Returning and Reporting

For those few of you who somewhat faithfully keep tabs on my blog, I apologize. I have been remiss in reporting on my 31st birthday (the day of judgment...at least for my 30 firsts). But don't you worry! I did them all - every last one! And more! It has been a particularly eventful year!

What, you say, was my 30th first? If you have been reading carefully, you know already - it was going to be whale watching. Well, I am very sad to report that I was not able to fraternize with the whales. Surely both I and the whales are the worse for losing that opportunity. But the weather was not my friend that fateful Saturday, and the whale-watching cruise was canceled. This, after Sariah and I RAN down State Street for several blocks just to make sure we didn't miss the boat (pun intended). We didn't miss it. It never left the dock. Our tickets were refunded. It was a great disappointment.

But never fear! Boston holds a plethora of fun activities for a Saturday afternoon. Actually, this particular Saturday, we went to Concord. We strolled through beautiful Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (we being Marchelle, Sariah, Loni, and I - so wonderful to be with good friends!) and visited Authors Ridge - I had been there before, so it doesn't count for a first. And we drove around and admired the lovely historical homes. But the highlight came when we stumbled, so to speak, upon Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House. What a find! It was closed, so we explored the grounds around it, and took pictures. One picture was particularly memorable. Three of us sat/leaned on the short fence in front of the home for a picture, and just when we were giving our best grin, we heard a fateful "crack" beneath us. We had broken the fence of the Orchard House! We were completely dismayed! A woman in a car waiting for her husband to figure out something on a map saw our little defacing of this historical monument, and her face was one of complete horror. We felt so bad that we wrote a little note on a scrap paper, indicating that our chubby buns had broken their fence, and to call me for repairs, rolled it up, and put it inside the door frame for the historical society to find the next day. We certainly left and impression!

So, my 30th and final first turned out to be defacing a national historic monument. Three cheers for me! Or, should I say 30 cheers?

Other highlights of my time with friends included visiting the USS Constitution. If you have never visited, may I suggest you get there one day? It's quite fun. It's a naval post, so the tours are given by current sailors in the U.S. Navy, and they're fun to take pictures with. On the way out, the girls filled out comment cards all about how cute Jared (our sailor) was, and that "Utah loves Jared!" and such nonsense that one writes when one is certain that she won't ever have to face that person again. The next week my friend Patty came to visit, and I, as a good friend, dutifully took her to see the Constitution. Guess who our tour guide was. Yep, none other than "cute Jared." I tried to remain inconspicuous so he wouldn't notice me, but sure enough, about halfway through the tour, he began looking directly at me every few seconds. While we waited for people to file in after moving to another deck, before continuing the tour, he looked over at Patty and me and asked, "Where are you folks from?" I stood in embarrassed silence, but Patty brightly answered, "Utah." He looked away for a few seconds, then looked back and said to me, "Have you been on the tour before?" Now I couldn't ignore the situation. I said, "Yes. I wasn't sure if you would remember," to which he replied, "Oh, I remember." Great!

He continued with the tour, and at the end pointed out that we could fill out comment cards to let them know how they were doing. Then he looked directly at me and said, "And the Captain reads every one." This is when I would have crawled into one of the cannons to hide, if I could. I just looked away. If I were as flirtatious as my mom wishes I were, I would have come up with some clever retort, instead of the embarrassed smile, which was the only thing I could muster. As I departed the ship a few minutes later, he was there AGAIN! No escape! I muttered something about, "See ya later," and he said, "Be sure to tell your friends what I said about the Captain!" I assured him I would. I'm considering going back this Saturday to report that I indeed told them. We'll see. He is pretty cute.

Well, with my friends' visits behind me, it's time to fully focus on school. Fall is full fling here, and it is quite lovely. Or, I might say that if I had time to look up from my books to notice. Truly, this graduate school thing is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, things I've ever done. My Akkadian teacher (whose class has become my semi-weekly drudgery) told me today, as we were going over my recent midterm so she could help me understand why I received such a low grade, that if she had it to do again (meaning the MA of this program I'm in), she's not sure she could handle it again - that it is excruciatingly hard. Yep - I agree. So, it's back to the books. Well, for me, it's actually back to the train to study on my ride home. Toodles!

