Erin--Chinese Frame 1-5 & Intro

The audioblog posts are from Chinese Homework (myself and 2 classmates). If you want to listen, you can, but it's probably pretty long and boring.

Devan--Chinese Frame 1-5 & Intro

Barry--Chinese Frame 1-5 & Introduction

Three Cameras, a Wedding, and a Pizza

Today was Joe & Virginia's wedding (2 of our co-workers). It was a beautiful ceremony and fitting of who they are. Daniel & I took the photos for them. He was the main photographer with 2 Nikon F100s in tote. I had my N80 as well. And there were plenty of other cameras (afterall, we are at a photographer's wedding). The crew from work all headed to McMennamin's on the Waterfront in Vancouver for food/ drinks/ social whatever. Apparently they have some magic wand that turns them into a bar (rather than a restaurant) at 10pm. Did Cinderella's fairy god-mother pick up some extra work on the side? Anyway, Brianna was with us since she is staying over tonight. So Brianna & I headed home, being that she is underage :( I was pretty tired anyway...but now I have my second wind & may even get some homework done. As for the pizza, that is our award for being 1st in our co-ed softball division. Exciting, huh?! 1 pizza to split among 12+ people. Next year we're going for the gold (trophy...or maybe 1 pizza and some drinks!!). I had a blast this year playing. Any females who are in the area and interested in playing next year, let me know cuz we tend to have a hard time keeping enough females around to play. Cutting it short so I can do homework before bed. Congrats to Joe & Ginny on getting married, making it official, tying the knot, getting hitched, getting 'cash and carried', getting 'cut and carried', making it legal, becoming a tenant for life, getting leg-shackled, becoming riveted, hopping the twig, becoming espoused, having mated, uniting, inseperably joining, getting spliced. ANY THAT I LEFT OUT? LET ME KNOW BY LEAVING A COMMENT.

Wo hen mang! (Chinese for "I'm very busy!")

Just a brief hello to all. I have been so busy the last month. (As a friend of Daniel's has said "Busier than a 1-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.") Camping/ Bonding in Central Oregon was awesome. I LOVE rock-climbing. Okay, so it wasn't like a big feat, but it was still tough...and I'm actually good at it. Flexibility helps when your next foothold is in front of your chest. We did rock-climbing and hiking (in the intense heat along the appropriately named "Misery Ridge") at Smith Rock. My knee was dying from the steeps. One of the guys helped me out by walking in front of me and letting me put my hand on his shoulder so I had support going down the trail. Canoeing on the Deschutes was much less strenuous the following day. Then on Tuesday, we went rafting on the Deschutes in Maupin. The water was incredibly cold, but that didn't stop me from wearing a bikini and jumping in to float down the way. We returned home that evening and began Orientation on campus the following day, continuing through Saturday. Went with Daniel on Friday to a photo class that he had to teach. Both went out with some guys from the program Saturday night after our Welcome Reception. Worked at an Athletics event on Sunday. Worked on campus on Monday then was supposed to help some friends by watching their son while they packed for moving. Ended up just going out to dinner with them instead and will be helping them Sunday now. Have had class and worked on campus everyday since Tuesday. Behind on reading already (are teachers aware that we have multiple classes--one's that run until 10pm?) and have 2 papers (individual & paired writing) due next week & still have a class to go to tomorrow. The stress of the commute has been getting to me already, so Daniel & I decided to move downtown. I got out of class early today, so he sent me to a few places to look at apartments while he searched on the internet at home. The 3rd place I went to (all on the Park Blocks, basically on campus) was a winner. Good rates, good move-in deals, all the things we wanted and more. So he trusted my judgement on the studio I looked at and told me to do it. I got all the paperwork filled out and approved, so he is going to meet me after class to sign some paperwork (and see the place) and we will move in on Tuesday. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and was actually able to concentrate on my homework this evening. 8am class tomorrow, then signing paperwork for the apartment, then working a Volleyball game, then going to Joe & Virginia's wedding (our Store Manager/ close friend). I am technically Daniel's back-up photographer (yikes!). Not sure what I'm wearing still. Sunday, we are helping Patrick & Jolleen pack and Bri will be helping to watch their son. Then at 2pm is the annual Jimmy Buffett Party. I invited the people from my grad program, but it's a ways for most of them to drive, so I'm not sure how many of them will make it over here. Monday is work and a class session, and then back into the regular school schedule & moving in on Tuesday. So maybe you can all understand why I haven't been too good at posting lately. I've barely even seen my husband, my house, or my guinea pig lately. I think things will be better when we get settled in though.

