It was early January of 2005. I was a senior in high school and held a winter job of outdoor ice rink attendant. It was a low-paying position, but I could do my homework and I often had friends visit. During one shift in the bitter cold of a Minnesota January while battling a case of the common cold, my dad tried to cheer me up by informing me that I may be going on a trip soon. Hawai'i, to be exact. I grew up listening to the enchanting tales of my dad's childhood that he spent in Oahu. I impatiently waited for my grandparents to return from their annual late winter vacation from Hawai'i so I could hear stories and receive exotic gifts. I had always dreamed of going to Hawai'i.
Not long after my dad first mentioned the possibility of a seventeen year old's dream vacation, he informed me that he booked my airline ticket and in mid-February, I would be off to stay with my grandparents for a week in Kailua, Oahu. The five week wait was tortuous but filled with overwhelming optimism and excitement. The trip came with its share of anxiety, however, because it required me to fly by myself all the way to Hawai'i. I had only been a on plane a handful of times and never alone. When I informed my parents that I was nervous and I needed guidance, they just told me that everything will be fine and that I would figure out the airport.
"But I have absolutely no idea what I am doing!!!!! You need to tell me what is going to happen! Are you going to go into the airport with me?" were frequent comments over dinner in the weeks before the trip.
"You'll be fine. Airports are easy. Yes, I'll drop you off and make sure you check in," were typical responses from my parents.
As the time came closer, some peculiar things happened. I was at my dad's store and one of his employees asked, "Are you excited? When do you guys leave?"
"Yes I am. But it's just me that's going. I am meeting my grandparents there. They are arriving in Hawai'i a week before me," I responded.
About a week before I left, I was talking to my grandpa over the phone and he told me that he would be picking us up. I replied with, "Grandpa, it's just me!"
I started to think, "Is my dad coming with?? He hasn't mentioned anything about him going, just me. He would have told me. Maybe grandpa was just confused... That would be great if dad came, but I don't think he is."
The weekend before I left, I had lunch with my dad's sister, Auntie Sis (Susan).
"Be sure to have your dad take you to a luau!" she said.
"What?" was my response.
"I mean my dad, your grandpa. Sorry, I was thinking MY dad," she replied.
When the departure day arrived, my father picked me up with his neighbor, Dan, in tow. I said goodbye to my mother and I climbed in the backseat to venture to the airport.
"Erin, grandma and grandpa need you to bring an extra suitcase with you. So you'll have to check two because they need more space when they come home. Dan is going to drive around and check out a construction site while I check you in, ok?" my dad informed me.
We walked into the airport and my dad told me to stand back while we checked me in. I gave him my ID and the suitcases so he could get my boarding pass and check my luggage. Anxiety and excitement filled me. After my dad checked me in and after my inspection of how security works, I gained some confidence and informed my father that he could go now, I would be alright. He turned to me, smiled and said, "well, I'm going with you!"
A mountain of joy arose inside of me. That was one of the happiest moments of life. I could not stop smiling the whole plane ride from Minneapolis to Honolulu. I couldn't believe through all of the slip-ups and wishful thinking, that my dad was actually accompanying me to Hawai'i. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
The week in Hawai'i was magical and fantastic. It was filled with hours at the beach, a trip to the North Shore of Oahu, a day at Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, wonderful dinners out, snorkeling, and body surfing. On the last day right before we were to head back to the airport, my dad and I walked along the beach. He gave me a hug and told me he loved me. I replied with "I love you, too dad," and a few tears rolled down my sun-stained cheeks.
My dad and I have had some wonderful adventures together including a road trip to watch the Gophers play football and a few trips to Northern Minnesota, but this is my most cherished memory.
How did I get so lucky?
I love you, dad.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Reflections
I have lived in TX for over a month now. School commences in just under three weeks and I cannot wait for that time to come. Do not get me wrong, I love having few obligations and the freedom of nearly unlimited leisure time. However, I have grown tired of the summer boredom. I anticipate that I will be singing a different song once I start graduate school and have a million different things to accomplish. The grass is always greener, I suppose.
Lately, I have been sliding, along with Blake, into the homesick trap. We are both thrilled to be here, but we both miss the things we had in MN. We miss our friends, our family, and the temperate climate. I miss the ash trees and the pileated woodpeckers. I miss the sight of the eastern gray squirrels prancing through the grass. I miss the sugar maples and Key's Cafe. I miss the Saint Paul Farmer's Market and the Saint Paul Bagelery. I miss Caribou Coffee and the opportunity to go to my mother's house at any time for any reason.
