Not all who wander are lost.

Normal is boring. I'll take the crazies.

2010-09-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

I took a motorcycle safety course this weekend. It's something I've always wanted to do.

Some people were impressed; Others thought I had lost my mind.

I'm so glad I did it... and I love this quote! =)

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
-Jack Kerouac

Inspiration

2010-07-21T09:16:00.001-07:00

"If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning.

If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need.

If you're going to question something, question authority.

If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions.

If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence.

And if you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams."

-Daniel Golston

Dutch Domino's Pizza World Cup Special!

2010-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Netherlands - Brazil cries out for the Family Pizza

This afternoon at 16.00 hours in the day, the Netherlands plays the quarter-final against Brazil. Of course that includes the family pizza at Domino's! The huge pizza consists of a half Hawaiian and half a chicken supreme, so Twice as Nice. Other combinations may of course also be requested. While you also get an order of jalapeno bites, potato wedges, chicken strippers and two sauces. For only 15.95 plus Shipping. Now only win!

Order now!

I was quite yesterday confused when I got a Domino's marketing e-mail. Not because of the e-mail though... because it was in Dutch.

However, I was only confused until I remembered the ONE time we ordered Domino's while in the Netherlands. We decided to have an American junk food night during the week of the 4th of July! Well apparently, they're having a deal for the Netherlands-Brazil quarter-final game today... Haha! This definitely made my day!

And in case you were wondering, yes, they deliver on bicycle. =)

Also, I wonder how much shipping to Iowa would be... It sounds like a pretty good deal!

My sweet RAYGUN test tee

2010-06-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

I am literally in love with this shirt from RAYGUN (formerly known as Smash).

RAYGUN is a Des Moines retailer that screenprints witty sayings on t-shirts with an antique machine. This is one of their test shirts. Before printing any shirt (for real), they run a test print. The test shirts are used repeatedly before being "retired," so this makes each of them totally unique and created over weeks and weeks of printing.

I'm pumped, because this one has all of my favorite sayings/designs on one shirt! Thanks RAYGUN!

Allegiant Debacle:

2010-05-13T14:58:00.001-07:00

Why I will never spend another cent with Allegiant Air, and why even I am sad about it.

The Situation:

I got an amazingly cheap flight from Des Moines to LA to visit my older brother. It was $79.99 there and $19.99 back. With taxes, the total was $150ish. Incredible. I was sooo excited. My brother and I haven't spent enough quality time together for... too long, so it was going to be great!

On the day of my flight, I was running a little late (as is common with me), but since I only had a carry-on bag and it was the Des Moines airport, I wasn't too worried. I arrived with 25 minutes until boarding.

There was no line at the security check, so all I needed to do was check in and get my boarding pass. Only problem: Nobody was at the ticket counter. It was utterly deserted.

After talking to an airport security person, I found out that Allegiant closes it's ticket counter 30 minutes prior to boarding.

What??? I was dumbfounded. I'd never heard anything about that. Apparently, it does mention this at the very bottom of the confirmation e-mail, and it's easy to find if you're looking for it, but I'm fairly sure I read all of the material before purchasing the flight, and I don't recall anything about that.

The security person said my only hope was to get on an airport information phone where I had to call the paging system and have them announce "will an Allegiant person meet a passenger at the ticket counter?" over the intercom. Oh, and they told me straight up that nobody would probably come.

I waited 10-15 minutes before I even talked to anyone. Even then, it was just an airport worker who said he couldn't do anything.

When we realized there were 5-6 total people that weren't going to get on the plane, the worker said he could go out to the plane and see if anyone would come help us. He came back, but reported that no Allegiant person was going to come in until the plane had taken off.

At 8:25, we finally got to talk to an Allegiant representative. He pretty much said that if we weren't there at 7:50, we were SOL. No refund, no credit, nadda. It was our fault, so it was all on us.

I tried to talk some sense into the guy, but the other dude in front of me got really upset and started yelling that he wanted to talk to the guy's manager. He lied and said he was there 45 minutes before the departure (when I knew that he got there 10-15 minutes AFTER I did). By that point, anything I could have said to the Allegiant rep would have gone in one ear and out the other. I left sad, frustrated and feeling more than a little disrespected.

In the end, I lost all of the money from not only this flight ($80), but also my flight from Phoenix that I couldn't take because my friend decided not to move at the last minute ($150). With that flight, I lost $50 for canceling my flight, and got to use the rest on my flight to LA.

Plus, since Allegiant only has flights between Des Moines and LA on Fridays and Mondays, there was no chance of rescheduling.

My Issues:

I didn't get to talk to a single Allegiant person for over 20 minutes.
From how the airport workers sounded, it seems like this is the standard way Allegiant operates... With no regard for customer service. Zero tolerance, really?
Let me say: I do take partial responsibility for the situation. I was running late... BUT... It's Des Moines... There weren't any other flights, so they weren't going to lose their spot on the runway. There was no line for security. I would have had PLENTY of time.
Why would they close the ticket counter so early??? There was nobody in the security line, and all they had to do was print me a boarding pass.
They made no attempt to assist a large group of passengers.
If it's going to be such a strict cut-off time, they should make it much more obvious. Like BIG LETTER, stated multiple times, blatently obvious.
Other airlines will at least give you the boarding pass and say they don't know if you'll make it, but wish you good luck!

What I wish Allegiant would have done/will do:

At least had someone or something at the ticket counter to explain the situation. I didn't even know what was going on for 15-20 minutes!
State very clearly, multiple times, that their ticket counter will close 30 minutes before departure. (But I think that's a stupid policy anyway.)
Considered serving their customers with respect a priority.
Refund/credit my ticket or allow me to reschedule. Or at least refund my original credit, since I've now paid for two flights that I haven't been on.
At the VERY LEAST offered an apology.

We're all losers.

As soon as he heard I was going to miss my flight, my brother (who I was going to visit in LA and who is a frequent traveler) called the customer service line and tried to talk some sense into them. When they didn't have anything helpful to say, he said he "gave them a piece of his mind." They probably didn't care... He also did some online research and found some other interesting customer reviews:

Allegiant Air - The Airline You've Probably Never Heard of.
Allegiant Air; cheap no-frills airline proving cheap no-frills service
This Airline Sucks!
Some mixed reviews on RateItAll! http://www.rateitall.com/i-859334-allegiant-air.aspx and ViewPoints http://www.viewpoints.com/Allegiant-Air-reviews

My parents are flying from Des Moines to LA on Allegiant at the end of this month. Their flight is on a Friday, but they said they're thinking about getting to the airport on Wednesday *just to be safe*. We wish they didn't already have their flights booked, because none of us want to spend another cent with this company.

It sucks, too, because it would have been incredible to get $150 flights from the city where I live to my brother's. We don't see each other hardly enough, so it would have made bi-annual visits much more feasible.

I WISH I could still fly Allegiant. I would have been a loyal, frequent flier. As would my brother, and as would my parents. It WOULD have been awesome for all parties involved... We would have gotten cheap, convenient trips to see each other. Allegiant would have gotten our money (over and over).

But I can't fly Allegiant Air, because I don't believe companies should treat their customers like that. I won't, because it's a matter of principle.

And it sucks, because in this situation, everyone loses.

Census 2010

2010-03-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence in posts lately...

I've been crazy busy with work and life.

There's been lots going on,

but nothing I've felt compelled to blog about.

Until now.

The 2010 Census.

It's not that the census is the most exciting thing of all time.

It's just that I feel that I'm participating in history or doing my civic duty. The census is only taken once a decade,

and this is my first chance to fill it out.

Last week, we got a letter from the Census Bureau, and I thought it was the actual census.

Nope.

It was a letter warning us that we were going to receive the real deal in a week or so. I was so excited that I warned my roomie to not even THINK about filling out the Census, because I was doing it.

The act of filling out the census wasn't even that exciting... I answered a few basic questions, and I was done.

Whoop-dee-doo... Oh well... civic duty and all that, right?

On a final note, I think the Census 2010 commercials have been very good. I've heard a good one on the radio about towns not having enough teachers and stoplights. I've also seen some good ones on TV. I think they evoke a sense of responsibility... at least they did for me!

Emilee 2010 : 365 Project

2010-01-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

One of my 2010 resolutions is to start a Photo 365 Project -- posting one photo each day of 2010.

I'm going to try to keep the storytelling to a minimum and focus on the technique and process of the pictures. We'll see how that goes!

Will I really be able to keep with this? I don't know, but that's the "project" aspect of this adventure.

Check out my new blog here.

One of my favorite quotes

2009-12-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

*Photo of my mum and I making Chex mix the day after Thanksgiving*

*The following quote is from a gift I bought for my friend Molly... I wanted to let her know to keep her chin up and believe in herself and everything would work out for the best. I guess it's good advice for anyone...*

If you're going to be passionate about something,
be passionate about learning.

If you're going to fight something,
fight for those in need.

If you're going to question something,
question authority.

If you're going to lose something,
lose your inhibitions.

If you're going to gain something,
gain respect and confidence.

And if you're going to hate something,
hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.

-Daniel Golston

Random Acts of Kindness

2009-11-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

I was first introduced to the idea of random acts of kindness when I participated in 4-H. My leader (and friend) Janelle always encouraged us to do things for other people - if only to put a smile on their face. But since then, I really haven't thought about the concept in about five years...

This morning, I decided to start living my life by doing more random acts of kindness. Here's why:

Wikipedia defines a "random act of kindness" as:

A selfless act performed by a person wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual. There will generally be no reason other than to make people smile or be happier.

Either spontaneous or planned in advance, random acts of kindness are encouraged by various communities. An oft-cited example of a random act of kindness is, when paying the toll at a toll booth on a highway, to pay the toll for the vehicle behind you as well.I began thinking about this subject a few weeks ago when my friend Emily and I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the East Side of Des Moines.

