Unfrozen -- Spring in Philadelphia

Last weekend, I went to Philadelphia for the NCAA mens hockey tournament, otherwise known as the Frozen Four. I was supposed to go down with my friends Joe and Allison, but unfortunately they had a death in the family and were unable to make it. So, as the official ticket courier, I headed down to meet Joe's grad school friends alone.

The weather was beautiful in Philly and I had a great time seeing a lot of outdoors things. One of the first things I did was stop by Philadelphia's magic gardens, a studio and lot turned into a giant mosaic grotto by the artist.

The outside was covered in tiles for multiple stories.

I liked the grotto feel.

Not just random tiles; there were words, figures, and designs.

At the end of my visit, I tagged onto a tour and got to meet the artist, Isaiah Zagar. I stayed back to ask him a few questions, and at the end he said, "Can I get a hug?" so I said "Sure!" Then I asked if I could get a picture with him. "A selfie?" he asked. Yup, exactly what I had in mind!

The next day, I got to do some historical touristy stuff. We stopped by Independence Hall and although the signs said the tickets were sold out, the Park Ranger came out and gave us some tour tickets for free. It was really cool seeing the place where our Founding Fathers formed our nation.

George Washington sat in that chair at the back

Hard to believe that what happened in this building changed the world.

I also learned something -- Thomas Jefferson did not write the Bill of Rights. I totally thought he did, but he was busy being an ambassador to France at the time. So although he was a big proponent, and gave some ideas to the authors, the true authors were James Madison and George Mason. Oops. I had to correct my history there!

Friday we also went to a baseball game: Phillies vs. Miami. I'm not a big baseball fan, but it was still fun. We started out near the top and finished the game in some empty seats near home plate.

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack, I don't care if I ever get back...

Blurry because it's a close up. And I had beer. 

Saturday was market day! I started out at the Reading Terminal Market, the oldest continuously operated farmer's market in the U.S.

Flowers are the prettiest, even if food is my favorite

Then I visited Ben Franklin's grave. At one point he wrote his own epitaph, although in the end he decided he didn't want that on the grave itself.

Good old BF certainly had a sense of perspective: "Food for Worms" indeed!

After that, I met up with the rest of the gang at the Italian market, an outdoor market. It was interesting because the northern end of the market was definitely European, but the southern end was more Latino in nature, and there were lots of Mexican restaurants around and you started seeing things like prickly pear pads in the veggie stalls. We also found a butcher with whole, skinned goats hanging from the ceiling! I'll save you the picture out of respect for my squeamish or vegetarian friends.

What is a trip to Philly without a Philly cheesesteak? Everyone else had already eatern theirs, but I needed to get one before I headed home. And it was fantastic! I got provolone, no "Whiz", but I was eager to forgo a little authenticity in favor of taste.

Certainly not a misteak in my opinion!

I also got mushrooms. What? I like mushrooms!

So far I haven't mentioned much of the hockey -- it was really good. The first two games were fantastic; an action packed game between Boston College and Union College, and then a slower game between University of Minnesota and University of North Dakota -- which finished with a surprise goal by U of MN with only 0.6 seconds to go! The Championship was a bit disappointing for U of MN fans (Joe and his classmates), 7 to 4, Union College. But they really outplayed Minnesota and I felt like the best school won.

So, a whirlwind trip that really gave me a nice taste of what Philadelphia is like! Overall, a very positive experience. Philadelphia has a lot of neat neighborhoods, fun things to do, and good restaurants. I call that my kind of town.

Bowling for Beers

As I was writing an e-mail to my good friend Nikki, it occurred to me that I never shared my cricket-playing experience from earlier this month, and that all of my American friends would probably be interested to hear about it.  Every year, our office has an annual cricket match between the Hydrology and Climate departments, and the Forecasting office.  The past two years the game has been cancelled due to rain, so the friendly rivalry really reached a peak this year. Again this year, afternoon showers showed up just in time for the game.  Everyone was ready to go though, and since it wasn't an absolute downpour, the game went ahead.  Even though everyone else was miserable, I felt perfectly at home, because the weather was not unlike a late August day in Alaska.  In fact, I was a little grateful, because I think I would have broiled to death in the hot sun.