I feel stressed and bothered lately because there were some misunderstandings about my tuition payments. I have to take out another loan of $1800, which is small but I do not want any more loans to pay back! I have been dropped from my courses temporarily (at least they tell me that it is) until my tuition is adjusted and my TA paperwork goes through. I fear that I will not be able to get back into the courses I want, but Joe tells me not worry.
Distance has the ability to change relationships, for better or for worse. Luckily, I feel that my relationships between many family members, mostly my parents and brothers, has been strengthened. My grandfather called me yesterday. I was so happy to hear from him! I should really call my grandparents more often, or at least get their email addresses.
I have been searching all over this town for TX postcards that I can send to back to MN. Believe it or not, the search has proved futile. I cannot seem to track down something as simple as postcards! It is ridiculous! The zoo gift shop did not even have them! The search continues.
Lately, I have been sliding, along with Blake, into the homesick trap. We are both thrilled to be here, but we both miss the things we had in MN. We miss our friends, our family, and the temperate climate. I miss the ash trees and the pileated woodpeckers. I miss the sight of the eastern gray squirrels prancing through the grass. I miss the sugar maples and Key's Cafe. I miss the Saint Paul Farmer's Market and the Saint Paul Bagelery. I miss Caribou Coffee and the opportunity to go to my mother's house at any time for any reason.
I feel stressed and bothered lately because there were some misunderstandings about my tuition payments. I have to take out another loan of $1800, which is small but I do not want any more loans to pay back! I have been dropped from my courses temporarily (at least they tell me that it is) until my tuition is adjusted and my TA paperwork goes through. I fear that I will not be able to get back into the courses I want, but Joe tells me not worry.
Distance has the ability to change relationships, for better or for worse. Luckily, I feel that my relationships between many family members, mostly my parents and brothers, has been strengthened. My grandfather called me yesterday. I was so happy to hear from him! I should really call my grandparents more often, or at least get their email addresses.
I have been searching all over this town for TX postcards that I can send to back to MN. Believe it or not, the search has proved futile. I cannot seem to track down something as simple as postcards! It is ridiculous! The zoo gift shop did not even have them! The search continues.
Monday, August 2, 2010
A Collection of the Things I Just Cannot Understand
Since this is my blog and the First Amendment of my nation's Constitution protects me, I am going to say what I want to say about a few issues that surface quite frequently in my daily routine.
Speaking of the First Amendment, it really bothers me when fellow Americans accuse liberals of not following the Constitution, then in the next breath they are ranting about the removal of prayers in school or any other act that takes God out of our public life. Hello! Have you ever actually read the Bill of Rights? Praying in schools and placing the Ten Commandments in public is a clear violation of the First Amendment. I often hear arguments that go something like this,
"But God is on our money!! In the pledge, God is mentioned! Our founding fathers founded this nation on Christian principles!"
Have you ever read about our founding fathers or taken a history class? It actually was not until a century AFTER our country came to be that "In God We Trust" first appeared on coins. It was not until 1957 that the phrase appeared on paper currency.
If you conduct research on Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin, you will find that they were not interested in combining religion with the government. Go, I'll be here when you get back.
My second common qualm: Biblical literalism
Really? There are people that actually believe that the Bible is literally true and creationism? REALLY?!?!?!?! When I walk through campus to my office in the science building, I pass by a table covered by a white tent with a sign that reads, "Bible Study Group Sign-Up." It is always staffed with young adults ready to answer your questions and welcome you into the world of Jesus. I have thought about joining more than once. Not to discover that the Bible is true and the divine word of God, but to state my case using examples from the Bible that it is fact just a book of fiction, myth, and superstition that was written by primitive men over 2000 years ago. This should be obvious to anyone who actually reads the Bible. Slavery is cool in biblical society, so is the death penalty and rape, among other violent and abhorrent acts that were commonplace 2000 years ago. It is full of contradictions and absolute nonsense. We know that snakes cannot speak, men and women have the same number of ribs, childbirth in human females is especially painful due to a large head of the infant, people cannot live inside whales or fish or any other sea-dwelling creature. The website godisimaginary.com is fabulous for citing other examples of nonsense that occur in the Bible.
The most common rebuttal to my claims is that some of the Bible doesn't apply anymore. What? Hold the phone here, I thought that the Bible was the eternal word of God. But now you say that some of it doesn't apply? How are we supposed to know which parts do and do not apply? Since there is no way of knowing, we must assume that none of it is divine.