The back-story

I began thinking about this subject a few weeks ago when my friend Emily and I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the East Side of Des Moines.

On our way into the restaurant, a (scruffy-looking) man approached us and asked if he could have any money. I don't remember the reason he gave, but it was vague enough that I was skeptical that his story was true. In my head, I was coming up with a reason to deny him... "Sorry, I don't have any cash" or maybe even just ignoring him and going inside.

I looked at Emily for help, but instead, she reached into her purse and got out her wallet. She said, "Yeah, I think I have a dollar or two..." so I got out my wallet and handed him two dollars. He thanked us, said "God bless you," and walked away. The end.

Do I know for sure that he used our four dollars to feed himself and his starving children? No. Do I even think that he used the money for food? Maybe. I really don't know. But as we walked into that restaurant, I felt good. I knew that I had bestowed some kindness on this stranger, and it made me feel good. I had a smile on my face and a bounce in my step.

This morning, when I read on Twitter that a friend's grandfather had passed away, I sent a reply: "sending a hug from Iowa... I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa." The feeling happened again!

How to be kind? Just do it!

Now think about a time that someone has been unexpectedly kind to you. Whether it was holding the door open for you, offering to help carry something or even just waving for you to go first at a stop sign... Think about how receiving kindness makes you feel. It's good isn't it?

Now think about the ways you can show kindness to someone else... I've realized that being kind is the simplest thing in the world if I'm not thinking about myself all the time. For example, you could:

Say "hello" to someone you see every day but never talk to (the mailman, someone in your building, etc.)
Hold the door open for the person behind you
Leave a big tip
Send someone a card (snail mail)
Write more than "happy birthday !" on someone's facebook wall
Pick up trash as you go about your day
Compliment someone
Clean your neighbor's driveway

World Kindness Week is coming up this month from Nov. 9-15. World Kindness Day is Nov. 13. And Random Acts of Kindness Week is Feb. 15-21.

Benefits of Kindness

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website outlines several studies that show the health benefits of being kind. These are some of the findings:

Helping contributes to the maintenance of good health, and it can diminish the effect of diseases and disorders serious and minor, psychological and physical.

A rush of euphoria, followed by a longer period of calm, after performing a kind act is often referred to as a “helper’s high,” involving physical sensations and the release of endorphins. This initial rush is then followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being.

Helping can enhance our feelings of joyfulness, emotional resilience and vigor; and can reduce the unhealthy sense of isolation.

A decrease in both the intensity and the awareness of physical pain can occur.

The incidence of attitudes, such as chronic hostility, that negatively arouse and damage the body is reduced.

The health benefits and sense of well-being return for hours or even days whenever the helping act is remembered.

An increased sense of self-worth, greater happiness and optimism, as well as a decrease in feelings of helplessness and depression, is achieved.

The practice of caring for strangers translates to immense immune and healing benefits.

Regular club attendance, volunteering, entertaining or faith group attendance is the happiness equivalent of getting a college degree or more than doubling your income.

*On a side but related note, smile at people. Have you ever noticed the effect you have on people when you smile? Try it sometime...

2009-10-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from my wonderful coworkers at IRIS!! I got really bored when I was home sick yesterday, so I put this little ditty together...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2010 Olympics in Vancouver

2009-09-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

I put the 2010 Olympics on my calendar today:
February 12-18.
I had forgotten they were coming up so soon!

And I'm sooo excited!
The Olympics are one of my favorite things
in the entire world.
Summer, winter... it doesn't matter.

During the Olympics,
you can find me watching them on TV,
checking in online,
or looking up pictures of whichever athlete I decide to have a crush on.
(i.e. - Michael Phelps, Apollo Anton Ohno, Shaun White, etc.)

Here are the events I'm most excited for this year:

Skiing
Bobsled
Figure skating
Luge
Speed skating
Ski jumping
Snowboarding
Skeleton

Here's my advice for if you want to talk to me
during those few weeks of the Olympics...
commercials.
=)

This video warms my heart =)

2009-09-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

This video is amazing.
I'll let it speak for itself,
but it makes my heart warm.
=)

I love Glee!

2009-09-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

These are NOT the same videos... that's just the thumbnail that comes up. The first is a video of the rival show choir, Vocal Adrenaline, doing an AMAZING little song/dance number. The second is the character Mercedes in a more impromptu song, "Bust the Windows Out 'Ya Car."

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade...

2009-09-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

I find that as I'm away from home for longer and longer periods of time,
I've come to view my hometown differently.

I've always loved Clarinda,
but when I've visited Southwest Iowa again recently,
I find that I get excited for the small, subtle things.
I have a really special place in my heart for small towns.

This past weekend, I went to a Labor Day parade
with my parents in Essex, Iowa,
a town 25 miles (and minutes) from Clarinda.

This was the same Labor Day parade that I grew up attending,
but this time,
after being away from home for over 3 months (?!?)
I saw things differently...

Families lined up along the streets, trying to squeeze into the shady areas.
The piercing sirens from the procession of firetrucks and police vehicles.

Kids willing to wrestle in the street for candy and prizes. (It happened.)
Old farmers proudly showing off their tractors.

"Royalty" from all of the county fairs and small town festivals.
Teenagers sweating through their marching band uniforms.
Blocks and blocks of horses at the end of the parade.
And yes, maybe a few cowboy hats and a mullet or two.

At these small town events,
you can't walk five steps without running into someone you know!
(We ran into my step-cousin, who I haven't seen in 7-8 years!)
The community is a family.

When you're in a rural town,
it's easy to find yourself in a kind of bubble.
It's easy to get lost in the nostalgia of the history of these towns.
And it's easy to forget about your troubles.

Ahh, home. =)

My bucket/2012 list... dun dun dunnnnnn!

2009-08-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some research about 2012... It all started with a book I flipped through at Barnes & Noble, now it's being made into a movie.

One Web site, www.december212012.com, says this:

"The world is abuzz with talk of the year 2012; however, not everyone is looking forward to the year with the same outlook or expectations. For some, the year hints at apocalyptic end times; a period in which the world will be thrown into utter chaos and violent upheaval. A turbulent and tumultuous epoch in which both natural and man-made disasters will decimate and possibly lead to the extinction of life as we know it. Other, more optimistic people perceive this date as a moment of awakening, a massive global transformation of consciousness…one which is to be anticipated with joy and celebration.

"Perhaps, the real outcome lies somewhere in between the two extremes.

"The mythology behind the 2012 enigma focuses on the ancient Mayan Long Count Calendar which was a Mesoamerican calendrical system that mysteriously ends on December 21, 2012. Interestingly enough, that date also coincides with the winter solstice. This date further corresponds with a predicted "galactic alignment" which is believed to occur when our solar system passes directly through the Galactic Equator."

It's kind of scary, yes. But I'm trying to be positive and optimistic, so I made a list of things I would like to do/accomplish before the end of the world, whether it be in 2012 or not.

My thought is to make the most of my life before 2012 because there are two outcomes and both are good... (a) I do all of these things, have an amazing time and the world ends in 2012 OR (b) I do all of these things, have an amazing time, the world DOESN'T end and I'm able to live the rest of my life saying I had these wonderful experiences!

Skydive
Scuba dive
Go to Leiden again
See a great white shark
Raft down the Grand Canyon
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
Ride a camel (not at a zoo)
See the Northern Lights
Ski in Colorado/the Swiss Alps
Go to Italy, Czech Republic, Austria and Germany
Swim with dolphins
Go to an all-inclusive resort
Learn to do a back handspring
Learn to ballroom dance
Have one of my pictures published in National Geographic

There are probably many more... but this is my list for now! Maybe there will be a sequel post!

If I could have a soundtrack to my life...

2009-08-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes,

I fantasize about having a soundtrack to my life.

You know,
music that is playing in the background
while I undertake my adventures.
It would make everything better!

Here is the beginning of the list,
the first few songs
that WILL be
on the soundtrack of my life:

1. "The Story of Andrew" -Andrew's Ave
2. "I've just seen a face." -Across the Universe soundtrack
3. "London Calling" -The Clash
4. "Fidelity" -Regina Spektor
5. "Mantis Ghetts" -Umphrey's McGee
6. "Don't Worry Be Happy" -Bobby McFerrin
7. "Speeding Cars" -Imogen Heap
8. "Top of the World" -Shonen Knife
9. "Kokomo" -Beach Boys
10. "There She Goes" -The La's

10 things I appreciate about the U.S.

2009-08-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

I realized that I've been talking about how great Europe is and how much the U.S. sucks... and although all of the points I've made have been valid, I really don't hate the States as much as it might seem. SO, here are a few things I really, truly appreciated about being home:

being able to read and understand menus
driving
speaking the same language as the people I come into contact with
my kitties
texting
using regular time (not military AND not having to subtract 7 hours to figure out Iowa time)
going to the grocery store (knowing where things are and that they'll have everything I'm looking for)
not converting to Euros
reading websites in English (it took me to Dutch ones by default)
paying with a credit/debit card (not ALWAYS cash)

10 Things I Miss About the Netherlands

2009-08-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a month since I got back from the Netherlands, and I definitely hit the ground running. Not only did I have to adjust to being back from Europe, but I also dove right into my new full-time job in Ames!

Sometimes, I feel ike I haven't had a single moment to sit down and relax and reflect. But in the midst of everything, I've found myself longing to be back in Leiden... Why? Let me tell you!