The Long Awaited Broadway Hit "Le Journal d'Irlande"

Does anyone else get those annoying virus emails...the long awaited Broadway Hit...it gets old. Who would actually be dumb enough to open those attachments anyway? So I've been back from my trip for a week and a half now, but I have been so busy with work and life in general, that I have not been able to post. So, a brief update on what's been happening: * Our Coed Softball team tied for first in our league. We are trying to get enough people (girls) to play Fall Ball, but it's not looking too promising. *Jim & Jane, my Dad's cousins from Albuquerque, New Mexico are up visiting, sort of. They were here for a few days and now they are on an Alaskan Cruise with my parents. They are sticking around for a little bit after they all return here. The four of them have been hitting geocaches when they can. *I'm missing Kathy's birthday (my mother-in-law) because I am leaving in the morning for my Master's Program Orientation Excursion. We will be camping, hiking, canoeing, rafting, and rock-climbing in Central Oregon. Tomorrow night, for Kathy's birthday, they will be camping out at their place and watching the meteor showers. I have spent the last several days typing my journal from the entire trip, mostly while commuting on public transportation. Below you will find a link to each of the days. I will post them based on the date I wrote them, so they will appear in reverse order. The journal is quite long, so I recommend printing it, taking it in over a few days, or taking a speed-reading course before tackling it. Pictures to come soon hopefully, but no time right now. Day 1 PDX to TX/ OK Day 2--OK Day 3--OK Onward Ho! Day 4--OK to TX to NY Day 5--NY to IRL Day 6--IRL, Dublin Day 7--IRL, Dublin to Cashel to Limerick to Ennis Day 8--IRL, Ennis to Gallway to Cliffs of Moher to Ennis Day 9--IRL, Ennis to Tralee to Ring of Kerry to Kilarney Day 10---IRL, Kilarney to Blarney to Waterford Day 11--IRL, Waterford to Dublin Day 12--IRL to NY to TX Day 13--TX to Home

Day 13--TX to Home

Our wake-up call came earlier than intended as Grandma called Mom’s cell phone at 4:30am. Going on less than 4 hours of sleep, Mom thought it was the alarm we set on the phone and turned it off. Seconds later, the voicemail alert went off. I told her that it was Foy’s cell on the missed call list. She checked her voicemail and returned the call. Apparently Grandma thought we had to be at the airport at 5:30am and wanted to get a hold of us to tell us that Nita picked the earrings over the cross necklace. Tried to go back to sleep and finally gave up on any peaceful sleep, getting out of bed by 5:30am. Had breakfast at the hotel (much better than Irish breakfasts I might add), and then headed to the rental car agency and airport for our 8:15am flight to Salt Lake City. We had an hour layover in Salt Lake and managed to find stuff to spend money on. We got back on the same plane, with the same staff, but we had to carry our backpacks and cameras with us during the layover. The final flight back was pretty quick since I fell asleep before we even took off. Dad and Daniel greeted us at the airport. Bob and Martha, Ford family friends, were also there dropping off their daughter when they bumped into them, so they waited a few minutes to greet us too. Got our bags and left. First stop—Hawaiian Charbroil. Talked to the new owner (okay, for about 6 years they’ve owned it) about traveling and also the old owner who moved back to Hawaii for a while. He’s opening a new place here in two weeks, much closer to our home. Next stop was to pick up some building materials that the guys ordered, another errand, and then home. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the kitchen is done except for a few trim boards. It’s been ripped out for months. Daniel has worked very hard the last two weeks to get everything done. Mom and I emptied our bags and distributed a few gifts. We nearly gagged from the reek of our dirty clothes. Though the day is not quite over, it is the end of this journey. The experience was great for all three of us and was really a once in a lifetime opportunity for our three generations to journey to the land of our heritage. 13, days, 10,000+ miles traveled, 10 flights, and more than 30 hours on airplanes, I find myself back home with Daniel whom I have never been away from this long in the eight years we have been together. I am glad to be home with him again, but the experience I’ve had over the last two weeks will stay with me forever.