Boston in the fall

In Boston it mists. And it rains sometimes too. But in my short observation, it mists about as often as it rains. Imagine those misting machines at amusement parks - you know, that they have at certain locations in long lines, mercifully blowing out soft mist to cool you down. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about, only on a huge scale. And it drizzles. Only once have I seen a good rain like the ones in Utah. But when it rains (mists) here in Boston, it lasts for a good couple of days or more, also unlike Utah. But I don't mind the mist - I just wish it didn't make the decision whether or not to use my umbrella such a difficult one!

I wrote that earlier this week, about an hour before the deluge struck. And it answered my query for real rain with REAL RAIN! As I walked across campus to catch the train, rivers ran under my feet, and I huddled under my umbrella to try to keep the rain at bay, but the wind was my fierce enemy. Not only did it sweep the rain up and under, it lifted my umbrella and threatened to pop it inside out (you know, like they do the the dad's umbrella in Mary Poppins). So I held it down tightly with one hand, while the streams of water trickled down my arm, into my shirt. Needless to say, I was soaked, top to bottom, with my hair the most dry. But I survived to tell the tale.

I'm in the full swing of things now. The life of a grad student is nothing less than academic insanity. I think of those movies like A Beautiful Mind or others where great academics go slowly insane. It's no wonder! I feel guilty because I don't dedicate as much time as maybe I should to my studies (don't get me wrong - I dedicate plenty of time), but I already feel myself hovering on the brink of insanity. As students get so deeply involved in their studies, I can see that they could easily lose the connection to reality. And then there is the time issue. I thought people were crazy, or lazy, for not working. Now I understand. I am the only person in my program I know who is working - that on top of being already behind in this course of study because there is so much I simply don't know. I started behind, and can't seem to catch up. I have so many disadvantages, that it becomes, in addition to the shear overload of work, overwhelming emotionally. I just keep praying that Heavenly Father will do all that I can't - literally. Make my mind understand in the short time I have the material that more experienced students take hours and hours to study; grant me opportunities to one day work in this field, so this whole effort, and the money involved, aren't a waste. He has taken care of me so far, and I keep giving all I have, so I trust He will continue to make up the difference.

Well, that's all for now. Looking forward this week to some friends coming. Sure do miss my friends.

The Sky is Falling

There is a very real danger that an acorn might fall from the sky and knock me in the noggin! Really and truly! I have narrowly escaped dozens of falling acorns - sometimes I think the squirrels, who scamper around with impunity, and whom I have seen grabbing at the acorns, and even eating them, might be tossing them down. I haven't actually seen them throwing them, but they do seem to like some friendly banter, so I wouldn't put it past the little buggers.

The other danger is that I could roll my ankle on the thousands of acorns littering the ground everywhere I walk. So, I dutifully crush with my heel every acorn I step on, so it is not a danger to poor souls with weak ankles like myself.

All over-cautiousness aside, I'm really enjoying the squirrels (unlike native New Englanders, who complain incessantly about the little pests) and all the acorns. It still holds its novel charm for me. What I'm not enjoying is the apparently allergic rash that has developed in my armpits. Yes, my armpits. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone's sense of decorum, but I am going to describe what may be one of the most unanticipated trials I have ever faced. Who would ever have thought my trial would be in my armpits! Not me.

So, a couple of weeks ago I began noticing that my armpits itched a bit more regularly than normal (no, they don't usually itch a lot, but on occasion - don't we all try to inconspicuously scratch there on occasion?). I dismissed it as simply a reaction from my backpack strap rubbing, but I soon discovered that the strap wasn't even touching the part that was most irritated. I tried various things - let me assure you, it was good and red, and extremely itchy. I finally went to the doctor on Saturday, and he said it was an allergic reaction, although he also implied that it might be stress-related (stress? How could it be stress? It's not like I have taken on loads of student debt, am desperately poor and trying to be independent, stay up late hours studying languages I really don't understand yet. stress?). I think perhaps, after experimenting with drinking the local water, that I'm allergic to something in the water here. It has given me a wicked headache a couple of times.

