Momma loves Jack

Out and About

Visit pics on the Flickr of last week ends whirlwind road trip to Bristol for the International Kite Festival, Glastonbury Abbey, and a ride on a refurbished steam engine! :)

The Road Goes On Forever..

Thanks for a great time, Mom!!! Love you!

It never fails..

Notes on Traveling
Lesson 4: Always Be Prepared
For further enlightenment see the following:
Lesson 1; Lesson 2; Lesson 3

Our ship lightly rocked into the Skagway harbor on the Fourth of July, and after a leisurely morning at the bacon trough, Rich and I stepped off of the boat and starting walking into town, excursion coupons in hand.

To our happy surprise, Skagway is still a genuine small town, full of small town pride and personality. It hasn't lost that quality, even though they cater to thousands of (surprisingly international) cruisers each day.

The town was bustling that day, and the streets were adorned with everything red, white, and blue. As we slowly waddled into town, Rich and I saw that there was a parade happening. This is not unusual for a small town on the Fourth of July (or on pumpkin harvesting day, or homecoming, etc.), but what was unusual was the number of bystanders waiting to get a glimpse of Bev and her can cans, the local fire department who were riding atop the decorated engine squirting water at the crowd, and the local kids who ran behind the truck squirting back with their Super Soakers. People cheered for the chamber of commerce float and for the glittery confetti that seemed to follow it. The obligatory classic cars decorated with beauty queens practiced in the art of waving meandered down the parade route, and locals in all sorts of costumes - from clown wigs to mounty garb, from red lipped brothel women to dachshunds wearing hot dog costumes - marched by surrounded by balloons and crepe paper, and all threw candy and kisses to the enthusiastic crowd.

Seriously, this was a sight that originated in some Leave it to Beaver montage or maybe from The Little Rascals. If I weren't busy clapping for confetti, streamers, and the jolly ranchers that were beaming people next to me (who, by the way, I only remember as large smiles, mostly Q-tip ones*), I might have imagined that I was caught in some sort of prosaic acid trip. But who can be cynical when dogs wearing top hats are parading by you?

After the parade, the town erected food stands (hot dogs, BBQ, and Crackerjacks all accounted for) and game booths up and down Main Street. We witnessed the potato sack races, three-legged races, and egg toss. Shop keepers ran out of their shops to participate, and no one minded - not even the international tourists - because the day was filled with that much glee.

After buying a Skagway volunteer Fire Department t-shirt (all proceeds going to support them) and a hot dog from the Bank of America booth (all proceeds supporting underprivileged children), Rich and I decided to go in search of the local brewery (all proceeds supporting the... uh.. local brewery). And after sampling all of the Alaskan brews (and receiving my free baseball hat for doing so), we decided to go in search of fudge and our free "genuine fake Alaskan bear claw".

Just as I was thinking that perhaps I shouldn't have eaten the extremely creamy and wonderful handmade Alaskan fudge after the beer samples, hot dogs, Crackerjacks, and bacon trough, and as Rich was still inquiring about the "genuine fake Alaskan bear claw", I heard - very faintly and surreally - these two words in the distance:

"Ms. Haag?"

My heart stopped.
Surely not. No really. Seriously? Here? Don't look up.

And then came,
"Ms Haag!!! It is you! I can't believe it! What are you doing here?"

I looked up, and sort of tried to smile, though anyone who knows me knows that when I try to fake an emotion, it looks really scary. Some might even use the word "psychotic" here, as my eyes sort of bulge out of my head and my eyebrows lift into some sort of creepy clown mask that leaves a very unflattering impression.

That look coupled with my gaping jaw must have made her fling herself at me - so that she wouldn't have to look at me anymore - for a hug. It was happening. I had traveled thousands of miles away, secure in my anonymity on a ship of thousands of people!

As a teacher, going anywhere public means that you will inevitably run into a student who doesn't understand that you are a real person outside of the schoolhouse. It means that in any given moment, you have to put on your school manners and stop saying, "fuck" every two seconds.

It means that you probably should not be wearing your newly acquired Skagway Alakan Brewery baseball cap, chocolate fudge smeared all over your mouth.

It means that under normal circumstances, you have carefully mapped out the local eating establishments and understand that if you go to that one, you might run into so and so, since she's worked there for three months - and you know this because you've read her reflective paper on how much she hates her job and that the boy she loves made it with her in the restroom there while on a break.

