookies all the same size. Apparently she thought my cookies were really good because she said that I should open a bakery. I had to laugh. Mark pointed out that I’ve been wasting my time with this aerospace engineering thing. Obviously I should have gone with the bakery. I pointed out that my baking skills will help ingratiate me with any lab I end up in. Who wouldn’t like the new student who brings cookies?
It’s nice to see that people like my cooking, though. I used to worry about coming from a family with a grandmother and mother who were known for being excellent cooks. I feared I’d never manage to live up to it. But over the past couple years, I think I’ve improved a lot, in confidence as well as ability. Oddly enough, I now cook more than my mom does, and last time I was home, she actually told me that she was impressed at how capable I’ve become in the kitchen. There’s hope for me yet!
Today is a day to congratulate my friends. B and Lindsey finished their final exams for med school today, and Mark received word from Google that they’d like to give him a phone interview. As if that were not enough cause for hearty celebration on both sides of the pond, it’s also B’s birthday. So: happy birthday to B and many, many happy congratulations to all three of you!
And now I, having successfully completed my presentation for senior project, am going to enjoy my copy of The Swell Season, which arrived today before going to work.
You may notice that the look of the blog has changed completely. Having gotten completely fed up with my original design, I decided to switch to fBlue until I find the time to finish coding my new design. When that will be, I’m not sure, but I probably won’t have the time to finish it up before the new year. In the meantime, know that I’m still alive. Just barely.
Also, you should all go check out Mark’s blog. For those of you who don’t know, Mark is one of my suitemates and my best friend. He has a terrific sense of humor and produces some of the best turns-of-phrase I’ve ever known. Don’t mind the sleep deprivation, we’re all suffering from that right now.
Otherwise known as “What I Did While Everyone Else On Earth Read Harry Potter 6″.
I have officially survived the camping trip at Pymatuning State Park. Anyone who was in the Ohio/Pennsylvania vicinity, I’m sure, knows that it has rained this weekend. Most of the weekend, in fact. It just got done pouring outside my window a couple minutes ago, actually. But that’s beside the point. The point is that the commentary is below, and the photos are here.
The weekend of camping began around 2:50 Friday when Greg picked Mark and me up from our uni. We drove to Heinen’s with our shopping list and started tracking down ingredients. That night we were having typical camping fare: hot dogs and s’mores. Made it back to the car in time for some rain, an unfortunate precursor to the remainder of the trip. By 4:10 we were out on the road and heading due east toward Pymatuning State Park. Rather than taking I-90 by the lake, we took 322 (basically Mayfield Rd.), which gave us a much more pleasant viewing experience in my opinion. The two-lane highway cut through trees and cornfields, mostly, punctuated at times by little towns and their single spire churches. We ran into a couple of Amish buggies as well. Rain continued in intervals.
Shortly before six o’clock, we arrived at the campground, shooed some people out of our reserved spot, and took a quick look around. We had a non-electric spot, with no one immediately adjacent to us, though the campsites are fairly close together. Everything was pretty standard: gravel driveway, fire ring, and rotted-out, nasty picnic table. Our lot was pretty well covered by trees, but peeking between them and off to the left was the lake.
Suspecting that the rain would follow us (WHY did I leave my rain jacket at home?!) we hurried to set-up the tent and store our gear. Once that was done, we grabbed our water bottles, filled them at the spigot, and headed toward the camp store to get some wood and ice. We pretty much made it back without much worse than a couple raindrops, a rumble or two of thunder, and sore hands. That’s about where luck ended.
Immediately, we set to with the fire: gathering wood, making wood shavings, and generally being scout-like. Within a few matches, it was clear that nature was against us. We kept striking matches, the wood kept not burning, and the rain kept falling. We leaned over the fire but to no avail. The light rain turned into a downpour, and we ran into the tent for cover.
When the rain slowed, we ventured outdoors again, me in my wet shirt and the guys in fresh, dry ones, to find our rain-soaked firewood. Cue a new march to the camp store, this time for lighter fluid and a full box of matches. As Mark put it, “with enough lighter fluid, you can get even water to burn”. It turns out that perseverance is also a necessary ingredient. It was well after dark (and raining again, surprise!) before we got a fire capable of cooking our hot dogs. Let me tell you, though, those hot dogs were excellent. Greg and I finished up with a couple of s’mores, then we all crowded into the very dark tent and called it a night.
