Fall All Staff Training

August 28th-29th, 2009

HCC, Varna, NY

So far, I don't know how well I've explained the whole COE concept, so here it is in a nutshell:  Cornell Outdoor Education is a very large group of students who are really passionate about some outdoor activity or other, and through COE they teach courses to other undergrads to share their expertise.  COE runs courses on everything from backpacking, mountain biking, and rock climbing, to caving, kayaking, and (my area of expertise) tree climbing.  This means that, when ALL the COE staff get together in the fall for one giant training session, you get a huge jumble of very enthusiastic, very individual type individuals.

This was my first all-staff training, since last year I was hired shortly after it happened, so it was my first time really meeting everyone in one place-- which means all 150 of us.  The event involved a lot of food (COE really knows how to feed people), camping out at the challenge course, a lot of get to know you activities, and various education seminars.

I think they must have special-ordered rainy, cold weather just to give us all a lesson in weather preparedness.  One of the COE full-time staff likes to use the quote, "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices."  In spite of the general wetness, we stayed relatively dry by camping in yurts (and of course because no one was wearing cotton pants-- cotton kills!)

I got to sit in on seminar about different leadership/group interaction models, and one about basic first aid.  The afternoon saw everyone splitting up and doing what we do best-- actual outdoor activities.  The idea was to try something that wasn't in your program area, so for me that was sea kayaking.

We went out to Lake Cayuga, and the first thing we did was "wet exits," meaning you flip underwater in your kayak, then, from the upside down position, take of the spray skirt and get out of the boat.  It was a little freaky at first, but not nearly as hard as you would think.  Then learned some of the basic strokes before having to retreat to the van for a lightning drill as a big storm rolled in.  It rolled right out again pretty quickly though, and we were able to get back on the water and tour around a little.  I picked up a lot of helpful tips on form and maneuverability that I had never quite grasped before.

We also started work on rolling, which meant practicing tipping the boat side to side, then bringing your body so that it lay parallel to the water and using just your hips to pull the boat on top of you, then tip it upright again.  My sides were sore for days, but apparently I had the advantage of "spinal flexibility" over the other guys in the seminar-- women can natural tip their hips farther and with better coordination than men.  We ended the seminar with a little tour around the lake, paddling in a very pleasant light rain.

All in all, fall all-staff training was informative, entertaining, and exhausting, AND I finally got my staff shirt!

Discovery Days

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Ithaca, NY

No pictures of this, so I'll keep it short.  Discovery Days is the demo that Cornell Outdoor Education runs on the arts quad during orientation week so that freshman can see how awesome we are, basically.  We hoist tents and kayaks up into some of the trees on the quad to draw in attention, then set up a mountain biking obstacle course to demo, a slack line to try out, and (drum roll please) a zip line out of one of the tallest trees.

I volunteered for Discovery Days, first because it's the one chance a year us tree climbers get to go crazy in the trees on the arts quad, but also because Discovery Days last year was what made me decide to take tree climbing in the first place.  I basically spent the day setting up the zip line, testing it, and helping freshman into helmets and harnesses so they could give it a try themselves.  As I was in the tree tying off the tensionless hitches for the two lines of the zip, I kept waving to people on the ground, who all seemed to think it was best to ignore me-- crazy girl in a tree.  Hands down the best part of the day was, as I tested the zip line for the first time, watching the expressions of some innocent pedestrians as I zipped right at them, landing a few feet away.

Move In Extravaganza

August 22nd, 2009

Ithaca, NY

After a lot of Philip Pullman books on tape over a 14 hour drive, my parents and I arrived in Ithaca for the big move in.  Since we came a little early, the whole process was fairly simple without the usual crowds.  This year, I'm living in a dorm again, but this time it's in a suite with 5 people sharing a common room and bathroom.  Having our own space is amazing-- we are still working on the settling in process and making the suite really feel like home.

Largely, the messy process of unpacking and organizing was something that people weren't psyched for me to take pictures of, but here's what I got:

I moved in before my room mate, Illika, so I took advantage of the extra space and spread my bounty of stuff over her bed as I tried to organize.  Sorry, Illika.

Hillary rocking out to some music (after finally unpacking her ipod speakers), while trying to sort through her mountains of stuff.

Melissa spread pretty much everything she owns across her floor.  We have a phrase in Cornell Outdoor Education for when you dump out your bags after a trip-- "exploding your pack."  We decided this was "exploding your life."

Tahra's very happy about her bird, Pedro, that she just hung from the ceiling.  (not a real bird, incase you were wondering)

Tahra displaying our mood magnets (she's portraying "ecstatic")

The process of mounting posters and pictures and making the rooms personal was a lot more fun-- everyone has a lot of personality that they are proud to display on their walls.

Tahra spelled out her name and Cornell on her walls in Arabic using wall decals.

Tahra's pictures and decals add a lot of color

Hillary put up her foam finger to point people to her room....

...Unfortunately, command strips apparently don't stick to foam fingers.

Hillary's poster spread.  She has a lot of them.

Some of my posters/pictures.  Sadly, at this point, I couldn't put them all up yet because I planned to loft my bed up and maintenance hadn't got around to it yet.

Our common room, complete with my quilt, a kitchenette (aka, a fridge, microwave, and toaster oven), and a world map with pins in it for where all of us have traveled.

We put up ribbons in the hall way to use as little clothes lines for communal pictures.  The tiny colorful clothespins were an awesome AC Moore find.

The amazing view from my window-- you can see Lake Cayuga, as well as some amazing sunsets.