You know that if you travel across town to that establishment, there is less chance of being recognized, but that if you are, you have the following questions available on notecards for dialogue prompting: "So, how have you been this summer? Now, what college/trade school/ job will you being attending? How are your folks, brother/dog/ boyfriend/children?".

So, out of context, I am lost. I was completely unprepared when I saw this student in Skagway. I hugged her back, and awkwardly tried to chit chat with her in one of those conversations that you know is floundering with such verbal clumsiness that you and all of the animals within a mile radius are on edge, alert and awaiting some sort of predator warning. I excused myself from the conversation under the guise of caring about a "genuine fake Alaskan bear claw", and walked away a deer in headlights.

The rest of the day I looked for her. Just in case. I promised myself I would do better next time if I ran into her again because I didn't want her to feel like my blundering was a result of something she did, especially since my students and I have such a bond in the classroom. And I remember her fondly.

Unfortunately? Fortunately? I didn't see her again that day, and she wasn't on my ship. I spent a lot of time feeling bad about the awkwardness of our encounter, but at the same time, what the hell?!

Seriously.

* A Q-tip, in this case, is a person of a certain age, usually whose hair has turned white and who wears white orthopedic shoes. Q-tips are known to travel together to Alaska, especially on cruise ships.

A mill-yin doller night

Our very generous friend, Kim, gave us tickets to the Texas Rangers v. Seattle Mariners baseball game last night. We had excellent seats, plus it was $1 hot dog night! This game was the third in a three game series, and the Rangers won! Yay!



As always, I was on strict people watch duty since I think people are extremely amusing, but this time I didn't need my eyes to be amused. We sat in front of a row of little boys who cracked.me.up. They had to be from Podunk, West Texas because every single sentence that they yelled (volume control is for sissies) had a drawl that lasted longer than each inning. Conversations about the game played out something like this:

Boy 1: Hey. Hey. Haaay! Ah betchew a mill-yin dollers he stee-yuls a bayse. A mill-yin dollers! Hey! a mill-yin dollers!

[He steals a base]

Ah told yew! Yew owe me a mill-yin dollers!

Boy 2: We didn't shayk on it!

Boy 1: Fine. Ah betchew three dollers...

Boy 3: Hey! Haaaaay! He pitches like a gur-yul! A stinkin' gur-yul could throw better'n'at!

Boy 4: Yer cray-zy! That'uz the beyest play tonite! Ah garunteeit!

I actually have a video on which you can hear the boys, but it's in need of some serious editing, unless you would like to watch the longest inning of the game..
Trust me. They were hysterical.

NYC Baby!

Here are the promised NYC pics! For only having from 5:00 pm onwards to explore the city, I think we did a lot: Central Park, Times Square, Trump Tower, Grand Central Station, The Guggenheim, Staten Island Ferry and Lady Liberty, a Broadway show, Chinatown (briefly), and more! On top of that we were studying and sitting in conferences, meeting new freinds, networking, etc. NYC was a whirlwind of a good time!

Click here for more pics.

Briefly..

Alaska is amazing.

That's really all I need to share.

I don't think that I can verbally express to you the beauty that is inherent in Alaska, the spirituality that accompanies the nature, and the miracles - the designs of water, ice, earth, and air that illustrate godly art (inspired moments !) sometimes configured in different orders , but crafted and purposeful.

And cruising is so much fun! It was nice to have a "home base" for all of the excursions. I even got to unpack. Also, there are always a million things to do on the ship: There were art auctions, wine tasting, karaoke, tango lessons, towel art class, a spa, and MORE! Rich and I didn't take part in many of the extras - we found other things to do.. BUT cruising is a lot of fun! See these pictures for the proof (of the ship activities and excursions):










(Click here for more Alaska pics OR visit the Flickr badge).

I LOVED getting to have this vacation! I am a very lucky girl! (Thank you, Mom!!!)

Pics!

Here are some of my favorite UK '07 pics:

Click on the links above the pictures for the rest which are (sort of) organized by sets according to what city/town I was in at the time:

London/Southgate

Oxford

Punting

Bath

Lost in London

Feel free to peruse, comment on, and/or ignore any and all of the photos!! :)

P-ta's 40th!

Last weekend, Rich and I headed to Houston to celebrate one of our dearest friend's (P-ta's) 40th birthday. In true P-ta fashion, we played board games -and I hesitate to call them that because "board games" sounds SO ordinary and the games that P-ta and his pals play are some that only true professional gamers know about- and drank Hornsby's cider. (Thanks Greg and Karen! You guys R.O.C.K.!)