The wonderful weather. (50-75 degrees)
This was the perfect temperature to wear a shirt, cardigan and scarf and then be able to mix-and-match depending on whether the sun was out or if it was overcast.
Hanging out with Emily, Allison, Drew and Doug.
These people were my best friends for a month, and now I hardly talk to any of them!! We got to know each other so fast and so well, and I love them all dearly... I miss you guys!
The courtyard.
This place is hard to describe... it was like our private little sanctuary where we could just hang out, unwind and appreciate being in such a beautiful and wonderful place. (Even when the other tenants didn't appreciate us.)
Walking on the brick/cobblestone streets.
At first, this seemed like a negative. The sides of my calves hurt on our first few days, and I'm SURE that I tripped over a rogue brick EVERY single day. But cobblestone streets are beautiful and historic. They're a far cry from the ugly and boring cement that is EVERYWHERE in the States.
Hugo de Grootstraat/Rapenburg/Haarlemerstraat.
These were the streets we walked on most frequently in Leiden. I think they were also the only street names I knew... The rest just looked like a jumble of consonants with a few random vowels thrown in!
Spar & sour candy.
Spar was the grocery store we frequented. It was a little more expensive, but it was close -- and when you have to carry your groceries, you err on the side of close. It was also nice because it was small and less overwhelming than the large stores. The sour candy doesn't need much explanation. It was amazing. I bought 3 packages EVERY time I went into Spar (which was practically daily).
Steef, Matthijs and Lotte.
These wonderful people were our program director and class "teachers." They were VERY Dutch and had quite eclectic personalities. They were the topics of many of our conversations and the main characters of many adventures. To get an idea, here's a video of who we're pretty sure is Steef (around 1:30)... and here's Lotte's Web site (beware).
Bikes everywhere.
Most people know that there are lots of bikes in the Netherlands. It's not a secret. BUT most people don't know the extent of the bikes in Holland. They're EVERYWHERE. There is no doubt that I saw more bikes than cars on any given day. There were piles of bikes. And people were so talented on them! Riding with 3 kids... riding with another adult on back... riding one bike and steering another... riding, texting and eating at the same time. Ahhh-mazing. -- Also, I saw somewhere recently that they were thinking about banning bikes on roads... and I wanted to scream, "Do you WANT to continue the trend of killing the environment and becoming obese??" Ugh.
Walking.
I also knew that I walked a lot while abroad, but I didn't realize how different that is from when I'm in the States... where I hardly walk at all. In the Netherlands, I didn't hesitate to talk to a store that was 25 minutes away... I even walked there three times in one day! But in the States, I walk to my car in the morning, drive to work and walk in the building. THEN, at the end of the day, I walk out of my building, drive home and walk inside. Lame. I even drive places that are totally within walking distance and don't even consider taking the healthy route.
Living in history.
This is probably my favorite thing about Europe. Everywhere you look, there is history. And it's not short-term history like in the U.S. This is SERIOUS history. Our university was founded in 1575, and the Hortus Botanicus is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. We walked past Rembrandt's childhood home on the way to Leideseplein and saw William of Orange's signature on a wall. I love history... therefore, I love Europe!

Iowa State Fair Food

2009-08-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the summer... I can almost smell it from Ames. It's time for the good 'ole Iowa State Fair.

Every year, without fail, the weather gets hot and humid just in time for the fair. It will probably rain a few days, making it even more sticky, because it always does.

Another thing that goes without question is the quality of people watching that can be done at the fair. After my final project in Leiden, I think it might be interesting to just take a day and document some of the characters that attend this annual event. I'll be sure to see several mullets, John Deere hats, kids on leashes, overalls, cowboy hats, obese people and (believe it or not) tourists.

But by far my favorite part of the fair is the food. I usually only make it down to the fairgrounds once or twice a year... but when I do the fair, I REALLY do the fair.

I know the food is gross and unhealthy, but that's why I fast for the 3 days leading up to and the the 3 days following my fair binge. I also plan on spending between $50-75 on food (and a few activities) during that one day.

When I'm at the fair, there is no remorse for eating too much and no hesitation to get "one more" greasy, fried substance on a stick... No matter how full I am. Some foods are traditional, some are unique, a lot are on sticks... but for most, this is the only chance I'll have to eat them all year!

Here is my list of the foods I'm most excited for at this year's Iowa State Fair:

Corn dog
Corn on the cob (dipped in a vat of butter, literally)
Bucket of chocolate chip cookies
Pork chop on a stick
Funnel cake
Cheese curds
Cotton candy
Ribbon fries (aka "Greater Tater")
Carmel apple
Fresh squeezed lemonade
Dippin' Dots
Kettle Korn
Strawberry Smoothie
Sweet Potato Fries
Beer

Mmm... I can almost taste it!

Thought of the Day (U.S. Culture Shock Series)

2009-07-31T15:00:00.001-07:00

Portrait | The Eyes are Window of the Soul
Originally uploaded by Diyana Kamaruza

Because I'm not finding as much time to sit down and blog as I did when I was abroad, my final thoughts are going to be a bit more spread out... This is installment #1 of my "U.S. Culture Shock Series."

Emilee's thought of the day:

People look you in the eye (in the Netherlands and in Europe as a whole).

It's not something you really think about, but in the U.S., people don't really look you in the eye. It's considered rude to stare, and I'm pretty sure that we've all experienced an awkward moment when you accidently make eye contact with a stranger.

In Europe, however, people aren't so uptight about eye contact. It can be a little unnerving at first, because it seems like they're staring at you! But after a while, you realize that it's just a cultural difference and it becomes natural.

Even I started really looking at people more, and that's when I had a revelation: People are more interesting when you look them in the eye! My final project, "People are beautiful," stemmed from this realization.

Now that I'm back in the States, I seem to be the creeper who is staring other people in the eye. I don't do it consciously, and I definitely don't want to seem like a crazy person, but I don't really see what the big deal is... It might seem like an invasion of privacy (but why really?) but for me, looking in someone's eyes is a way to figure out their story - and you really appreciate people more when you really think about a person in THEIR context, not yours.

Like the saying goes: "The eyes are the window to the soul."

Thought of the Day (U.S. Culture Shock Series)

2009-07-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

You are my sunshine... My only sunshine...

2009-07-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sugar and Raygun cuddling.

I read this in a forwarded e-mail, and it brightened my day... (The photo of my kittens brightens my day too!) I hope it can brighten yours too!

When you are sad,
I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew.

When you are blue,
I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

When you smile,
I will know you are plotting something I must be involved in.

When you are scared,
We will high tail it out of here.

When you are worried,
I will tell you stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!

When you are confused,
I will use little words.

When you are sick,
Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

When you fall,
I'll pick you up and dust you off -- after I laugh my butt off!

This is my oath.
I pledge it until the end.
"Why?" you may ask;
Because I'm your friend.

(P.S. - Molly, if you ever read this, I was thinking of you!)

Pick Six's last performance

2009-07-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is Chris's male acapella group, Pick Six. They were together all four years of college, and this is possibly their last performance... at the senior wine and cheese party at President Maxwell's house.

It may not be the best video/audio quality, but it's a really fun performance! "Goodbye (Na Na Na)"

Pick Six: Stephen Brandt, Matt Brennan, Mason Bucklin, Grant Cornish, Tony DiMeglio, Chris Helm, Mike Strong

40 Things Your Kids May Never Know About

2009-07-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a blog post titled "100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About." After reading through it, there were some that definitely struck a cord with me and others that (being 20 years younger than the author) I've already missed out on...

Here are the 30 that stuck with me along with a few I added... I'd love to hear others if you have additions!

Inserting a VHS tape into a VCR to watch a movie or to record something.
Playing music on an audio tape using a personal stereo. See what happens when you give a Walkman to today’s teenager.
Rotary dial televisions with no remote control. You know, the ones where the kids were the remote control.
That there was a time before ‘reality TV.’
The scream of a modem connecting.
5- and 3-inch floppies, Zip Discs and countless other forms of data storage.
DOS.
Screens being just green (or orange) on black.
Blowing the dust out of a NES cartridge in the hopes that it’ll load this time.
Having to delete something to make room on your hard drive.
Finding out information from an encyclopedia.
Using a road atlas to get from A to B.
Doing bank business only when the bank is open. And shopping only during the day, Monday to Saturday.
Not knowing exactly what all of your friends are doing and thinking at every moment.
Carrying on a correspondence with real letters, especially the handwritten kind.
Correct spelling of phrases.
Waiting several minutes (or even hours!) to download something.
Putting film in your camera: 35mm may have some life still, but what about APS or disk? And sending that film away to be processed. And having physical prints of photos come back to you.
Getting lost. With GPS coming to more and more phones, your location is only a click away.
Using a stick to point at information on a wallchart
Vacuum cleaners with bags in them.
Remembering someone’s phone number (in your head).
Not knowing who was calling you on the phone.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, as opposed to KFC.
Finding books in a card catalog at the library.
Writing a check.
Looking out the window during a long drive.
Cash.
Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet.
A physical dictionary — either for spelling or definitions.

Here are a few I want to add:

Cell phones once came in bags... and then with antennas that couldn't be retracted.
When it was only an extra precaution to wear your seatbelt.
No TV Guide channel!
The first AMAZING digital cameras that stored photos on floppy discs.
"Macintosh" as opposed to Mac.
Facebook only being for college kids. At SOME colleges. No photos or status updates.
When AOL was the ONLY web browser, and instead of web addresses, you used keywords... followed by Netscape Navigator.
Life B.G. --- Before Google
When it was a big deal to get your first e-mail address... mine was emanri@hotmail.com.
The hassle of skipping between tracks on audio tapes... it was all trial and error!!

Read Nathan Barry's full article with the entire list of the "100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About" here.

Also, in a post on DownTuned, Von lists the 10 Things the "iPod Generation" Will Never Experience...