I was a little nervous, because I have bad memories of getting yelled at when playing sports in school.  I knew some of my officemates were pretty competitive, so I was a bit worried, especially since I barely knew the rules.  Of course, I forgot that we're all adults now, and that people don't yell at you when you try when you're an adult.  Still, the morning of the game, I realized I didn't even know how to hold a bat, so I asked for an impromptu coaching session on cricket techniques, which fortunately did not end in my knocking over the Hydro fish tank. 

My team put me first at bat, mostly because it was raining and they were all in the gazebo like a bunch of wimps, while I was already wet because I'd walked from the office.  I managed to hit the ball a few times, and I didn't knock over my own stumps, so that boosted my confidence a little bit.  I forget how I got out -- whether someone caught the ball or I got bowled out (the bowler, analogous to the pitcher in baseball, knocks over the sticks the batter is standing in front of).

Eventually we switched positions, and our team had to field, which meant everyone got a chance to bowl.  This was very nervewracking for me, because all eyes were on me, and I had never bowled before.  It is not at all like pitching.  Basically, you have to huck the ball at the ground, while keeping your arm straight.  I found it very unnatural.  My bowls seemed to go okay, although I (apparently, since I couldn't tell what I looked like) did not keep my arm straight.  Anyway, I only had to bowl 6 or 7 times, which was a relief. Then I went back to standing in the outfield, hoping desperately the ball wouldn't come to me.

Supposedly, my team won, although there was some minor squabbling about how the scores were kept.  The result was finalized at the pub, which makes it a bit more suspicious, but hey!  We won!  And most importantly, I had a good time.

Feliz Navidad

I'm feeling the need for a Christmas Eve post, mostly because Everyone Else is Doing It, and you know how I like to follow the crowd.  Anyway, I haven't posted in over a month, so I feel a bit guilty about that.  Honestly, I've been a bit depressed and just haven't had the enthusiasm.  That isn't a bid for advice or attention, just an explanation.  But I'm in a better mood now and I have some ideas to make my life a bit more interesting and pull me out of my funk.

Anyway, I thought I'd talk a little bit about Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere, since everyone seems to ask about it.  What I miss most has nothing to do with Australia; it's having family close enough to spend time with.  My friends have been great about picking up the slack though, and we're planning on a Christmas lunch with our friend David this year.

How is Christmas different here?  Mainly, it's hot, and in my experience, it's been humid.  This makes the massive dinner less appealing.  There are more barbecues and lunches, and people will go to the beach, but overall, it's kind of the same.  There's still the lights and the trees and the Santas, all of which seem out of place in 25 (80) degree weather and under bright sunshine.  As I learned in Alaska, the lights do so much to brighten those dark days of winter, and although the lights here are very festive, it's just not the same effect.  Also, there's Christmas pudding, which is a glorified version of fruitcake.  The Aussies have some lovely desserts, but this is not one of them.  I'd rather have a Christmas pavlova any day.

December 26th is Boxing Day, which is also a holiday here.  I used to think Boxing Day was named that because there was a big boxing match, but apparently it comes from Ye Olde England, when people used to box up their leftovers for the poor people.  Nowadays, Boxing Day is the day all the shoppers hit the big sales, and the sports enthusiasts watch the big Boxing Day cricket test match (the test matches are the 5-day long cricket games).  I have some interest in the Boxing Day match and I will try to sneak a peek on my break at work, but the fact that I'm not really sure who's playing shows that I'm still an American at heart.  Still, it will be more fun to watch that than the weird foreign films the t.v. channels seem fond of playing around lunch time.

So that's it for Christmas.  I'm looking forward to posting a year end/beginning post in another week or so.  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and for those who don't, I hope you at least have a lovely few days off!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Back in January, Ethan and I went to a cricket match with our American friend Joe. All three of us wanted to attend a match while we were here, so we went to a regional match one Sunday night out at ANZ Stadium.

The venue

Because it was a regional match, it wasn’t very popular, so the tickets were $20 and we had no trouble choosing seats. I have been following cricket at work because the Aussies like it and I wanted to learn about it. It seems really confusing at first, but it’s not really all that different from baseball.