The next morning poor P-ta had to work since it was Sunday and since he is the music/worship coordinator at his church. BUT after that was HUGE party with 40-50 folks who showed up just to talk about how cool P-ta is. AND he is!!!

Too bad I put my camera down, because I only got pics of the gaming and of the pre-party set up! (Hopefully Steve got some better ones?)

Anyway, Happy Birthday friend, P-ta!! We LOVE you and were so glad to be with you on your special day!!

The Best Medicine

Lisa and John were in town for one night only, but we packed in as much laughter as one can physically endure in one evening. Laughter with great friends is, after all, better than anything in any bottle or capsule.

*All pictures were taken by Lisa, John, or The Third Arm!!
* While sitting in the big red chair, especially, we missed you, Jen!!!

proof that the creator is an artist:

mod vine

springtime saffron

man made meets maker

After a long day:

Here's what greets me:

And then I feel:

(Sweet Casey Cat)

Happy New Year!

Despite the great clothing pandemic of 2006, our New Years evening at Trinity Hall was a great success! Thanks to Marius and his awesome staff for the excellent food(!), for entertaining us with all of the jig-a-licious Irish music, and for providing a venue for the perfect verbal fireworks*. Thanks also for the noisemakers, hats, and other traditional New Years accoutrement! You rock!

*Verbal fireworks at the end of this post

here are some pics from the event:

Happy New Year from our little corner of the world!

I had a great view!

The theme of the evening was pinwheels...Here's mine.

The countdown begins: FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO

One.

*Statements overheard at our table:

1. g- What a beautiful dress! I wish I looked like that tonight..

r -No baby. That's a kilt - it's just for boys.

2. g - Either that girl is drunk or her shoes hurt real bad.

3. g - I'm cold like there's a window open somewhere.

r - I'm feeling that way too. You just need to drink more.

4. A guy walks by with a plunger.

r - Should we lift our feet? It does seem early in the evening for a plunger.

5. g - look out! Here comes Kenny Rogers!

6. to the waitress from the guy at the next table - Today is Trish's birthday. I don't know who Trish is, but Happy Birthday Trish!

7. from a random guy to all - You want cowbell? You get cowbell!

8. r or g - I don't know what this is, but it's NOT Guinness.

Caulking a Habitat

So, I'm tired of constantly bitching about the state of the world, playing at philosophy, and fencing over politics ("No Dartanian. This is completely unacceptable. If you say one more thing about the bullies of the West, then I'll... Well, I'll just lightly slap your cheek with my glove,...you!" and something about an impotent epee).
(sigh)
I am constantly preaching about acting - actually getting my hands dirty-instead of talking, but that's it. I preach it and then beat the hell out of myself for not actually going out and doing. In Candide, Voltaire says that we, all mankind, should go and WORK in the garden -a metaphor for our world- in order to cure humanity's greatest vices and in order to live fruitful, fulfilling lives. (oops philosophy!)

I actually and finally(!) listened to myself and to Voltaire (or at least I found time during the holiday break to listen) and signed up for Habitat for Humanity with some of my co-workers/friends. Unbeknownst to me, my sister twin also signed-up, so we decided to bring our significant others and make an event of it.

Here's how it went down:

The morning arrived sooner than we anticipated (at exactly 5 freaking o'clock), but we got-up and got dressed in our clever, clever t-shirts:

(Believe me, this was the most PG idea we had for our slogan. You try using the word caulk in a clever way, and you'll quickly see the dilemma)

Then we went for a Burger King breakfast and headed to the habitat. There we met some sincerely genuine people - ones who make it their life goal to act instead of talk. I learned a lot of practical tidbits today: Sodding is harder than it looks (another slew of clever t- shirt slogans come to mind);

painting while balancing on a roof is not as difficult as painting with the back of your head, using your fine, baby soft hair as a paint brush; window cleaning when the wind is blowing can create a unique art medium, full wheelbarrows work better if you run with them in a chaotic, serpentine/zig -zag manner; machetes - well, you should just get out of the way of a person wielding one; etc.

Mostly, though, I was reminded about doing good deeds outside of my comfort zone. Also, people are good, people are good, people are good, and the world is made up of good people.

I have to do this more often. And so should you...


Bonus pics:

Here's Fougs working in the the garden, literally and figuratively

The cocky caulky bastards

Me, tired, but in a good way.