He prescribed a cream that I have been rubbing on the pits day and night, and it seems to be working. I can't tell you how grateful I am to sit here at a computer, thinking about what I'm writing, instead of concentrating on not scratching. What a blessing! Now, if I can just get that darn insurance situation worked out...

So, that's the latest from Boston. October is going to be fabulous. Not only will I finish my 30 firsts (whale watching!), I get to see a few friends who are coming to visit. And I'm moving, so I will be in a safer location, with a better commute. If I can pass my quiz on cuneiform Akkadian today, I'd say things are looking pretty good. If you want to see what that looks like, go online and do a google search for Akkadian cuneiform. It's pretty interesting. One day, I'll be able to read it!

Hurricane?

Have you ever been attempting to do the same thing over and over, to no avail, even though you know it can be done, and is not even hard, and gotten so frustrated that you begin making strange gutteral noises, trying to keep from screaming outright? That is what I have been doing for the last couple of minutes - this computer (Shirla's, my landlady) completely closes the internet each time I try to post a picture on the blog, or do anything that it considers a pop-up. So, I'm going to take a deep breath, and try this post again, and NOT scream. I'll post pictures later. (Big breath..."Serenity now...")

So, about this hurricane business. A great disappointment. I was rather excited to say I'd been in a hurricane, but it never quite made it up to us in Boston, and all we got out of it was an evening of rain - no wind, nothing! I've experienced much worse storms in Utah!

BUT, I do have some exciting new things to report. Actually, I realized I had left out some of my firsts! Silly me! We're getting really close!. But before I list them (I know - you're anxiously waiting, but hold your horses just a minute), I have to say that I'm not sure that one of my old firsts should count. I hope Boober will forgive me, but I just don't think my dressing up crazy and going out in public should count. After all, I've done that dozens of times, as each October 31 came around (when I was a child, of course...). And, when I was 17, I did it once with my Aunt Debbie - we dressed up as gypsies (actually, I was playing a gypsy for my neighbor's birthday party, and telling fortunes to the little girls. It was rather fun!) and went to the store and handed out candy to surprised and delighted little kids, with suspicious parents. And it wasn't even Halloween! My Aunt Debbie was so much fun that way.

So, I'm going back one. That's a good thing, as with the ones I have to add, it would equal 30 already, and I want number 30 to be a bang. So, please let me know if you have any suggestions.

26. I did, indeed, walk a cat. Two, in fact. They weren't happy about it - the little wimps couldn't handle being outside. (Late July, 2010)
27. I did, in fact, visit Niagara Falls, on our way out here. I forgot to mention that earlier. It was a spectacular experience, and we were drenched. When I can, I'll upload pics. (August, 2010)
28. I have begun grad school, something I have never done before. It is terrifying, difficult, and satisfying, all at once. (August 26, 2010)
29. One of my favorite experiences so far: I went with some of my new ward friends to Providence, Rhode Island to see Waterfire. It was very cool - and, again, when I can, I'll upload pics. The basic concept is literally a bunch of bon fires floating on the water, and a large festival-type atmosphere, except more sophisticated and romantic, as thousands of people just wander and enjoy the ambience. (August 28, 2010)
30. ????

So there we are folks. I'm counting on you to suggest a perfect number 30. It has to be doable, and cheap, and incredible, all at once! And my birthday is coming up in October...so let's start thinking seriously here.

That said, I'll be off - back to my studies (yep - I'm studying even on a Saturday. Ah, the life I have chosen to lead...)

Hebrew

I began learning Hebrew yesterday. I am one of only 10 students, and only one other is a graduate like myself (and I have EVERY class with him! Crazy!). But I'm still the dumbest one in the class. In just two short days I have developed a great deal of sympathy for the students for whom learning is/was always a challenge - for whatever reason. All the kids in my class are Jewish, and I think all of them, with one possible exception, learned to read and write Hebrew at a young age. They don't speak it, which is why they're in the class, but they sure have a huge jump on me!

