Cross Post from ISE 5

Because ISE 5 is having issues!!

Well as we charge towards November (and I know some of us are already there :) I figured I'd better get a post up. I was waiting until I was halfway done with the scarf, then I finished it and was waiting to photograph it in some nice natural light. Well that didn't happen but here it is in all it's bad lighting glory:

It's the Angel Pearls Beaded Stole. This is my first crack at knitting lace, knitting with beads and first intense blocking experience and though I was very wary throughout a good deal of the process I am very excited by the result. I hope my pal likes it too - I'm aiming to get this out over the weekend, so this blue scarf might be trucking (or more likely flying) it's way towards YOU!

I know my partner has finished my scarf, but I'm pretty sure I haven't figured out who it is yet....but then again the scarves I've seen on this blog are so beautiful, I'd be grateful for any one of them. Happy knitting all :)

RED SOX You are the only only OOOOONNNNLLLY

Well. Well. Wow.
So it's been pretty great around here. The SOX won the SERIES!! A sweep at that! Let me tell you, it's been so great watching the games, but I am quite relieved it's over because now I can get some sleep!! I'm sure Matt West, who took this picture, feels exactly the same way (he's a family friend for whom my sister babysits with three beautiful little girls!)

I don't need to gloat about this one, we broke the curse 3 years ago and that was a time for gloating. This is a time for some quick celebrating and then back to business. I do want to take a moment to recognize my personal Red Sox hero, John Lester. Most of you know that I work for a cancer hospital here in Boston. What you may or may not know is that I work specifically with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Last year, Lester was diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, what we call ALCL, one of the rarer t-cell forms of NHL. His specific histology (ALK+) plus his young age made for a favorable prognosis, but still it's cancer and therefore scary as frickin hell. Because I'm in the lymphoma field and love the Red Sox I decided that I would become an official John Lester fan. When I heard that he was cancer-free and coming back to play baseball I was psyched. Awesome! He pitched well in all of his games and it was wonderful to see him back on the mound. Before the series started I trekked to Fenway to try and buy a John Lester shirt. "Lester?" the guy said "we don't even carry him" "YES YOU DO" I said "Number 31 right there" The guy looked casually at the mountain of blue shirts behind him and said "yeah....uh, we're sold out" LIAR!!! I got nowhere with him and bought a Man Ram shirt instead. Even so, last night I was pulling for Lester. While Papelbon (Awesome, crazy Papelbon) closed it out in the end, it was my man John Lester who started the game and ultimately got the win.
I love this picture that Jed Jacobsohn captured of him and his parents:
And while I do love this heartwarming moment with his parents, I mostly posted this pic cause his girlfriend is too hot for my blog. LOL.

So yes, the Series is over and won, people are getting their furniture refunds and life is getting back to normal.

I would like to personally thank the Red Sox for extending their season so I could have an excuse to sit in front of the TV for an obscenely long amount of time each night and knit my ridiculously over-achieving ISE 5 scarf, which will be up on the ISE 5 blog later tonight, it's called the "Angel Pearls Beaded Scarf" It's slightly ridiculous but soooo done.

So good job team, good job John Lester, you all EARNED IT!!! :D

Hungover

Red Sox Hangover

I love the Red Sox. It's no great secret. So when for the second time in my life they make the ALCS and then the Series, naturally I AM GOING TO WATCH because at any moment in time we could lapse back into an 86-year drought. So I watch the games. Til the end, the very end, til the pitcher has walked off the mound and the last batter put down his bat, because that way I know for sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Red Sox have won the game. The thing is though, that these games start around 8 and go til whenever. But I can't not watch. So each morning after a game, I haul myself out of bed, walk zombie-like through my house getting showered and dressed, drive in a trance to the train and fall into a brief yet deep sleep as my train flies through the 'burbs and into Boston. I feel like I spent the night dancing on a table showering in tequila instead of lying in a darkened room propped on a pillow trying to keep my eyes open through a baseball game. All in all though? It's soooo worth it.