The cricket pitch

The match we went to was a 20/20 match, which lasts only three hours, as opposed to the 5 day test matches, which literally last for 5 days. I won’t get into the specifics of cricket, because you can look that up on Wikipedia and it would probably be easier to understand anyway.

Attending a cricket match was again, not unlike attending a baseball game. The match we went to was New South Wales vs. Western Australia. Sadly, NSW was no match for the WA team.

WA makes one of many runs

We ate hot dogs and drank beer, and I brought along some peanuts, but no Crackerjack. I’m not sure why I find cricket more interesting than baseball, but for some reason, it is marginally more interesting to me. Maybe because it’s foreign. One thing I did miss from baseball games was the seventh inning stretch!

About two thirds of the way through the game, we some showers started passing through. The first time it rained they covered up the field and we waited it out, but the second time we decided that there was no hope for the NSW team and we left early.

Should've brought the umbrella

We had a good time and I wanted to go to another game this season, but we haven’t found the opportunity. Maybe next year we can scrounge up some tickets to watch the Australia team play another country. I wouldn’t mind going to another 20/20 game before we leave.

Skiing

Well, these pics are duplicates for all those of you on Facebook, but for those of you who have lives (ha ha, just kidding!), I thought you would like to see some ski pictures.

Anchorage has 1 major downhill ski resort nearby -- Mt. Alyeska, in Girdwood. Personally, I think it has one of the best views in the country -- when you aren't skiing in fog.

This is me at the top of the topmost lift. You can hike further up, but I don't because I'm lazy and I'm not good enough to ski down.
Ethan in the same spot. He's in the volunteer ski patrol. I'm very proud to be his wife when I see him skiing down the mountain.
A view of the patrol shack. We were standing directly to the right of the shack in the previous pictures.


This is what we call the alpenglow -- it's the reflection of the setting sun on snow covered mountains. You can see a line where someone hiked up on the left. Obviously, not me.

The view skiing down one of my favorite runs at the end of the day.

Awesome sunset.

I took this picture on the drive home. It has nothing to do with Alyeska or skiing, but I included it because I thought it was so cool. There was about 1/4 moon out -- just enough to light up the snow covered mountains but not enough to wash out the stars. My only regret is that I didn't get more of the constellation Orion.

So that's what skiing here is like -- at least at the resort. Loads of people will tell you backcountry is even better, but I'm just not that good of a skier and I'm afraid of avalanches to boot. I'm pretty happy sticking to the groomed slopes, myself. And who wouldn't be, on a day like Saturday?

Birthday Revue!

So, my birthday turned out pretty good after all, even though I had to work. First of all, my fantasy football team managed to eke out a tie, even though they were 62 points down before the Colts game. Thank you Peyton Manning. Your thank you card should be arriving any day now.

Second, I got some really awesome gifts. Especially from my husband, who apparently knows me really well. Who'da thunk? He got me two books -- one on sustainable urban living, and one on sustainable/organic gardening. They are both pretty cool. I currently have an organic gardening book, but it's mostly about plants and pest remedies. The new one is about garden planning and techniques, with specific chapters on which plants grow together as "helper" plants, etc. It talks about making a wetland in your garden to process your graywater, and growing fruit trees on wires to maximize production in a small space. One of my favorite parts just shows the garden designs. I have been wondering how to have a productive garden without making it look like a farm. This shows you how to make an attractive and productive garden.

Enough about the book. Ethan also got me Season 1 of The Flight of the Conchords, which is a really funny show about a Kiwi band who comes to New York to get their start. If you want to see a weird but (in our opinion) funny movie that is very similar and stars one of the same actors, watch Eagle vs. Shark. We both have a peculiar sense of humor and this show just really hits it. So I'm excited to watch it with him.

The only bad thing about these presents is that right now, I need to be reading books for class. So I will have to wait until I get my freaking paper done to delve into them. But I am already excited for next year.

Yay for good birthdays!

Procrastination Always Wins

None, I repeat, none, of the local t.v. stations chose to show the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game today. They also chose not to show the Arizona vs. Oregon State game (#4 vs #6). For one reason and another, I did not make it to the Peanut Farm to watch the OSU game this morning, and I am not going there this afternoon.

I am supposed to be working on some school projects. So instead, I chose to write this e-mail (and 2 variations) to the t.v. stations.