I could go on for days about all of the exchanges I experience with people who prefer magic, superstition and faith over reason, logic, and science. Oh, and they love to ignore that pesky stuff called evidence. But, it's always the same. Like Dr. House on TV says, "If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people."
I mentioned creationism earlier, which perhaps the biggest thorn in my side. Creationism is just silly. I said it and I don't really care who I offend. Just look at the evidence! Fossils anyone? How about vestigial structures present in organisms, the appendix or tail bone in humans for example, or comparative vertebrate anatomy? Go look at a photo of a chimpanzee or a gorilla. And, last but certainly not least, modern molecular biology and genetics. We can prove that us humans are related to most life on Earth, including bacteria, fungi, trees, diatoms, cats, rats, lizards, lichen, grass, bonobos, etc.
But, going beyond life on Earth, let's consider the Universe. Most people have looked up at the night sky and perhaps have witness the passing of a shooting star or a satellite, or have had the pleasure to glance through a telescope and peer at other planets. I am also assuming the most people are aware of the presence of the Sun. Now, as can be demonstrated by glancing towards the stars at night, we KNOW that the Earth is not the center of the Universe. In fact, it is a small rock orbiting one star out of billions that exist in the entire Universe.
Humans are just one species that reside on this planet. There are a vast number of organisms that call this little rock home and there have been many others that have lived and gone extinct (remember the aforementioned fossils) throughout the Earth's 4.5 billion year history. How can one species, who live in a blink of time on a tiny rock tucked away in one small solar system in an obscure corner of just one galaxy, be the most important part of the whole universe?
I personally just don't buy it. I don't claim to have all of the answers. I have no idea where the universe came from, where we are headed, what it truly means to be human, and the point of life. But a white-skinned male with a long beard playing puppet with the universe? I don't think so.
Speaking of the First Amendment, it really bothers me when fellow Americans accuse liberals of not following the Constitution, then in the next breath they are ranting about the removal of prayers in school or any other act that takes God out of our public life. Hello! Have you ever actually read the Bill of Rights? Praying in schools and placing the Ten Commandments in public is a clear violation of the First Amendment. I often hear arguments that go something like this,
"But God is on our money!! In the pledge, God is mentioned! Our founding fathers founded this nation on Christian principles!"
Have you ever read about our founding fathers or taken a history class? It actually was not until a century AFTER our country came to be that "In God We Trust" first appeared on coins. It was not until 1957 that the phrase appeared on paper currency.
If you conduct research on Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin, you will find that they were not interested in combining religion with the government. Go, I'll be here when you get back.
My second common qualm: Biblical literalism
Really? There are people that actually believe that the Bible is literally true and creationism? REALLY?!?!?!?! When I walk through campus to my office in the science building, I pass by a table covered by a white tent with a sign that reads, "Bible Study Group Sign-Up." It is always staffed with young adults ready to answer your questions and welcome you into the world of Jesus. I have thought about joining more than once. Not to discover that the Bible is true and the divine word of God, but to state my case using examples from the Bible that it is fact just a book of fiction, myth, and superstition that was written by primitive men over 2000 years ago. This should be obvious to anyone who actually reads the Bible. Slavery is cool in biblical society, so is the death penalty and rape, among other violent and abhorrent acts that were commonplace 2000 years ago. It is full of contradictions and absolute nonsense. We know that snakes cannot speak, men and women have the same number of ribs, childbirth in human females is especially painful due to a large head of the infant, people cannot live inside whales or fish or any other sea-dwelling creature. The website godisimaginary.com is fabulous for citing other examples of nonsense that occur in the Bible.
The most common rebuttal to my claims is that some of the Bible doesn't apply anymore. What? Hold the phone here, I thought that the Bible was the eternal word of God. But now you say that some of it doesn't apply? How are we supposed to know which parts do and do not apply? Since there is no way of knowing, we must assume that none of it is divine.
I could go on for days about all of the exchanges I experience with people who prefer magic, superstition and faith over reason, logic, and science. Oh, and they love to ignore that pesky stuff called evidence. But, it's always the same. Like Dr. House on TV says, "If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people."
I mentioned creationism earlier, which perhaps the biggest thorn in my side. Creationism is just silly. I said it and I don't really care who I offend. Just look at the evidence! Fossils anyone? How about vestigial structures present in organisms, the appendix or tail bone in humans for example, or comparative vertebrate anatomy? Go look at a photo of a chimpanzee or a gorilla. And, last but certainly not least, modern molecular biology and genetics. We can prove that us humans are related to most life on Earth, including bacteria, fungi, trees, diatoms, cats, rats, lizards, lichen, grass, bonobos, etc.