Twitter is my new notebook

2009-07-27T13:19:00.001-07:00

My Little Black Book
Originally uploaded by AndyVortex.com

I've realized a few things over the past few weeks since I've been home from the Netherlands...

One of those things is that I haven't kept a notebook of my thoughts like I did in Europe. I think the reason is that I have easy access to Twitter in the States. When I have a thought, I tweet it.

Granted, there are some things that I don't want the whole world knowing about. Some of the things I write down may never be told to another human being. But I like being able to look back and see what I was thinking about.

That brings me to my second thought: I am fascinated by how people behave and how they interact with one another.

That's why I think, if I go back to grad school, I might do something with psychology and sociology. Then I'll relate all of that to PR, and I'll be UNSTOPPABLE! Haha... that was a joke.

But really, I like to organize my thoughts. Do you?

Whether it's with a little black notebook or with a social network like Twitter is kind of irrelevant. No one way is better than another, so nobody should judge anyone else's way of organizing...

For me, it's kind of a combination of both. For the things I want to share with the world, I tweet. For the things that are intimate and personal, I write them in my little black book. It works for me.

What'chu talkin' 'bout Emilee?

2009-07-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a word cloud of my blog, "Not All Who Wander Are Lost." The bigger words are used more often than the small ones.

Some of the words I like seeing: Leiden, station, project, Emily, weekend, Allison, Amsterdam...

Via Wordle.

P.S. - Thanks for the idea, Mom!

Be happier this instant...

2009-07-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

This cute little car makes ME happy!

While reading Glamour recently, I came across something truly valuable and actually worthwhile... "10 Ways To Feel Happier This Instant."

I think these ideas are good advice for anyone! My personal favorites are numbers 3, 6 and 10...

Have a cookie before noon or a drink before 5 p.m. You rebel, you.
Close your eyes. Relive your most magical kiss ever.
Do an unpleasant thing you could put off forever but finish in a minute. Keyboard cleaning, yes! (This is sooo true! After reading this, I hung my diploma on the wall... Something I've been meaning to do, but just haven't.)
Make your next pedicure something funny, like OPI's Party in My Cabana pink.
Overtip. (Strangely, this DOES make a person feel better... huh?)
Try the tree pose. Tough to worry about anything buy keeling over, right? (Haha... I'm definitely going to have to try this one when I'm feeling particularly stressed!)
Facebook-stalk the "unattainable" guys you had crushes on at 15. Half are fat and balding, guaranteed.
Smile. Fake happiness always ends up feeling at least a little like the real thing.
Resist: the $250 shoes, the third doughnut, picking the (same old) fight. Sometimes happiness is about what you don't do.
Think back one more time to heroic Sully, landing that plane gently and flawlessly on the Hudson River. (Sully was quite the hero, wasn't he?)

Finding my routine... back to work!

2009-07-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

I made it back safely from the Netherlands... whether I wanted to come back or not!

It was really sad leaving on Monday morning. My room looked so empty, and I almost cried when I had to lock my door and leave.

My last view of my room... #65

Allison and I walked to the train station with our bags, and it was SOOO hard! The cobblestones are not easy on suitcase rollers - it took us 45+ minutes, when it usually takes 15!! The suitcases felt like they weighed 200 pounds, and we had to make a few pit stops to rest. Our last views of the canals were bittersweet...

I was worried that my bags would be too heavy, but the total was 38.2 kg. I thought that meant that I was underweight, but when I looked at the guidelines just now, I found that the maximum was 36 kg... I guess they decided to be nice, because they didn't charge me!!

The flights went really well. On the one from Amsterdam to Dublin, I fell asleep before we took off, and it felt like we were on a train, not an airplane. Even the trans-Atlantic flight went smoothly. We did a pre-customs thing in Dublin, so we got to breeze through in Chicago. And we were home!!

Chris picked me up, and we drove back to Des Moines. I spent the next day with my mom in Des Moines, and then Dad came up for dinner at HuHot... YUM!!

I started back to work on Thursday, and now I'm just getting back into a routine... When I got to work, I had a note sitting on my desk that said:

"Dear Emilee- Here are the things you missed while you were gone...

"I left - and came back. -Alex
"We started having snack day EVERY DAY! -Jenna
"We take ocasional yoga breaks! -Jess
"Nannerpuss!!! -Kim
"Michael Jackson died
"The map is filling up with kids
"We missed you.
"I am excited to meet you!
"We've been admiring your stapler.
"Patience called, she said she wanted to host a student. Then she called and said she didn't want to host. Then she called and said she wanted to host, and then she called and I said, 'She can't host.' -Christelle"

Then, at lunch, they asked us to come out to the main room for a surprise...

It was a huge monster cookie to welcome me back and celebrate Christelle's 5-year anniversary of being in the U.S.

It's good to be back, but I miss Leiden terribly... My friend Molly and I made a 5-year plan in which we're going to move to Leiden, I'm going to get my masters and teach the photography class and she's going to work at a park. It would be amazing!

Back in the States

2009-07-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

I made it back to the USA today! I'm exhausted and going to sleep now, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely... Now to see how the jet lag hits me!

Final post from Leiden, the Netherlands... my home

2009-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

This is most likely the last post from Leiden, my home in the Netherlands.

This whole week has been really crazy. We were working so hard on our final project that we didn't really realize that everything was coming to an end, and we would be on our way back to North America soon.

Everywhere we've gone this weekend, I've just tried to absorb as much as I can. I want to remember everything about this wonderful place.

I have been truly sad several times this weekend, because I know that things will never be like this again. I will never be with these people, in this place, under these circumstances. I probably will never feel as comfortable in a foreign place as I do in Leiden. I truly feel like I'm no longer a tourist.

I also feel like I have become really comfortable with myself during this trip. I feel genuinely happy and very refreshed. I feel independent and confident, and it feels really good. I have had a lot of time to think to myself about a lot of things, and I just feel good about the world right now. It's a wonderful feeling!

Here's a recap of my past few days...

Friday: We had our final presentations starting at 9:30 Friday morning. Each person had 12 minutes to present their final project to the class and our instructors.

Our wonderfully decorated classroom

There is a lot I could say about the teaching style here... it is much less structured, and more conceptual. I feel like they didn't teach me a lot, but they expected me to have learned things and grown. They even told us that we weren't supposed to have a clear idea of our final project until just a few days before it was due.

The people's projects were:

Allison: the forces of nature
Morgan: 3-D door project
Leah: a mock-up of a street, with photography and perspective
Drew: altering signs to be like a "Life" game of his character's life
Me: nobody is normal project
Emily: beautiful drawings of people whose fates were sewn into their clothes w/ their string next to it
Heather: free art, circles
Kelly: chairs, used a cylindrical tube to look at the poster
Katie: focused on kids, cylindrical artwork
Doug: Dutch Influence, American Student
Lindsay: flags, the process of her project
Madison: destructive influence of time
Lauren: texture/material and weaving
Trysha: graphic design of her character

Friday evening, we went to a Chinese restaurant with the group. It was the type of meal that you don't order and they just bring you massive amounts of food to share with the group. It was so delicious and just fun to hang out with the group.

Emily, Steef and I... the best picture of my life

After dinner, we went back to the school to get the artwork we wanted to bring back and our grades. A lot of people thought they graded harshly, but I was okay with my grades. It's not like it really matters to me, though, because I'm graduated!!

Steef (program director), me, Matthijs (graphic design/drawing), Lotte (photography)

Later, we walked around Leiden because there was apparently a big festival happening. The festival was to celebrate the summer, and it lasted from Thursday to Sunday. This night, we went to the town hall, and they were having live music outside. It was fun to stand and listen to ABBA and other classics.

Saturday (4th of July): We woke up Saturday morning and headed to the market around noon.

On our way, we noticed that there were street blockades set up like there was going to be a parade. We walked for a little while longer, but then we heard music and looked over and saw horses in the street. Emily, Allison and I all said "parade!" and Emily grabbed my hand, and we took off running through the streets.

The parade was part of the festival, but a large section of it was just people walking with signs with years on them. It was the graduating members of the class, and it was really neat to see!

We also randomly ran into some dragonboat racing in one of the canals!

Because of the festival, the market was really big. We got our last fresh-made stroopwafels, and they were DELICIOUS! I also bought some flowers at the market, and they have made my room beautiful for the last few days.

Emily's friend Mallory came into Leiden to stay for a few days before their big trip, so Emily went to pick her up at the station in the afternoon. Allison, Doug, Drew and I went to Spar (one last time) to get the supplies for our 4th of July meal, and then came back and started cooking.

We made hamburgers and french fries, and it was really yummy. I can't wait to get back and have a hamburger cooked on a grill, though. And I was really sad that we didn't have fireworks!

After dinner, we hung out in the courtyard for a while, and some other residents of the dorm came down. It was a bunch of guys, and they were from all over Europe. We were going to go to a special event called "Museum Nacht" (Museum Night), but it was too expensive, so they went with us to the town hall where they had music again. The guys told us there was a club in the town hall, so we went in there for a while, but it was sooooo hot!

On the way back to the dorm, Allison got a ride on the back of one of the guys' bikes, and I got to drive another's! We hung out in the courtyard for a while and roasted marshmallows! It was fun to talk to some Europeans and making local friends! Too bad it was on our second to last night here!! I went to bed at 5 a.m.

Sunday: Today, I got up and went with Emily, Mallory and Allison to Amsterdam one last time. When we bought our tickets at the Leiden station, we realized that it would be our last return ticket to Leiden.

Once we got there, we went to the Rijksmuseum. It was a very nice museum, but it was much smaller than I expected it to be! A couple of the really neat things were a three-story dollhouse and a violin made of Delft pottery.