Day 12--IRL to NY to TX

The alarm went off at 4:45am this morning. Our wake up call was scheduled for 4:50am, so Mom was just going to get us up when the phone rang. But it didn’t. We got up at 5:20am, which left us 10 minutes to set our bags out for the porters and 25 minutes to be downstairs to catch the taxi. Got to the airport and had just a short wait to check in. Actually checking-in, on the other hand, seemed to take forever. Got a wheelchair for Grandma and got to go through security faster because of it. Straight over to the VAT refund desk, which was relatively quick considering the number of refunds we had. Ended up with just time enough to walk (briskly) past/ through the Duty Free stores on the way to the gate. Surprised that the tour director put us that close to boarding time for an international flight. Got express boarding because of the wheelchair and finally took off at 7:35am, 15 minutes late. I slept the entire way to London. Arrived on time, but the lady we checked-in with in Dublin didn’t book the wheelchair for London. We managed to get one because the person it was intended for walked past the attendant (and then ended up needing it after all). They are apparently supposed to refuse anyone who is not booked, but the wait would have been 45 minutes and not soon enough to catch our connection. She took us to the lift to get to the Heathrow Express (Tube) to get to Terminal 4 (from Terminal 1). Had to get moved to a shorter check-in line to make our flight on time. Requested a wheelchair and made sure to book it for JFK too. Slept again for an hour, then managed to stay awake to watch “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Ate dinner and got started into “Punch-Drunk-Love” and passed out again. Woke us somewhere over NE Canada/ U.S., which was quite beautiful from the air, so I had to take some pictures out the window. Arrived early in New York at JFK about 1:00pm, got through customs quick—because of the wheelchair—and made it out to wait for the bus about 1:30pm. The attendant said it would be a ½ hour till the bus for LaGuardia came—it was nearly an hour. Got to LaGuardia about 3:15pm and had time to grab lunch. Sat and talked to a lady from Atlanta for a bit. Also looked for a birthday gift for another friend, but no luck. After boarding the plane, we were told that a brake change would delay us for 45 minutes. Sitting in a first class seat is comfortable enough to wait it out though. Only 10 minutes after our scheduled arrival, we got off our plane in Dallas. We were greeted by a skycap with a wheelchair that helped us to collect our luggage and get to the rental car. This time we got a Toyota Matrix XR very roomy and comfortable to drive. I just might have to get Daniel to test drive one. We met Foy at the Jack-In-The-Box in McKinney at about 10:30pm (1 ½ hour drive from DFW). Grandma cried of course, but they were “Tears of Joy” according to her. Returned to the DFW airport area around 12:00am and stayed at the Country Inn and Suites. Took a much needed shower and watched the news for a bit. Daniel told me earlier today, when I called him from New York, that they heightened the terror alert in the downtown area of New York today. Looking at photos on the news, there are armed guards at many of the sites we visited jus a week ago. I had pulled Mom aside to tell her about it and said I wasn’t going to tell Grandma. Mom called Dad to find out what he knew, which was that the concerned areas are downtown like the NYSE, City Hall, Wall St., etc. Mom decided to tell Grandma just in case she saw something on the news in LaGuardia. The day went pretty smooth overall, and if Grandma was concerned about the threats in New York, she didn’t show it.

Day 11--IRL, Waterford to Dublin

I think last night was the best sleep I’ve gotten the whole trip, thanks to the Bulmer’s probably. Left Waterford at 8:15am and headed towards Dublin. Just saw a red fox—it was dead on the road in Enniscorthy though. Stopped at the Avoca Weaving Mill. Okay, so I bought an Italian scarf, but it was only Є13 and in the U.S. they are usually $50+. Next stop was Glendalough where we went to the visitor center, took a tour and saw churches and buildings from the 11th century. Arrived at the Hilton in Dublin and had time to repack our luggage (again) before going to the Irish Cabaret at Dublin’s Jury’s Inn. The music, dancing, and comedy were good. The meal wasn’t bad either as they had the option of vegetarian stuffed bell peppers. The main singer was a bit cheesy—all I could think of was Tom Jones—“It’s Not Unusual…” Sarah kept saying, “You think he’s had Botox?” It was enjoyable regardless and it was nice to have the Cabaret as our Irish finale. Said our goodbye’s to everyone and went back to our room to finish packing our clothes. The new tram in Dublin runs right next to our hotel—I mean literally! It’s about 20 ft. out our window. It’s 11:58pm and it just went noisily by again. Hopefully it stops at midnight. I’m looking forward to getting home to see Daniel. Not sure how quick I’ll get adjusted to the time at home—never got fully adjusted here. Marian told me she really enjoyed the Cabaret tonight except she had to go out the back door because there was a man waiting for her inside—he grabbed her as she was coming out of the restroom—or so she says. She also said that the Pub last night was corny. I told her that I had a few beers and talked to Sarah the whole night and rather enjoyed it. She told me that she sat at the bar with the local fishermen and Sean Connery. Whatever! I think she hit the bar tonight before we even got to our sets. When we got off the bus this evening, she told Anto, our driver, that he won’t be seeing her again. His reply—“Believe me, I will for many years to come.” It’s great to have a driver and a guide for that matter that are so fun. I do feel bad for Marian. She is an alcoholic, lonely, desperate for attention—and she drives people away from her. She is very negative and refused to buy anything because it was 2-3 times more expensive than in the U.S. We will be getting up at 4:45am tomorrow to catch a cab to the airport at 5:45am. Less than two days until we get back to Portland now.