Dear [t.v. programming person];

I was very disappointed that KTUU chose to show children's programming this morning instead of the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin football game. As you may or may not know, Ohio State is currently ranked number 1 in the nation and was playing another Big Ten school. Both schools have a large following, even here in Anchorage, so I am sure I'm not the only person who was disappointed. Furthermore, I am shocked that you chose to show Notre Dame vs. Navy later on in the afternoon. Neither team is particularly good this year, and Anchorage does not have a large naval base, so why this game is more important than other games including top ten teams is beyond me.

In the past, I'm sure college football has not had a large following in Anchorage, given the fact that there are no college football teams in Alaska. However, with more and more transplants moving to Anchorage from the Lower 48, college football is becoming increasingly popular. I think it would behoove you to consider your audience and choose your programming a little more wisely.

I probably wouldn't have bothered writing, except for the fact that I really really do not want to do my reports. OSU won by the way.

Football season

So Michigan was just humiliated for the second week in a row, by Oregon, the mighty Ducks. Now, admittedly the Ducks aren't half bad this year, but Michigan was ranked in the top 10 at the beginning of the season. I hate to see a Big 10 team lose, and to a Pac 10 team no less, but.... well, it is Michigan. Tee hee.

Suffice to say, I don't think either Ohio State or Michigan are contenders for the championship this year. OSU has won their last two games, but they weren't the blowouts they would have been with a good team, and they lost a lot of good players at the end of last year. So I am fully expecting this to be a rebuilding year, with Wisconsin and Penn State being the two tough games. I think Wisconsin will probably win the Big 10 championship, and maybe get to the National Championship, although we shall see. I can support that. If Ohio State doesn't win, then Wisconsin would be my second choice. Definitely over Penn State, those bastards! Although, I'll definitely root for Ohio State in the OSU vs. Wisconsin game. Sorry Henna!

I was thinking, I could talk about college football all damn day, but I never post anything about social change, or political issues, or anything important on here. It seems pretty superficial of me. But it's not like I don't care about more important issues. I just have difficulty resolving what I think/feel on a lot of those things. Also, a lot of the time, I just feel so powerless, and I get depressed about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket and I can do nothing about it.

So instead, I'll just prattle on and on about college football, and everyone can think that's all I care about.

Fantasies

I've been to 2 classes so far of my Engineers in Organizations course, and I have to say, I kind of like it. Sure, it seems all boring when I read the book, but then when we talk about making plans in class, I get all nerdily excited. I love making plans! That's something I'm pretty good at. So maybe this project management thing will work out after all.

Yesterday, we worked on a problem in small groups: Stacy Engineer has just graduated with her engineering management degree. She is looking forward to having a life filled with excitement and happiness. Of course, she is excited about her new degree, but she isn't sure how to have a life filled with happiness. What she needs is a road map. How would you help her?

Well, my first instinct is to say: Relax, woman! You can't force happiness. Also, you might want to change your last name, because it's really dorky.

Of course, this is one of those stupid book problems that make the person sound all cheesy. What they were trying to do is to walk you through the planning process by making a life plan for this person. So that's what we did.

Now my teacher has assigned us the same problem for homework, but to apply it to ourselves -- in other words, make a life plan for ourselves. And again, I'm nerdily excited. Ethan and I make goals every year, so basically I'll be doing that to a large extent. I can't wait to think about all the things I want to do -- like going to Japan! And buying a house! And having a beautiful garden! Who doesn't like to fanatsize about their future life?

On to more current fantasy stuff: fantasy football starts this weekend. This year I joined the office team at the suggestion of my coworker, even though I was nervous because I don't follow NFL very much. One of my players is Reggie Wayne, who racked up a whole bunch of points last night in the Saints vs. Colts game. So that was encouraging! I think I'm going to enjoy this fantasy football thing, as long as the rest of my players don't suck.

Next up on Sports Call

So, this upcoming weekend, I'm doing the Tour de Cure! It's not a race, it's a bike ride, which means no pressure to do it fast. Whew. Anyway, it's a ride to raise money for the American Diabetes Association so that hopefully one day, they'll find a cure for diabetes. I'm trying to raise $150 this year. Last year I raised $100, I think.