Adventures in Iowa

Ames, IA

August 3rd-6th, 2009

I think only those who have driven through Iowa themselves can imagine the boredom of driving highway 20 through cornfield after cornfield by yourself.  But of course, the visit to Haley was well worth it.  (I think Haley has a secret plan to keep us in separate states on a permanent-- hence why, when I came home to Wisconsin, she decided to stay in Iowa.  Don't worry though, I thwarted her schemes.)  Also, Jack and I greatly enjoyed the bonding time-- Jack being my car, who just got his AC fixed this summer, making him officially the perfect road trip vehicle.

Yay cornfields

Haley was determined to show me that, all jokes aside, Iowa is a beautiful place.  And, although there are many, many jokes to put aside, I agree in the end.  She took me to the Ledges State Park, a lovely natural area full of creeks and rock formations.  We also took a walk around her campus and the down town area, where we had some amazing pizza.

Me, sporting my Iowa State shirt, next to one of Iowa's few vertical land features.

Sharing our love of roller coasters, Haley and I also headed to Adventure Land, and amusement park in Des Moines.  We had perfect weather and a very enjoyable day of rides and deep-fried food that fell somewhere between 6 Flags and the county fair.

Haley with the Tornado, a classic wooden roller coaster

Me with Petunia the Pig, a pork sandwich stand

Of course, being horsey girls at heart, we couldn't resist the carousel.

We (but mostly Haley) got a little wet on the log ride

Enjoying and ice cream treat-- chocolate, of course

Haley, just after shoving the last 3 inches of ice cream cone in her mouth at once.

Our favorite ride of the day.  And yes, we did ride it with a lot of small children.

The ferris wheel, our last ride for the day

Miscellaneous Summer Fun

Madison, Mineral Point, and Hixton WI

Here's just a few snapshots from my summer back in the dairy state.

Fourth of July at the Jones Mansion-- the family photo that also served as a workout for my mom, who had to click the button on the camera outside, then bound up the steps to get to the upstairs porch.

Mineral Point's Fourth of July run/walk, "Get the Lead Out."  Yes, nearly half the town participated.

Learning to grill was one of my summer projects-- I progressed from brats, to veggie kabobs, to chicken, to steaks.  If only I had a grill out in Ithaca now.

Another summer project-- my bandana quilt.  During my years at the barn, I racked up an impressive collection of bandanas, so I put them to good use in a picnic quilt.  I cut each in quarters and scrambled the colors, then made the backing and the edging out of denim for durability in many picnics to come.

I just really like this picture.  My brother and I have always commented on this tree, which is very striking on the horizon as we drive to the cabin, and I just thought I would snap a picture of it on my way by.

Summer's not complete without the Dane County Fair-- Tori and Spring back at the trailer

Cowboy's little siblings, Spice with Jayme and Stetson with Heidi, all dressed up in their western gear

Saying goodbye to the good old van before donating it to Rawhide.  It served us well for many, many years.

Camping in Hixton, for the blueberry picking season

It rained a lot.

Solution to the rain-- hammock and tarp, the perfect set up.

My new quilt got to enjoy the hammock as well.

London Layover

June 1, 2009

London, England

For me, a typical layover involves rushing to the departure gate, seeing the flight is delayed by 2 hours, then finding something that resembles food and settling into an uncomfortable vinyl chair to people watch and count down the minutes.  So, when Robbie, Hillary, and Tahra offered to save me from a 12-hour layover on my way home from Dubai by touring me around London, I was ecstatic.  This would be my first glimpse of Europe and, though it would truly be just a glimpse, I was determined to soak it in.

Unfortunate timing and an inability to sleep on planes conspired against me, making me already awake for more than 20 hours when I arrived.  I paused in the bathroom to brush my teeth in an attempt to ditch that fuzzy daze you get when you travel, and then we were off in Robbie’s Mini Cooper.

A pretty London street-- the city was full of beautiful old architecture.

The roads were marked to remind silly American tourist like myself to watch the right direction for traffic.

In those brief hours, we traipsed all across the city in a whirlwind tour that I’m still not really sure how I managed to stay awake for.  Somehow, we hit Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Tower Bridge, watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, walked under the London Bridge, snagged fish and chips for lunch, rode the underground, and tried to walk through the King’s Cross barrier to reach Platform 9 ¾.  (You’re never too old for Harry Potter.)

Big Ben

Hillary and Tahra in front of Westminster Abbey

Me in front of Buckingham Palace with my 99 Flake-- a delicious London dessert combining soft serve and Cadbury chocolate

The Tower Bridge (NOT London Bridge)

Shakespeare's Globe Theater, from across the river

Thoroughly exhausted, I finally said goodbye to London and hopped the train back to Heathrow.  I made it just in time to take a ride on the world’s longest escalator, buy a Cadbury chocolate bar with my last pounds, and board the plane back to the States.  By the time I made it back to Madison—again without sleeping on the plane—I calculated that I had been awake for 45 hours straight.  But it was so much better to spend that time seeing everything I could than sitting zoned out in an airport.  As they say, you can sleep when you’re dead.

The world's longest escalator-- picture snapped as I literally ran to catch my plane.

Dubai, Day 8

May 28, 2009

Dubai, UAE

This day's adventures included some henna artistry, a trip to the Mall of the Emirates (affectionately known as MOE), and a trip out for masala chai and barfka-gola.

Illika was very intricate about her henna. 

Yes, the mall did have an ice rink in the middle of it.  Crazy Dubai-ins.

Barfka-gola, something like a snow cone on a stick.  This one was rose flavored, the other flavor we tried roughly translates to "black sour," which was a crazy combo of sweet-salty-sour-coca cola flavor with spices on top.

Masala Chai, brewed over the course of a day.  It's what Starbucks wishes it's chai tasted like, and it costs less than a dollar AND it comes in a pot.  These "matkas" can be recycled at the end of the day by soaking them all in water and reusing the clay for the next day.