But, going beyond life on Earth, let's consider the Universe. Most people have looked up at the night sky and perhaps have witness the passing of a shooting star or a satellite, or have had the pleasure to glance through a telescope and peer at other planets. I am also assuming the most people are aware of the presence of the Sun. Now, as can be demonstrated by glancing towards the stars at night, we KNOW that the Earth is not the center of the Universe. In fact, it is a small rock orbiting one star out of billions that exist in the entire Universe.
Humans are just one species that reside on this planet. There are a vast number of organisms that call this little rock home and there have been many others that have lived and gone extinct (remember the aforementioned fossils) throughout the Earth's 4.5 billion year history. How can one species, who live in a blink of time on a tiny rock tucked away in one small solar system in an obscure corner of just one galaxy, be the most important part of the whole universe?
I personally just don't buy it. I don't claim to have all of the answers. I have no idea where the universe came from, where we are headed, what it truly means to be human, and the point of life. But a white-skinned male with a long beard playing puppet with the universe? I don't think so.
Friday, July 30, 2010
The New Chickadees
My favorite MN bird, the black-capped chickadee, is absent from TX. I love watching those little birds flutter around the trees, chirping, and sounding off with their famous "chick-a-dee" call. They are curious little things and will approach humans. It may sound odd, but the nature freak inside of me truly misses them.
My daily routine was disturbed greatly when I moved to TX (obviously). I have been trying to fall back into my old exercise regime, but the heat makes me want to lounge out by the pool or river and read. I started a daily walk around the neighborhood every evening before I cook dinner. As I was walking along the sidewalk, I heard a familiar sound.
"Chick-a-de-dee!"
It was more rapid than my MN birds, but it gave me a smile and a much needed familiarity. The Carolina chickadees reside here. They are very similar to the black-capped chickadee; in fact, where their ranges overlap, they hybridize. I have a new species to watch bob around the trees, such curious and intelligent little birds.
I met with my advisor yesterday (who is one of the coolest professors I have ever met) to discuss project ideas. He had told me in January that he would like to have me study grassland bird communities. Yesterday he told me that I could study the distribution and richness of wetland bird species in mitigated wetlands.
Mitigated wetlands are made when a developer destroys a wetland. It is federal law that the developer must create a new, or mitigated, wetland for the occupants to go.
I am so excited that I cannot properly express my feelings on this blog. I was meant to be a scientist.
If you, dear readers, would like to see some of mine and Blake's best photography, check out my album "A Trip to the Zoo" on facebook.
My daily routine was disturbed greatly when I moved to TX (obviously). I have been trying to fall back into my old exercise regime, but the heat makes me want to lounge out by the pool or river and read. I started a daily walk around the neighborhood every evening before I cook dinner. As I was walking along the sidewalk, I heard a familiar sound.
"Chick-a-de-dee!"
It was more rapid than my MN birds, but it gave me a smile and a much needed familiarity. The Carolina chickadees reside here. They are very similar to the black-capped chickadee; in fact, where their ranges overlap, they hybridize. I have a new species to watch bob around the trees, such curious and intelligent little birds.
I met with my advisor yesterday (who is one of the coolest professors I have ever met) to discuss project ideas. He had told me in January that he would like to have me study grassland bird communities. Yesterday he told me that I could study the distribution and richness of wetland bird species in mitigated wetlands.
Mitigated wetlands are made when a developer destroys a wetland. It is federal law that the developer must create a new, or mitigated, wetland for the occupants to go.
I am so excited that I cannot properly express my feelings on this blog. I was meant to be a scientist.
If you, dear readers, would like to see some of mine and Blake's best photography, check out my album "A Trip to the Zoo" on facebook.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Budweiser on the porch, poached eggs, a winery, pale ale, and bats
The title of this post summarizes my weekend. I spent Friday evening with Katherine drinking Budweiser from cans on her porch. I live in Texas, after all. Saturday morning Katherine invited me over for a late breakfast which consisted of a potato pancake and two poached eggs with fresh cilantro and cheese on top. When her boyfriend, Joe, came home from Austin, he suggested we go check out Driftwood Winery in Wimberely, TX. Off we went to sample wine on a lovely July afternoon. I sampled six different wines made from local grapes and the three of us enjoyed a bottle of red wine outside, overlooking the hills.