I'm sure you're thinking, squirrel, I would love to donate, but you haven't informed me how! Well today is your lucky day! If you would like to donate, you can go to my page and donate by credit card. Or, if you feel uncomfortable with that, you can mail me a check and I'll make sure it gets donated. E-mail me for my address if you'd like.

In other news, I'm going to open up my blog to my non-internet friends. So, I'll be making a few changes to appearances of things, and I'll try to update even more frequently, in the interests of keeping my RL friends up to date with my life.

And, if you are a RL friend who has stopped by, sorry for the double solicitation on the Tour de Cure. But thanks for visiting and I hope you keep coming back!

Tri-ing not to get too frustrated

Last night, I biked to the pool, swam, and then biked home in my swimsuit. This was supposed to give me sort of a trial run for the swim/bike transition in my triathlon, which is on SUNDAY! Holy Crap!!!

Anyway, I learned several things:

1. I am totally going to have to figure out the logistics of the transitions. Up until now, I didn't think it was that huge a deal, but last night I realized that I am going to have to plan what I need for each portion, and set it up beforehand in an easy manner, or else I'll be totally confused and stressed out.
2. Circle swim? Sucks. Especially if you are a crappy swimmer, like I am. For those of you who don't know, circle swim means that instead of swimming back and forth on one side of the lane, like you would with two people, you swim as if you're on a race track -- with the ropes on your right side both going down and back. The main thing is that I'm not able to do flip turns, so I would get to the wall and wait and see if the other people were coming so I could let them pass. Also, with that many people in the pool, there's a surprising amount of wave action, which I am not fond of.
3. Riding your bike in your swim suit? Also sucks. My ass was so wet, even though I used a towel to dry off. I am not sure what to do about the shorts aspect of it, either. I wore my running shorts last night and realized that my legs were pretty dang cold on the bike. But I am not buying a $60 pair of triathlon shorts for something that I'm not sure I'm ever going to do again. Pants will be a huge pain in the ass to drag on over my wet legs, and they'll get hot when I run. I would like to wear my bike shorts because they are a bit longer, but I'm afraid that running in them would not be fun (they have padding inside them, which might make it like running in a big diaper). Plus pulling the bike shorts on over my wet legs might also be a problem. So I do not know what to do. I have one more day of swiming (Thursday), so maybe I'll try to wear the bike shorts that day, and then try to do a short run in them on Friday and see if it works out.
   

Overall, I am just not sure that I really enjoy this triathlon stuff. The swim to bike thing is a logistical nightmare, and I'm not sure it's worth the effort. Of course, the race will be so much more fun than training, so we'll see how I feel about it after the race. Anyway, the point of doing this race was to try it out and see if I like it, and to finish a triathlon. So if I do end up deciding it's too much trouble, I never have to do one again, but I can say I've done one at least.

Our Thanksgiving Entree: Roasted Wolverine

OSU won! 42 to 39. Just in case you hadn't heard.

The party went great. I was really worried about the cheese fondue, but it turned out really well. Oh yeah, this was the menu:

chips and dip
veggies and dip
cheddar cheese fondue (made with beer!)
chili
cornbread
buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut butter balls that look like a buckeye nut)
pumpkin roll
beer and wine
sodas

The cheese fondue was a big hit and I think I might do fondue again. Especially since now I have the Sterno cans. For a little more entertainment, I drew up a scorechart and had everyone place their guesses in the blocks. Too bad I only went up to 40 points -- I thought it was going to be a low scoring game. Anyway, the guy who won (I had a little prize for whoever was closest) was the friend of mine who always wins everything! It drives me and my other friends nuts. H and I are constantly trying to think of ways to keep him from winning, but he's just so damn lucky! I guess you can't hold that against him, though.

Overall, I think everyone had a good time. And the Bucks won, which is always great!

Now, it's time to think about Thanksgiving and my MIL's birthday, which is on Nov 26. I promised I would make a lemon meringue pie because it's her favorite and SIL doesn't want to do it. I've never done this before, so it could be interesting.

Thanksgiving, I'm working again, which is annoying because it's my favorite holiday and I work almost every year. Grrr! One of these years I'll have off, and I'll get to have a nice relaxing Thanksgiving, and it will be nice. Hopefully the in-laws will share some turkey with me. I love turkey and we only have it once or twice a year because it's such a PITA to make.