We mostly wandered around the rest of the afternoon and ran into some fun street dance performances. Emily and Mallory are both modern dancers, so it was fun to see them react!

Allison and I split up from Emily and Mallory because they still needed to go to the Anne Frank Huis. Allison and I got dinner at a cafe and then randomly ended up on the same train back to Leiden as Emily and Mallory!

I got really sad and nostalgic as we were leaving Amsterdam. I had to keep telling myself that it was an amazing experience that I will be able to remember forever and that I'll appreciate the U.S. much more when I get back.

The rest of tonight, we just hung out with everybody and packed. I saved my postcards and photos that are on my wall till last, so I'll pack those up in a few minutes. I didn't sleep at all tonight, because I was packing and because I think I just wanted to soak up as much Netherlands as I could. Maybe this will mean I will sleep great on the plane!

I had many more things I was going to say, but I think I'd like to at least lay down for 10 minutes before we walk to the station one last time... It's going to be really loud and bumpy on the cobblestone streets, but it will be a great walk. I just hope I don't cry...

I'll be home in just a few short hours... Tot ziens Leiden... Alst du blieft.

And now, the end is near...

2009-07-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Me, Emily and Allison from a impromptu photo shoot the other night

So these last few days have been a crazy blur. We had class on Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday and Thursday were free for working on our projects.

We had been told that we weren't supposed to have a clear idea of our final project until this week, and they really aren't too clear about the details either. They give us all of these directions and guidelines, but then tell one or all of us to basically do whatever we want.

Luckily, I got my idea this weekend when we were in Amsterdam. By Tuesday, I had almost 200 candid photos of people to choose from. I narrowed it down to 50, then to 27.

Then I brainstormed first impressions and clues from the photos. I asked questions about what was happening or what the person was thinking, and then I developed their story. From the 27, I picked the best 11 and chose a sentence of their story to put with their picture.

Using Photoshop, I added the text to the picture -- keeping in mind the font, orientation, size and color. Finally, I constructed the project into an accordion-style book. This way, I can show it as a book, or I can stretch it out to show all of the photos at once...

I had to walk back and forth to the HEMA like 6 times today to get my pictures printed! And it was HOT... (like 80). But I really like the way it turned out...

This is a stitched together photo, but here it is... (It's actually missing one of the pictures, somehow!)

Tomorrow morning, each of us will present our final projects to the group. We supposedly have 12 minutes, but nobody knows for sure what we should talk about. I'm basically going to say all of the things I said here.

Tomorrow will also be the last time we're in the Central building where our classes are held... It's really sad that everything is coming to a close so quickly...

There is a big festival going on in Leiden this weekend. (We decided it's a going away party for us.) So we're probably going to check that out this weekend. We also might make it back to Amsterdam one last time before everyone leaves...

I have some more "random thoughts," but I think I'll save those for another night... I need to get my rest for my big day tomorrow! I also have lists of things I'll miss in the Netherlands and things I'll appreciate about the U.S. I'll share those later too!

Goodnight everyone!

Here are some pictures from a photo shoot the other night with Allison and Emily... the night after the fog pictures...

UmbrellaHarry Potter...

Magical

Oh, how I will miss this place...

2009-06-30T15:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday and today were my last two days of classes... now all we have is presenting our final project on Friday!

During graphic design class yesterday, Matthijs scared everyone by starting us on an assignment to design a portfolio. Nobody had ever heard of this, and we have enough going on with our final projects, so we were freaking... but it wasn't really an assignment. These teachers are crazy!

After class, each person had a little meeting with Matthijs and Lotte to discuss our final project. It has to incorporate two of the disciplines and many of the things we worked on throughout the semester. I'm doing a documentary-style photography and graphic piece that candidly looks at common people and imagines what their story might be. I'm really excited, because the idea really clicks for me.

I finished up my photography assignment for Tuesday and then walked around and went to the grocery store. Our group ate dinner, looked through pictures and went to the grocery store. Then we watched Hercules... yes, Disney's Hercules. We were having a craving!

I tried to do some laundry and failed miserably... I think my clothes smell worse than they did when I started, and some of them were still dripping wet when I took them out of the dryer after 3 hours... It was not pleasant.

Today, we had photography class. We showed our assignments, which were to make the reconstructions... This is how mine turned out:

After class, we went to the antique jewelry store, where I got another necklace. Then, I walked to the art supply store to see if they have the materials I want for my final project.

It's really nice, because I can be working on my project all of the time when I walk around. I just use my little camera by my side and snap pictures! (I used to think this was creepy, but since I've been here, I've found out that many artists have done way creepier things and have been praised for it.)

Tonight, a group of us went to dinner at a resturant on a canal. They have small barges attached to the sides of the canal, and they have tables on the barges. It's actually quite quaint.

We really wanted to eat on the boat, but all of the canal restaurants were packed, so we took the first table we could get, which was right next to the boat. It was fun to finally do something we've been yearning to do this whole time.

Now I'm working on my project... Deciding if I need to go take more pictures. I don't think it will be terribly difficult to finish, but I don't have a grasp of the whole process quite yet... Wish me luck!

Long and crazy weekend!

2009-06-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend seems like it has gone on forever, but I think that's because we did so many interesting things...

Friday

Allison and I slept in a little bit and ended up leaving Leiden at noonish for Volendam, a small traditional Dutch town north of Amsterdam. We took a train to Amsterdam and a bus to the town.

I was worried about the transportation, but we actually made it around with no problems whatsoever!

We really had no schedule or idea of where we wanted to go when we got there around 1:30, so we stopped in the VVV (pronounced Fay Fay Fay... it's the tourist information center). They told us the direction we should walk, so we went exploring and found the harbor of the IJsselmeer (a large lake). This was the more touristy area.

We went in some souvineer shops and had a photo taken of us in traditional Dutch costume (photo in previous post).

We also had lunch in a cafe that faced the harbor, so we got to look out onto the pretty view. The weather was very interesting... it was overcast and muggy, but then became warm and breezy and then hot and sunny (and back and forth).

For photography this week, our assignment was to make a "reconstruction" or "collage" out of at least nine photos of an object and/or surrounding. We wandered around the less touristy areas to take some photos for that project...

Volendam was so picturesque... Small canals ran among small houses on small streets... It was a very different feel than the other places we have been.

We also found a grassy area with beautiful light, so I had creative fun with reflections and pictures of Allison and me.

The bus/train ride back to Leiden at 5ish seemed really slow. We got on a stoptrain from Amsterdam to Leiden, and that's the slowest one! I guess it was just a good relaxing wind-down to the day.

I went to a couple of pubs with a group of people, and there were a lot of other people out and about. I think it might have been some sort of graduation time, because there were more people around than usual in the evenings...

We learned that students who have recently graduated hang their bookbags on the flagpoles outside their houses, and we saw some of that in Amsterdam and Leiden.

Saturday

This morning, Allison, Emily, Drew, Doug and I went to a place called Bagels & Beans for brunch. The shop is in the same area as the big Leiden market, so we went there after breakfast and walked around. I didn't buy anything, because I have to use up the food I already have!

We went back to Amsterdam in the afternoon to go to the market we saw on our group excursion. Allison, Emily and I went to shop, and Drew came to buy presents for his girlfriend.

It's funny how un-touristy we feel in Amsterdam. Since we've been there 5-6 times now and kind of know our way around, we feel like we're the locals amongst all of the tourists.

The Waterloo Market ("Vaaterloo") was actually kind of disappointing because there wasn't very amazing stuff, and it was semi-expensive. To top it all off, it is a haggling market. That means that most of the goods don't have prices on them, and you are supposed to negotiate a price. I didn't like that concept... Nobody bought anything...

After lunch, we walked around a little bit and found some souvineer shops and some thrift stores. I found a cool beaded necklace at one of the stores and a wooden ring at another store.

On our way back to the station, I was looking around and realized how I don't really notice the people I pass on the streets. When I started looking at them, I was surprised how easily I invented stories in my head about who they were and what led them to the point where our paths crossed. I thought this could make a really interesting idea for my final project, so I started taking some candid photos from my small camera at my side.

I really like how they turned out...

After some relaxation time in Leiden, a group of us got together and went to a park to take pictures for our photography homework. It was starting to get foggy, so the light was really interesting.

We went back and played some theme song trivia (a game I invented on my computer). Then, Allison, Emily and I decided to go outside independently to take pictures of the fog. It was WAY cooler at night!

Emily and I ran into each other and started walking around. The combination of the fog and walking in a semi-unknown place made it seem really surreal. We started to try some slow motion/long exposure photos, and some of them turned out well. That's the benefit of taking pictures of a modern dancer who is familiar with the shape of her body.

Today was a really, really good day, and at the end of it, I feel happy, content and refreshed. I got my creative juices flowing and created some really interesting photos. Yay!

Sunday

Today was a more relaxing day... I slept in and then went to the Turkish Bakery with Allison and Emily. It's one of the only things open on Sunday, so we got some brunch and walked to the Hortus Botanicus.

We spent an hour or two in the gardens taking pictures and then went back to the dorms to get our photos ready to print. We dropped our photos off at the HEMA at 3:30 and then walked around and got ice cream and french fries.

I came back to the dorm and worked on my "reconstruction" project. We have to do two different objects/surroundings, so I'm doing an old car and a street scene from Volendam. This is one rough idea, but I'll put more pictures up when they're done...

After dinner, Emily, Allison and I thought it would be fun to make some drawings with sidewalk chalk. We saw some people down the street doing it the other day, and it looked like fun. We were doing a great job, but then a grumpy lady came up and didn't look pleased with our creativity so we left.

Last but not least, we went to a park to do some more night photography. Tonight, I experimented a lot with silhouettes... It was fun, but the time flew by! We were in the park for probably three hours!