Talking about MEEEE

So if you've visited this self-indulgent blog before, you see clearly...ahem CLEARLY...I have no trouble talking about myself. Blah blah blah look at me go blah blah.

Then why the heck am I have so much trouble filling out an interview sheet for my study abroad program????!! I agreed about 2 weeks ago to be a profiled alum in their next newsletter. That involved filling out an extensive survey. I heartily agreed. Surveys, I thought, I love them! OOoooh it'll be just like a meme, is what I thought, hooray! HECK NO! Nothing like a meme, nothing like a survey from myspace, no little area to say that I love knitting and cooking and my pet birds. It was stuff like "what is your most profound memory from Kenya" HEH?! How can you ask me that. I have four months of memories trapped inside this head, everything from horrific to heartbreaking to happy as hell. WTF? Just that one question totally tripped me up. Well, I thought, there is the bunny rabbit story, forever to be told and retold to anyone Jamaal chooses to grace with its telling (and I love him for it, because honestly, it does get a laugh) there's the time we did a puppet show for the hospital and I almost had a breakdown right there because it was so incredibly grim and sad and awful and it made me cry, there was the most perfect day spent on Lake Naivasha with fish eagles and beer and bacon and drunken giddiness and heart-swelling with the perfectness of it all....there was the woman who wanted to know how I would help her protect her farm and livelihood from marauding elephants...there were the hyenas at sunrise...there was teaching Salaash and Maraka and Kioko and Fred to swim...there were all those birds, 250 of them, each new and unique and wonderful...there was the python at dusk...the food poisoning and staying up late to hear the animal sounds...the gerenuk...the waterfalls...Kitengela, Elementaita, Narok, Naivasha, Nakuru, Kimana, Oloitokitok, and Karen and vodka consumed at each one of them....the Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere....vervet monkeys screaming in the night from the leopards....salmonella, typhoid, a near finger amputation....there was the wet season and the dry...termites coming out of the ground....peeing in Nairobi National Park while the airplanes flew overhead...THE TURACO!....and just Nairobi National Park itself, a park I love like its my child because it's gritty and harsh and raw and real and it hides nothing and you drive through and see its bones yet I love it with all my heart.

See the problem?

And that was only the beginning. The questionnaire asks for advice for prospective students, alums, people trying to break into your field, your job, how SFS influenced your life, what your goals and plans are. Schneikes! What to write? I had an easier time with my ISE 5 questionnaire, and that asked about favorite colors!

I guess I'll just have to tackle it this weekend.

Though in a way this blog post has really helped me....I'm always lurking over at blurb.com for several theoretical projects on my mind....a gift for someone, a Foster Parrots benefit book, maybe a 30th anniversary book for the p'rents and it just dawned on me: I should get all those memories out of my system and stick 'em in a book. I've got the pictures already! COOL!

Ok all that being said, it's time to train it home. Woohoo!!!

Dearrrrr Suavecita

Dear Suavecita

I received your MySpace friend request today and though you look like a very pretty girl, the offer of seeing free nude pictures of you for 1 week is simply not enough to tempt me to approve your friend request. Please reassess what you might have to offer and then perhaps future requests will be approved. Offers of nail polish, designer handbags, yarn, discontinued fabric, and puppies will all be considered in place of nekky photos.

Sincerely

THE MANAGEMENT

Satisfaction

Right now I'm sitting at Tufts in their little student center eatery thingie. I don't know what it's called exactly because I try not to spend excessive amounts of time here if I can help it, but this place has a more than decent wireless connection and you can eat and drink freely, whereas food and beverage must be smuggled into the library. Not that I do it, but you know.

About 10 or so minutes ago a massive red-tailed hawk landed on the lamppost just outside. I noticed it immediately, as one would something with I dunno a 24'' wingspan. My fellow students, however, are completely oblivious. I thought though, given that the lamppost is not exceedingly high off the ground, that a passerby would take note. Not the case. Thirty people including a Poland Springs delivery man with a stack of boxes have passed within a yard of that lamppost and not a single person has looked up. Not one.