My friend Poi is having turducken for Thanksgiving. For those of you who are not familiar with this delicacy, it's a turkey stuffed with a chicken, which is stuffed with a duck. I have heard that it's delicious...but for some reason, I have trouble handling the thought of all that meat. It's like that pizza E always wants to order at the Moose's Tooth -- High Protein Land. It's got two kinds of sausage, pepperoni, and ham. Ugh. Give me some vegetables, please!

The other problem with turducken is that you have to cook it for 8 hours. Not that a turkey cooks that much quicker, but turducken is a whole damn day! Not worth it in my book. I am interested in trying it, but not interested in committing the time. Maybe I'll see if I can finagle an invite....of course Poi lives in NJ, so I doubt I'll make it down in time for the turducken, even if she did invite me.

Totally off topic, but it has occurred to me that The Nuthouse is a particularly appropriate name for my blog since I'm a Buckeye fan. Nice how the whole squirrel thing fits into my personality so well.

We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan

OK, as promised, the college football discussion.

For those of you who don't follow college football, this weekend The Ohio State University (my alma mater) plays the University of Michigan. It's always the last game of the regular season and the biggest game for those two teams. There's lots of rivalry between these two schools and some people say it's the biggest rivalry in college football. In fact, Slate had an article with a discussion between two fans. It's rather a long (and for those of you who don't really care, boring) article, but the beginning is kind of funny and tries to explain why our schools have such a vitriolic rivalry.

Outside of the normal rivalry, this year is a big game. Not just for fans of OSU and Michigan, but really for anyone who's a college football fan. Ohio State and Michigan are the best I've ever seen them. In particular, Ohio State. I mean for the last 10 years, they've ranged from OK to Pretty Dang Good. But this year, they really deserve the ranking of #1 in the nation. So, if OSU is so good, this should be no contest, right?

Not exactly. Michigan has this wonderful talent of coming in and upsetting OSU in the last game of the season. And that team has been watching OSU play all season and has probably picked out all the holes, especially in their defense, which is good, but not spectacular. Plus, there's the psychological aspect -- the Bucks tend to let a Michigan lead get them down (although that sort of stopped when they fired the last coach). So while I have faith in my team and believe they will probably win, I will not say it's impossible for Michigan to win.

So, many college football fans who really don't give two shits about the OSU/Michigan rivalry are interested to see the outcome of this game. And regardless, it will probably be pretty close, with some amazing plays; in summary, excellent college football.

I call the game OSU, 28-22.

Side note to Henna: Wisconsin was also very good this year. It is too bad OSU didn't play them, because it would have been a good game. Certainly more interesting than say, Minnesota.

GO BUCKS!

Soy Un Perdedor

So, I'm a quitter. And not in the good "I've quit smokin after 20 years" way, either.

Yeah, I dropped my Japanese class. And here's my list of excuses: it was too difficult to juggle my schedule, I didn't have time for the homework, I was already missing a lot of classes and may potentially miss more if I get a training class I applied for at work. Plus, I got sick this week, so I missed even more classes in favor of sleeping an extra 3 to 4 hours a day. Ultimately, I just did not have time for the class.

But I still feel really lame, like a big loser. But I can take it next semester, so I should stop beating myself up about it.

In other news, today is the OSU (No 1) vs Texas (No 2) showdown (college football, for those of you who don't know)! I'm excited because I will be off work, so I can watch the game. I'm a little nervous for my team -- they tend to be very loose early in the season, so this is not a good time to have a major game. On the other hand, they lost last year to Texas at home, and as we all know, payback is hell, baby. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this. And just in case I can't say this again for the rest of the season, I'm going to get it out of my system now: WE'RE NUMBER 1! WE'RE NUMBER 1! WOO HOO! GO BUCKS!

As an aside, you know what I've always wanted? One of those giant foam fingers. But they seem to have gone out of style and you don't see them much anymore. Of course, what goes around comes around. Those long trumpets weren't around for a long time either, and they seem to be coming back. So I may be able to purchase a giant foam finger sometime soon. Because, how will Michigan know OSU is number one if I don't show it with a GIANT FOAM HAND?!?!?