By the time we left the winery, it was close to 5 PM. I hadn't eaten since my late breakfast at noon and had only consumed wine since. We stopped at a bar near the Blanco River where I had a large pale ale. After that, we stopped by a professor's house where I consumed more pale ale. Still no food or water. Just wine and beer. We returned to San Marcos around 8, where Blake met us at a bar in town. I had yet more pale ale and finally consumed a veggie burger.
Fast forward to 3 AM. I woke up with a TERRIBLE headache. I searched frantically for the advil and gulped down three glasses of water. About two minutes later, I was kneeling over the toilet expelling the contents of my stomach. Nine hours of drinking without food or water is something I don't think I will dabble into again.
My headache was gone by Sunday morning and Blake and I decided (after hours of boredom) to find something inexpensive to do. Thank science for google! We came across a wonderful online guide to Austin and learned about the largest urban bat colony in North America that is located in downtown Austin. Every night at dusk from April to November, 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from the Congress Ave Bridge to feed. Blake and I headed up to Austin, camera in hand, to witness this unique sight. After waiting for two hours, the bats emerged! There was a lot of fluttering and clicking. You are toast, insects! During the wait for nightfall, we witnessed many birds flying over (including a green heron), the gorgeous sunset, a turtle, the moon rising and a water moccasin swimming down below.
I consider the weekend a success, except for the vomiting.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Gulf Weather
Blake and I moved to TX over two weeks ago. School starts in a month and I am incredibly excited! I have been spending a lot of time without other humans, just the cats and the rats. I should enjoy all the free time because once school starts, I will not have very much.
Sometimes it all feels like a dream. I often think, "I live in Texas??!!??!!?!" It feels surreal, exciting, scary, and magical simultaneously. I love the sticky, heavy air, the sight of live oaks and cacti, and the sounds of the Southern birds. Blake and I spotted a Carolina anole outside the science building earlier this week. It was communicating by flashing it's throat dewlap!
The native Texans just love my "accent". The smirk and giggle at the looooong o's. Blake and I were dining at a local restaurant last weekend and this is what followed:
Waitress: "What would y'all like to drink?"
Blake: "A mountain dew, please,"
Waitress with a smile: "Mountain deeeeew?"
I am required by the government to renew my vehicle registration in August. I am going to register my vehicle to the state of Texas and get a TX driver's license. Next up, I'll be saying "y'all".
Tropical Storm Bonnie is moving into the Gulf, so rain here over the next few days.
I wish I had a more interesting tales to tell, but it has been a little boring so far. Once I start school, I will have many interesting adventures to narrate.
Until then.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Hot Texas Nights
As the days float by, the temperature rises. I hear that August is the hottest month and that this summer has been a "cool" summer. For the first time in my life, I will experience a heat index near 115 F. Yeehaw!
My new friend Katherine invited me over last night for food and beer with a number of her and her boyfriend's friends. What a fabulous Texas night. Everyone is sweating in the heavy heat. The five cats that reside with Katherine and Joe were patrolling the yard. Tiny deer roam through the neighborhood. The night was filled with stimulating conversations, beer, and amazing grilled sandwiches.
I was so very excited. I had to remind myself not to talk too much.
I absolutely love it here. Sure, these next few weeks will be filled with boredom but once school starts in six weeks I will be as busy as a bee. When I was in Hawai'i, I was terribly lonely. I was only 19, and just in my second year of college. I was not quite ready for that experience. I longed for my parents, my brothers, Blake, and the Minnesota autumn.
Now, I miss all of the same things, BUT, it isn't painful like it was in Hawai'i. I am happy to be here. I can barely contain my excitement. I love living here in Texas with Blake. This is the best time of my life.
My new friend Katherine invited me over last night for food and beer with a number of her and her boyfriend's friends. What a fabulous Texas night. Everyone is sweating in the heavy heat. The five cats that reside with Katherine and Joe were patrolling the yard. Tiny deer roam through the neighborhood. The night was filled with stimulating conversations, beer, and amazing grilled sandwiches.
I was so very excited. I had to remind myself not to talk too much.
I absolutely love it here. Sure, these next few weeks will be filled with boredom but once school starts in six weeks I will be as busy as a bee. When I was in Hawai'i, I was terribly lonely. I was only 19, and just in my second year of college. I was not quite ready for that experience. I longed for my parents, my brothers, Blake, and the Minnesota autumn.
Now, I miss all of the same things, BUT, it isn't painful like it was in Hawai'i. I am happy to be here. I can barely contain my excitement. I love living here in Texas with Blake. This is the best time of my life.
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