Now it's really late and I'm blogging, but I know if I don't do it now, I'll get really behind. I'm already behind with my photos -- I'm just taking so many, I can't keep up!

This week is going to be crazy... It's the last week that we'll be here AND we have to finish our final project and pack and everything... ahh!!

Teaser for the full blog tomorrow...

2009-06-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

I'm really super tired, so I'm not going to blog about my weekend just yet. I will have some time tomorrow, so I can share pictures and stories from the last few days. Here's a little teaser:

Allison and I went to Volendam, a small traditional city about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam, on Friday. This is a picture of the picture they printed out for us at a tourist photo shop... We HAD to do it!

Today, a group of us went to Amsterdam again to go to the flea market and some thrift shops. Then, when we were back in Leiden this evening, there was crazy fog all around, so we decided to take some pictures.

I got some really interesting ones of the surroundings, but Emily and I also took some motion/light pictures that turned out cool. Remember: she's the modern dancer... Here is one of those pictures:

More to come tomorrow!

Last regular week of classes is over...

2009-06-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today was another standard day... We had drawing from 10-1. We had to use letters as 'characters,' and he came up with some pretty unusual scenarios we had to create.

After class, Allison and I went to the HEMA to pick up our pictures, and we both bought a couple of scarves along the way. I decided I'm a scarf-a-holic! And it's a shame that when I get back to 100-degree Iowa July I won't be able to wear any of them...

We had an American junk food evening, so we ordered pizza and had some pop and candy and watched a movie in my room. Other than that, today wasn't very exciting...

I do have some more random thoughts though...

Nutella is so good. I withheld for a long time when everyone was saying how good it was, but then I bought my own jar, and now I can't stop!
Our time in Europe is coming to a close very quickly. We decided there is no more nap-taking or time-wasting anymore... We need to enjoy being here and take full advantage of it!
I shouldn't buy any more food at the grocery store/market because we only have a little over a week left, and I can't bring any of the food with me!!
It's amazing how comfortable I've become with Leiden and even Amsterdam. In Leiden, I don't think I can really get lost because eventually I'll find a place that I'm familiar with, and I can find my way from there...
Although it's officially called "the Netherlands," most of the world say "Holland." However, only two of the Netherlands' twelve provinces are actually in Holland.
One of the things the Netherlands is famous for is land reclamation - where they turn the sea into usable land. It's amazing! In my guidebook, there's a saying by Voltaire that goes: "God created the earth - except Holland, for the Dutch did that." Since the 14th century, the surface area of the Netherlands has increased by approximately 10 percent!!
I'm actually building a slight tan (on my arms). I think it's because I'm outside every day, but it's not hot enough and/or I'm not in the sun long enough to get burnt. There have been a few days when I'm red, but never truly burnt. It's pretty nice!
Today was a crazy day... Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson. It was strange to hear the news about Michael Jackson over here. Chris told me, and I checked MSNBC and broke the news to the people in the dorm, but some of the girls were out and said people were shouting about it. Like him or not, it's pretty big news...

That's all for tonight... I think Allison and I are going to try to make it to Volendam tomorrow. It's a small town north of Amsterdam that is famous for their traditional Dutch clothing and lifestyle. It should just be a short trip... we have lots of work to do for photography and for our final project!

Group excursion to Amsterdam

2009-06-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Another early morning, we were on our way to the train station by 8:30 a.m.

By now, we are very familiar with the train ride to Amsterdam, so it seemed like a quick trip. For the first part of the day, we just walked around and went to a few museums and historical places.

First, we visited the "Our Lord in the Attic" museum, which is a regular canal house that has a hidden church in the attic. It was owned by a Catholic during the Reformation when Catholics were forbidden to hold public services. It was really cool that that large of a church could be hidden and that people went to such lengths to practice their faith!

We went to a couple of contemporary art museums and a photography museum called "Foam." Steef said he was trying to take us to the non-touristy places, which was nice.

They only gave us 45 min. for lunch, and it proved to be too little time... Emily, Allison, Doug, Drew and I went to lunch together, and we found a place and ordered within 10 minutes. Somehow, our food didn't get to us until the exact time we were supposed to meet back, so I had to call Lotte (thank goodness I had put her number in my phone!), and ask them to wait. I don't know if I've ever eaten so quickly!!

The last thing we did was go on a canal tour! The teachers dropped us off and said, "Good luck! See you tomorrow!"

The tour wasn't as great as I hoped it would be, but we still had fun. It had been a hot day, so it was nice to get the cool breeze from the canals. Our tour boats had roofs, but the windows let in some air!

After the tour, we went to Centraal Station to check on tickets to Cologne. Sadly, the tickets were 115 euro, so we decided that it's not really feasible to go to Germany. We're planning one or two shorter trips instead!

Before we headed back to Leiden, we decided to check out a movie, so we found our way to a theater and picked out an American movie that would be played with Dutch subtitles. It was really funny to see how different cultures act at movies. People were just louder and more into the movie... It was fun!

After that, we decided we had had a night. Besides, we have drawing homework due tomorrow!

Random thoughts:

Tomorrow is our last drawing class.
We only have about a week left of the program, and it's making everyone a little nostalgic...
It turns out, many of the bikes we've seen on the streets ARE locked. Lots of them have a thick chain around one of the wheels, so it would be unrideable or others have a wheel lock. Iiinnnnteresting...
We still need to eat on a boat restaurant.
A bunch of us decided to have a 4th of July celebration the weekend before we leave.
I'm still thinking about that hamburger we had last night...
We still are very confused about our "final project" for this program... They say being a little confused is a good thing!

This is Emily and me (Magellan and Pizarro). Note that her hair is no longer pink... re: yesterday's post about dying it.

2nd photography class in 24 hours

2009-06-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

We had our regularly scheduled photography class today, and we ended up taking an excursion to Hortus Botanicus. It is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world! We saw one plant that had been there since 1610!!

It was very beautiful, and I'm planning on going back sometime! I never knew it was so close!

Today was also one of the warmest days I've seen in Leiden. When we were at the botanical gardens, I was sweating in the humid buildings!

After class, Allison and I went to the HEMA (a sort of Walgreens) to drop of our pictures to get printed for photography. We ran a couple more errands and went back to the dorm. I made lunch and did homework until Emily and I decided to go outide and enjoy the beautiful day.

While we were outside, we heard screeching alarms and realized that they were coming from our building. People with their windows open informed us that the fire alarm was going off on our floor because someone burnt food while cooking. Everyone evacuated the building, and the fire department came to check it out. The alarms were going off for almost 20 minutes, and it took a while for them to OK that we could go back in... That was exciting, and I wish I would have had my camera with me!!

This evening, I just hung out, and we tried to figure out our plans for Germany. We would like to go this weekend, but it will depend on how expensive the train tickets are, and hopefully, we'll find that out tomorrow in Amsterdam.

I also helped Emily dye her hair. It has been a bright pink (she went extreme during her break from dance at school), and we dyed it a dark brown. I wasn't much help, but I supervised and it looks really nice now!

I broke a mirror today, though, so I hope do I don't have 7 years bad luck! We did have some bad luck, because when we went to pick up our photos, we got there just as they were locking the doors... and it's like a 20 min. walk!!

The rest of the night was just relaxing, homework and dinner.

Tomorrow, we're going to Amsterdam with the group, and then a few of us will probably stay in the city later to do the last few things on our list!

Terribly long day of classes... 6 hours

2009-06-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today it felt like we had the worst day... we had to make up a photography class from last week, so we had two three-hour classes. Woe were we! Haha... it wasn't that bad actually. I just thought it was funny how dramatic we were about it.

That pretty much explains what I did today too... I had graphic design in the morning, and we had to turn in our assignment that used texture and lines to demonstrate the rising sea level in Holland. This was my project:

We had an hour lunch break, and Allison, Doug, Drew and I walked over to the University of Leiden cafe. The food was nice, but our main purpose was to get a poster.

They say something to the effect of "the Laktheater (the university theater) should stay," and they are EVERYWHERE around Leiden. Steef told us that by getting one and hanging it up, we are joining in a protest and that protesting is against the rules of the program. He was just giving us a hard time though...

The red part is the actual poster, but I played around with the color and contrast a bit and got this really cool effect of it on my magnetic board!

In the afternoon, we had photography class. I really enjoy class with Lotte because she really teaches practical tools we can use in our photography. Even though I have a lot of experience in it, I still learn from her lessons and find ways I can apply the tools. I really enjoy her class, and I'm looking forward to having it again tomorrow!

After class, I came back to the dorm and hung out for a while. Allison, Drew, Emily and I went to Spaar (the grocery store), and picked up some things for dinner... We made the most delicious dinner: juicy homemade hamburgers and french fries (both on the skillet).

It was kind of a lot of work, but totally worth every second of it. We have all been craving some red meat (they hardly eat any over here!), so this hit the spot. For one of the first times since I've been here, I felt completely full, and it felt great!

For our photography class tomorrow, our assignment is to show 2 photos with a positive surrounding, 2 photos with a negative surrounding and 2 photos that fit with our character we've been developing... Maybe I'll show you those tomrrow...

I'm headed to bed here pretty soon...

(We figured out today that we only have 2 weeks left!)

Bikes make me feel Dutch

2009-06-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

Friday:

Today was a bright and early morning... And it was quite an adventurous day.

A group of us (me, Allison, Emily, Madison, Lauren and Doug) decided to go to Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe in Eastern Netherlands...

We left for the train station at 8:30 and headed toward Amsterdam at 9:15. We had a 30 min. "layover" while we waited for our train. Allison and I saw a famous Dutch/German actress Linda L-something outside of H&M.