I didn’t sleep particularly well, what with a winter sleeping bag and the ground trying to mess with my back. But I managed to stay still until 8 AM, when I started recording our little escapade. At half-past a rather vociferous crow woke Greg up, and we both started moving around. I grabbed my shower things and headed for the bathhouse. About all I say for it is that the water got warm.
When I got back, Mark was up, and it was time to try our pancakes. Greg had a punctuated coffee can we planned to put over a small fire and atop which we could cook pancakes, but things did not go quite as well as planned. Temperature regulation is a bit difficult on a campfire. As we were hungry, we gave up pretty quickly and laid into the Frosted Mini-Wheats we had the foresight to buy. Black cherries made a nice end to things.
Another trip to the camp store for more lighter fluid and some foil. (The kind we’d brought was not what we needed.)
Then we decided to try some hiking, but the trail was poorly marked, and it looked like it was several miles to the dam (and then we’d need to come back), so we decided that the car would be a good ally. Besides, I reasoned, that would give us a chance to sit and read for a bit at the dam.
As it turned out, going in the car was a brilliant idea because the moment we arrived at the dam, we suffered an absolutely torrential downpour. We sat in the car steaming (quite literally) with our Teddy Grahams and dried fruit until it passed.
Greg and I set out to explore, cameras in hand. We walked along the outlet, crossed the bridge that ran across the dam, poked around a building that I suspect provides some control over the dam, and journeyed down to the spillway. Naturally, there are many photos. We returned to the car to find Mark in the same spot, Dave Barry book in hand and ears firmly ensconced in the headphones attached to his iPod Shuffle.
By this point, the sun was out and it was growing muggier by the second. Greg and I changed into swimwear while Mark stayed back at the campsite with his book. Greg and I walked out to the beach and waded into the wonderfully cool water. There was once a time when I would have been swimming with my head wet with lake water, but I must say my sensibilities have changed somewhat since then.
When we got back to the campsite, we read for awhile before making another trip to the camp store, this time for ice and beverages. When we got back, we started straight into getting the fire going and dinner cooking. For this meal, we wrapped pepper- and Worchestershire-seasoned veggies (mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and potatoes) and beef in foil packets and placed them in the coals to cook. I added dessert by cutting up a couple of apples and wrapping them in foil. Just before dinner was ready, we noticed the change in the air that could only be a thunderstorm coming in. Down came the clothes line. Into the tent with the books. Back into the car trunk with the supplies. Just as the sky broke open, we fished the last foil packet out of the fire, doused it, and jumped into the car with the food, dinnerware, and three Cokes. Like the thunderstorm from earlier in the day, this was quite the storm. Eventually we found a pavilion where we could hide out and eat. In some ways, that dinner was our crowning glory.
Once the rain stopped and we got back to camp, there was still an hour or so before the sun was supposed to set and we had lots of wood and lighter fluid. So we lit the fire anew and made some more s’mores. Well after dark, we crawled back into the tent and talked for an hour or two before falling asleep. Now, had anyone been close enough to hear us, they would have been amazed at finding such geeks out camping. Among our topics of conversation: XML and the Oxford comma.
Since Pymatuning really seems best suited for fishing and boating, we had no qualms about heading out fairly early the next morning. Breakfast was leisurely, cereal and watermelon, followed by breaking down camp. By 10:30, I think, we were on the road home, and we got back to campus shortly after noon. The first and most important order of business? A shower. A nice, long, warm battle against the stickiness of sweat and the stench of woodsmoke. I’m happy to report that I have won.
Latest Comments
RSSWell Behind at Curious Notions
the canadian, Bernadette, Amy, Steph
Nicole, Bernadette, Nicole, Joe, Steph, Bernadette
Greg
Nicole, Bernadette, Nicole, Bernadette, Bernadette
Joe, Nicole, Joe, Nicole, Joe