The hawk has looked down quite frequently. He doesn't seem to give to crackling sh*ts about the poeple below. Probably because he is smarter than a great majority of them. Heh. Now I'm not quite sure who is more satisfied with the ignorance of the passersby - the hawk, or the bird nerd biologist (me).

Oh My Poor Abandoned Blog!

*sniff* It's been ignored for so long that I signed up for NaBloPoMo just so it would get some lovin'

so let's pick up from Costa Rica Day 2:

Costa Rica Day 3: Chicken of the Tree, Cano Negro River Tour, Jabirus, Monkeys, Caiman, the best lunch ever, birds and birds and birds, hiking around Arenal, seeing LAVA! and more happy exhaustion.

Costa Rica Day 4: We travel from Arenal to Monteverde by bus, boat, horse and bus again. It rocked












Costa Rica Day 5: Quetzals, Monteverde, Ziplining, Hummingbirds, Tree Houses



























Costa Rica Day 6: Monteverde to Quepos by bus. Long ride, but beautiful. Pacific Ocean, green mountains, Costa Verde
























Costa Rica Day 7: MANGROVE TOUR a trip highlight, Manuel Antonio, sloths, squirrel monkeys, bodysurfing on a perfect beach, El Avion




























































Costa Rica Day 8: Quepos to San Jose by bus. Morning spent in Quepos at the farmer's market, vibrant vegetables and fruits, shopping, long long long bus ride, last dinner with the group.
















Costa Rica Day 9: Leave for Newark. We say goodbye to our friends. The trip was amazing. Just amazing. I wish I could go back tomorrow....

Amy had a birthday. Heh. Jamaal had a birthday. Heh heh.

















I went kayaking with my dad and sister and I went to tea with my mom and sister































I went to an air show with my dad and his friends













I went to New Hampshire and relaxed, watching storms, sunsets, sunrises and loons
































The whole family celebrated my grandparent's 55th wedding anniversary on the Odyssey in Boston Harbor. It was soooo fun. I hope I have the long-life and happiness genes!












I played with fire

I went on a girlie weekend and shopped and shopped and shopped and went to the Bridge of Flowers















Spent some time at Foster Parrots














Jam's Goddaughter had her first birthday (awwwrr)


Amy and I saw Rilo Kiley and Brandi Carlile featuring A Fine Frenzy (though not at the same concert). THE WERE SO BADASS. Rilo Kiley is just awesome. THEY'RE AWESOME. A Fine Frenzy is amazing, a real up and coming group, and Brandi Carlile is simply a f*cking Rock Star. Seriously. I had video clips all ready for you but haven't figured out how to splice them together or how to save them because QuickTime is asking me to upgrade to pro if I want to save stuff and to that I say "meh."

Oh and I reached the halfway point with grad school and Jamaal started his MBA program at Babson surrounded by fabulous people!

Plus, I've been crafty as hell:

So yeah. Now you're basically caught up. What am I doing right now? I'm still at school still at work busting my rear for a conference we're having here at the end of next week. I'm also part of International Scarf Exchange 5!! It's been a lot of fun doing this swap - my first internet swap was the ornament swap last year and that was a great experience, but the scarf exchange is even more personal. The person spoiling me is from Australia while I'm spoiling a Canadian. Fabulous! I can't wait to amass some small gifts for my spoilee, but at the moment I'm a bit puzzled. Luckily have a little while before the scarf needs to be in the mail. Phew. Right now I'm focused on today, getting through work, having my brows waxed at lunch, getting home, running errands, and settling down with some beer, pizza and knitting and watching the Sox. Ooooh exciting life. And tomorrow, it's Foster Parrots in the morning and then The Collection for a ladies afternoon. Life's good. Hope I'll be sharing it more often ;) Hope you're well out there in blogland!