While on the train for Amsterdam, the ticket checker told us we were going the wrong direction, so we had to get off and go the other way. We had to take 2 more trains than planned and then find our bus in Arnhem. One more bus, and we finally made it to the park at about 1:15... Phew!

The park has 1700 free bicycles, so we each grabbed one and hopped on.

The park was really interesting because it went from forest to sand dunes and back very quickly. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the wind made it a tiny bit chilly. When we were in the trees, the shadows were cool, but in the dunes, the sun was warm!

A few of the people in our group wanted to go to the art museum in the park called the Kröller-Müller. While they were there, we rode around and took pictures.

Allison and I jumping off a large stump on top of a huge dune...

We met back up with the others and decided to just ride around. We found an old hunting lodge and rode through some beautiful areas. There really wasn't that much to do in the park, but it was really fun to just ride around and explore!

When people were starting to get tired, we headed back to the entrance. Because maps were only available for purchase, we used our heads to remember the way back.

Emily and I are usually the navigators for our excursions... This is an old picture, but it demonstrates how we got our names "Pizarro and Magellan."

We left the park around 4 and had to walk about 10 min to the bus stop. We made it back to the train station, and it was pretty smooth sailing from there.

One of Emily's friends was in Amsterdam for the weekend, and since we were going through there already, Allison and I decided to stop there to meet up with her friend.

We were really hungry when we started looking for dinner, so unfortunately, we got sucked into a really touristy place. As we walked down the street, people at each restaurant were waiting and trying to get us to come inside. We looked at the menu at an Italian place, and the owner said to us, "We have a great table for you... a classic table... the food here is delicious... top knotch..." We said we'd eat there, and he ushered us in and had the most fluent English-speaking waitress wait on us. It was obvious that everyone in the restaurant was a tourist (college kids, families, etc.), so we felt like we were selling out a little bit. But the pizza Allison and I shared was good!

We met up with Emily's friend after dinner and had a pint before heading back to Leiden. We got back to Leiden at about midnight and gave in to the temptation of Burger King... but it tasted soo good!

Saturday:

I finally got to experience my first Leiden farmer's market this morning, and it met my expectations! The market is held on and around one of the main canals in old Leiden. There were fresh fruits, fish, nuts and candies, clothing, music, jewelry, flowers and more!

Also at the market, we had to get ourselves a treat that we had been hearing about from the other people who had already been to the market... fresh-made stroopwafels. I think my uncle Brian may have given these to us before, but they are delicious when fresh off the griddle! Now I'm addicted...

After the market, we went back to the dorm for a while. Allison, Emily, Doug and I gathered around 12:30 to go to Amsterdam.

It's really nice that Amsterdam is so cheap and convienent to get to, because then we don't feel like we have to cram everything into one day or weekend. We can go for an afternoon and do a few things at a time without wearing ourselves out!

This day, we went to Amsterdam's science center, NEMO. It is built in the shape of a boat and overhangs the water by 99 feet!

It had five levels with really fun stuff! I love the science center in Des Moines, but it isn't so exciting when you spend every weekend there... I had an awesome time playing with all of the activities and learning about new subjects. Most of the information was in Dutch, but some things were also written in English and others could be deduced.

We really didn't have a lot on our agendas after the science center, but we decided to do a bit of souvineer shopping. We went into a few shops, but most of them had the exact same things with maybe a few differences...

We chose what we thought would be a good place for a burger because it advertised 2 hamburgers, fries and a salad for 7.50 euro. A think, juicy burger sounded delicious to all of us, and our stomachs were growling, so we were a bit disappointed when we saw what we ordered...

We did a bit more shopping and a bit more exploring before we headed back to Leiden for the night.

When we got back, the dorm was very empty... The girls from Central were gone to London and Paris (2 groups) this weekend, Lauren was in the Hague, Madison was in Amsterdam visiting a friend, and Drew was out somewhere...

It was oddly quiet, so Allison, Emily and I watched some YouTube videos, I talked to Chris, and then I went to sleep!

Sunday:

Today, I slept in and then had a catch up day. I went through, edited and posted my pictures from Rotterdam, the national park, Amsterdam and Paris. It had taken me a whole week to sort through all 850ish photos from Paris!

I worked on my graphic design homework and made myself lunch and dinner. I talked to the other people as we got bored and walked around, but then we decided to watch a movie in the evening. We just got done with that a little while ago, and I'm getting ready to head to bed... It's been a good weekend!

We're thinking about Cologne/Dusseldorf, Germany for next weekend!

Tired...

2009-06-20T15:46:00.001-07:00

This was me at Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe... the bikes were so much fun!

Don't worry, I'm still alive... I'm just really tired from the park yesterday and Amsterdam today. We did the science center and some other cool things, so it was fun but exhausting!

All that's on my slate tomorrow is sleeping in, catching up on homework and blogging/working on pictures!

Check back tomorrow, and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!!!

Official halfway point

2009-06-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

I have officially reached the halfway point of my time in the Netherlands...

It seems crazy that it's already been 17.5 days, but I also can't believe that we only have another 2 1/2 weeks left! I have done some incredible things, but there is still a lot of time to make memories.

This weekend will be a really great chance for some good ones... Tomorrow (Friday) we're planning a trip to Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe. It is near Arnhem in Eastern Netherlands. The park is one of the largest in the country, and inside it, there is a museum called the Kroller-Muller. It is famous for it's Van Gogh collection, among others.

There is also a famous sculpture garden and the world's only soil museum that takes you underground to look at hundreds of years old roots and stuff. To top it all off, they have bikes that visitors can use for free!

Allison, Emily, Madison, Lauren, Doug and I are going. We have to take two trains and two buses for the 2ish hour trip, but I think it will be worth it!

Some of us are also planning on going back to Amsterdam on Saturday to do some of the things we didn't get to last time. We're going to the NEMO science museum and the big art museum, the Rijksmuseum. We're also planning time for shopping and exploring!

Today wasn't very exciting... We had drawing class, and then Allison and I went shopping at a few stores in Leiden. We came back, made lunch, had time to do our own stuff for a while, talked about the weekend, made dinner and watched a movie!

There should be lots of fun pictures tomorrow!

Rotterdam

2009-06-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a group field trip to Rotterdam, a medium-sized city in Western Netherlands. It is known as the city of water because of its port, which is one of the largest ports in the world. Rotterdam also operates the world's biggest crude oil refinery.

The city was destroyed by several bombs during WWII, so it has had to be completely rebuilt, and the city has become a sort of test ground for experimental architecture... (More on that to come.)

We started the morning with by walking to the train station and meeting by 9. It was about a 40 minute train ride, and then we walked to a small photography exhibit.

Our next stop was a larger museum, Museum Boijmans Van Beunigen. It was a really awesome museum with a collection ranging from the classical masters to contemporary and modern art.

One of the exhibits was a Brazilian installation of nylon that you could actually get in! I could have stayed all day...

From the outside of the installation

Inside the installation

Sand in nylons supporting the installation

After the museum, we had lunch on our own in a shopping district... The people I was with had Chinese... mmm... Sweet & Sour Chicken!

We walked around A LOT more, but one of the really cool things we saw were apartments that have been an architectural hit in the Netherlands and abroad... They're called Kubus-Paalwonigen, and they're cube-shaped apartments.

Not the best picture of it, but it's so hard to get from one angle... Google it!

We actually got to go inside, and they are amazing! The furniture is custom built for the slanted walls on the three floors of the apartment.

We also walked around the harbor and got to see a lot of boats and bridges.

We headed back toward Leiden at about 4:30, but we got on the slow train, so it took us an hour and a half to get back! We made spaghetti and meat sauce as a group, and it was a great and efficient way to eat yummy food and save money!

This is me and Emily (from West Des Moines). She's goes to University of Utah and is a modern dance major! (And this is my new scarf...)

I worked on drawing assignment for tomorrow's class, and then edited and looked through the pictures from today and still some from Paris.

Now I think I'm going to go to sleep. My eye was still twitching today, and we decided that it's saying, "Emilee. Pay attention. Close me. Go to sleep. Hey. Emilee. Hey. Close me." So that's what I'm going to do!

Goodnight!

Resuming "normalcy" in Leiden

2009-06-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today we were back to classes, but our photography professor was stuck in a train station due to a power outage. They rescheduled the class, so we just had time to work on our homework...

At 1ish, Lauren, Emily, Allison and I went to a place called Australian for some waffles and ice cream... yes, we had ice cream for lunch! It was delicious, because the waffles AND the ice cream are homemade every day!

We went to a few small shops, and I found a really cool necklace at an old antique jewelry store. Their stuff wasn't that expensive, and I could probably go back and find tons of cool stuff. The necklace I got is a coin that says "Rotterdam 1937" on it... I really like it because it is casual and just meaningful. Here it is:

We went to the grocery store in the afternoon, and everyone kind of hung out. This evening, I wrote some postcards, but I still haven't gotten to editing and posting my photos from Paris.

I think I need to get some more sleep, because my right eye has been twitching for the past couple of days, and it's super annoying!

A few random thoughts about the Netherlands that I haven't mentioned as of yet:

They round up or down at the cash register... Usually to the nearest 5 cent. So if something's .22, they charge .20 or if it's .49 they charge .50.
I feel soo safe here! Nobody locks their bikes up, and I feel completely safe walking around.
The Dutch are usually really nice about speaking English if you at least ATTEMPT to speak Dutch a little bit... even if you say them terribly wrong.
Stores have the weirdest hours. Most open around 10 a.m., but it really depends on the owner and when they decide to get there. Some say they open at 10, but haven't been at 11 or 12. Everything also closes at 6 p.m., so it's very difficult to find food at night!
I haven't seen any tulips in the ground...
Dutch tap water is just as good as bottled water, but they don't keep it cold. Most restaurants serve water without any ice!!
It stays light out REALLY late... like 10:45-11 p.m. It throws my whole schedule off, which is why I think I stay up so late!
I was really excited to be back in Leiden after our weekend in Paris. It felt so familiar and friendly... And our friends were so excited to have us back!