So, there I was, desperately trying to figure out where the teacher was on the page (we had learned five symbols/letters in the Hebrew alphabet the day before, but all of a sudden she was expecting us to know several more!), when she called on me to read. The girl next to me kindly pointed out where to begin, and then had to keep prompting me as I painfully struggled to sound out the words - and usually failed. I felt like I was in pre-school again, and I don't even remember that experience! There were just so many things she kept talking about that I didn't know, that I couldn't stay with her. I became that student that dreaded if the teacher called on me. She did, of course, call on me several more times, hoping that I had caught up. And then she asked me to stay after class. I was good with that - I needed the help. She assured me that I could do this, but I had to learn the alphabet by next week (how strange to be talking about learning the alphabet - I feel so dumb!). Oh, no worries! I'll have it down by the end of the day!

So, I have spent the last 2 hours writing each word in the alphabet at least two-dozen times. Yep, pre-school again. I'm halfway through, because I've practiced reading with those letters in between, and took a break for lunch. Now it's back into the dungeon of the library to continue. I don't know how I can do this much work for just one class, and work, and sleep.

Rain

I must have been quite a sight - plodding along with my jacket zipped up all the way, my hood pulled tight, but my soaking bangs flapping against my forehead, and water dripping down my nose, and my arms weighed down with about 6 very large and heavy grocery bags. Well, one of them was my tote, as I do try to avoid plastic bags as much as possible. I did bring an umbrella, don't you worry. I just couldn't hold it up, so I neatly packed it into one my bags. The walk from the grocery store is about 10-15 minutes (it took all of those 15 minutes, as I walked slow and steady). As I had spent much more than I had hoped to spend, I defiantly refused the taxi offers, and was sure I could make it on my own. And away I went in the rain.

What I must look like to the people around me! Drenched, dragging my bags along, and WHITE! It makes me chuckle a little. Two streets down from my street, as I paused for a moment to shift the bags on my hands (really to give my aching arms a break), a young man offered to help. I swallowed my pride and let him carry the tote - the heaviest bag. His name was Arthur, and we chatted as we walked. I was very grateful. And I made it. But I'm wondering about my wisdom in opting not to have a car.

School starts this week, and beginning tomorrow I have orientations, both for work and for life at Brandeis. I am excited and nervous. And a bit discouraged about the jobs on campus. Our opinions of what consitute a student job vary greatly. I have gotten two jobs - the two I most wanted, even - and they total 10 hours a week. TEN HOURS! I can't live on that - I can possibly pay rent. So, I'm looking at other possibilities. Life could get very interesting.

So, now I'm off to hand in my resume at Barnes and Noble. I do love books - it could be great! For all of you who are praying for rain, just know that it's coming down out here in Boston. Let it rain!

The faces of Dorchester

I get around. That's what Shirla, the woman I live with, tells people about me. This is because I go explore the streets where I live, looking for the farmers market, grocery store, etc. And I take the train to the other places I need to go. She offers to drive me, or come pick me up from the T (subway) station, but I prefer to walk. She is a natural mother, and takes good care of me. And she gets after me when I don't call her to come pick up me up.

In my explorations, it has become very clear that I am a rarity in these parts. I get a lot of curious looks, being one of very few white people around, and with my "sweet face" and all (again, the words of Shirla). Today I wandered down to the busier part of town to check out bank accounts. Neither of the women I consulted spoke very clear English - they were both Vietnamese. But I managed.

As I made my way to the dollar store, the music playing in the shopping plaza was the old song, "Embraceable You". I felt as though I were in some kind of hoity-toity fundraising ball - other than the cool, humid air, the various faces of loiterers turned my way, and the faint garbage smell. When I left, the music had changed to Pavarati, or another variation, wailing Italian opera. And to complete the sound picture, as I walked by the grocery store, I heard vague snippets of the old whistle song from Clint Eastwood's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I just chuckled and walked on.

It rained for a while last night, and Boston was humid today. Truly. Maybe this is nothing, maybe I haven't seen anything yet. But this was the muggiest day I've ever experienced. It's like they say - everything feels sticky, but not in a sugary way. It wasn't miserable though. And it was cool. August, and the weather was in the low 70's - or at least it felt that way.

So, there's a picture for you. I don't know if anyone reads these, but thank you for your prayers and friendship. I have felt very uplifted by prayer and the Lord's Spirit. I'm grateful. Until next time...

p.s. The ice cream man is making his rounds again, only he has changed his song to "The Entertainer". This is the third time passing my street - how many times will he come, I wonder?