That's all for now... tomorrow we're going to Rotterdam (like my necklace!). I'm sure there will be lots more photos!

P.S. - In the 2 weeks I've been here, I've taken 2,154 photos. I'm ridiculous!

Paris: the vacation within my vacation

2009-06-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

I made it back safely from a whirlwind weekend in Paris, and between getting back into my courses and going through my 830+ photos from the trip, it's been hard to find time to blog. (Especially because I didn't have a computer/Internet for the whole weekend...

I did, however, write down summaries at the end of each day... So pretend like you're reading these separately...

Friday

Friday was an EAAARRRRLLLLYYY morning. I woke up and made sure I had everything ready to go before we left the dorm at 6 a.m. It takes about 15-20 min. to walk to the station, but when we got there, neither of our cards were accepted at the automatic ticket machine and the live-person ones weren't open yet.

Eventually, we found one that was, but we didn't leave Leiden until 7 a.m.

Fortunately, the transition to the airport in Amsterdam went very smoothly, and we went right through check-in and security to board the plane at 7:40. (It was really nice to not have any checked bags!)

As we were boarding the plane, we talked to a guy from Toronto who was on his way to Africa. It was nice to meet another American!

The flight went smoothly and we landed in Amsterdam around 9:15. I really liked our airline, KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines). The people were very friendly, the food was good and authentic and everything ran smoothly!

After going to the "Tourisme Information" booth, we bought our Paris Museum Cards (32 euro for free entry to 60 museums)

We talked to an Italian guy on the train into central Paris who suggested some sights to see in Paris. In the first station, we had to buy our 2-day Metro passes, and a very friendly guy from Africa (but now lives in London) talked to us in line.

We rode the Metro and walked to our hosted, the Le Montclaire Montmartre. It was nice for the money... we had breakfast both mornings and had a double bed to share the first night and twin bunk beds the second night.

We picked up fruit for lunch on our way to central Paris. Our first stop was Palaise de Challiot. It is known for being one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower, and it was pretty spectacular... a great way to start our adventure! We took lots of pictures!!

We then walked down the road to the base of the Eiffel Tower and decided to climb the stairs to the second level. That doesn't sound very far, but it's 340 steps to the second level!! It was a long way, and it was frightening to look down and see through steel bars all the way to the ground! I do have to say, though, that the views were beautiful...

We walked along the Seine to the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin de Tuileries. We got some ice cream as we walked through the park...

We walked around and found a nice place for dinner. Then we went to the Louvre!

The Louvre was an amazing piece of artwork in and of itself! We saw the infamous glass pyramids from the outside...

From the floors to the walls to especially the ceilings, the building is probably the most beautiful building I've ever seen... (but another one I saw the next day comes close!)

We saw the Mona Lisa... and I was very awestruck by the enormous paintings! How does one paint something like that??

Afterwards, we took the Metro back out to the Palaice de Chaillot to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.

It was pretty, but we didn't even realize that the best was yet to come... At 11, the lit it up with other lights that made it look like it was sparkling. The pictures don't do it justice, but try to use your imagination... It was magical!

After the lights, we went back to our hostel and went to sleep... we were exhausted! We both got some sun, but nothing too terrible... The 70s and 80s were a big change from 60-65 degree weather in Leiden!

Thankfully, the Metro system is very easy in Paris, so I was able to find our way around for the whole trip! (I was the fearless navigator... haha)

Saturday

After getting up and ready, we started our day by going to the Notre Dame cathedral. It was beautiful inside and out. We also went to the crypt, where they've done archeological digs and found remains of buildings from classical and medieval Paris.

the not-as-famous back of the Notre Dame cathedral

We walked over to another church, the Sainte Chapelle. This is the building I said was the other possible most beautiful building I've ever seen. Again, the pictures don't do it justice... But it was the preferred church of the royals in the 10th to the 14th centuries, and the upper chapel is almost the ENTIRE made of stained glass...

According to the brochure, there are "1,113 scenes depicted on the 15 stained glass windows that tell the story of mankind from Genesis through to Christ's resurrection. Fourteen of the windows, depicting episodes from the Bible, should be read from left to right, from the bottom upwards."

After that, we took the Metro to the Hotel des Invalides. Not really a hotel, the institution that accommodated disabled ex-soldiers is now home to Napoleon's tomb. It is crazy... The brochure says: "Bonaparte's body rests in five successive coffins (made of tin, mahogany, lead, lead again and ebony) within a monumental sarcophagus made from red quartize, resting on a green granite base."

It is important to note, though, that this was all because Louis-Philippe ordered that Napoleon's body be returned from the Island of Saint Helena to Paris in 1840.

We ate lunch and then walked to another art museum, the Musee d'Orsay. It was really cool, but the architecture wasn't as amazing as the Louvre.

Our next adventure was finding the Harley store in Amsterdam to buy some souvenir. It was near the Bastille monument, so we killed two birds with one stone!

We took the Metro to the Champs-Elysees and walked up the street to the Arc de Triomphe. We took pictures in front of it...

And then decided to climb it... Another 300 stairs...

After descending those same 284 stairs, we walked around for quite a while before finding a restaurant where we could a) afford to eat and b) somewhat intelligently guess what was on the menu. We finished with creme brulee!

We went back to the Arc de Triomphe to take pictures at night... They turned out INCREDIBLE! The sky was beautiful!!

We walked around the area near our hostel for a while and saw the front of the Moulin Rouge. We stopped in a pub and had a drink before we headed back to the hostel to crash after another looong day.

I got the bottom bunk! (We flipped a Euro for it.)

Sunday

Allison woke up with a bad headache on Sunday, so our morning got off to a late start. Luckily, we didn't have a lot planned for the day, and the things that were on the list were in our area of Paris.

We stopped for brunch at a cafe and ended up talking to a young guy from Ohio who is a mathematician and lives in Boston during the year and in Europe for the summers. He has lived in London and Germany! It was interesting to talk to him about our views of Europe and Europeans and how they view us!

We started by walking toward the Sacre Coeur, a huge Roman Catholic basilica. It is located on the highest point in Paris, so the view from the dome is breathtaking! (But it was another 234 steps to climb!!)

Photography wasn't allowed inside the church, and the crypt (which was one of the things we really wanted to see) was closed.

Allison still wasn't feeling the best, so we decided to just take it easy and go back to the hostel for a little while before our departure. She fell asleep, and I read some magazines and played solitaire (with real cards!). Then she woke up, and we played Scrabble Slam!

We walked to the train station and caught our train to the Paris airport. Again, check-in and security went smoothly... Except Allison's bag had to be searched because her melted curling iron looked like a weapon!

We boarded at 7:00 and made it back to Amsterdam by 8:20... We caught our train to Leiden and walked back to our dorm.

It actually felt great to be back in the Netherlands... When we walked onto our floor and said "We're back!" all of our friends came out of their rooms and wanted to see all of the pictures and hear all of the stories... They actually endured the 850+ photos I took during the weekend, and we all hung out in my room for a while... It was a great trip, but it was also really nice to be back.

Thoughts...

My overall thoughts about Paris were that it was more diverse than I was expecting, dirtier than I thought it would be and easier to get around on the Metro than I imagined. However, the streets were impossible because many of the streets weren't on any of my maps...

We only ran into a few language problems, but you could tell that they have less patience for people who don't speak French.

Paris is VERY expensive, and it just difficult to find a restaurant when you don't know the language...

Monday

Today, I had graphic design class, and it was pretty routine. We had to print out some photos for tomorrow's photography class, so Allison and I went to the HEMA. While our pictures were being developed, we went to some of the shops nearby and I bought a purse and a couple of scarves. One of the scarves may or may not be a souvenir for someone...

This was the longest and most intense blog post I've ever written... If you're still reading, I commend you greatly and will give you a big hug the next time I see you!

Paris...

2009-06-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

COMING SOON! I have to finish a graphic design project tonight, so I'll post about my weekend on Monday!

Day 10: Class in Leiden

2009-06-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

We started the morning with our second drawing class. Today, we had to draw each other.

Each person got up on a table, and we had 5-10 minutes to sketch the person in whatever pose they were in. We had big easels! It was pretty difficult, but I actually enjoyed the exercise because it helped my sketching loosen up.

Matthijs commented that I didn't seem scared... and it was true!

This is a picture of my drawing of Drew. He was holding a coat rack with a basketball on top, and we were supposed to invent an additional component of the character... Mine was that the coat rack was a woman.

After class, I went with Allison to a computer store to try to get her Internet figured out. (She hasn't been able to get Internet on her computer since we got here, so she's been using other peoples'.) The first store was closed, so we went to another that told us the problem but couldn't fix it. At the next store, she decided to buy a wireless router and try it that way. Long story short, she had to do a few more things and now it finally works! She is a happy camper!

I spent the rest of the afternoon planning for Paris this weekend. I planned out the things we wanted to do, where they were, which Metro stops they were nearby, etc, etc. I am really more anal than most people know, so here is a photo to prove it.

This is one of my maps of Paris. The green post-its are the sites we want to see.

I'm very excited to travel with just a backpack! The hostel we're staying in is called Le Montclair Montmarte. It looks nice from what I can tell, and we're going to have a room to ourselves both nights!

I'm very excited, but I need to get to bed! We're leaving the dorms at 6 a.m. to get to the train station, ride to the airport, check-in and be ready to take-off by 8 a.m. Wish us luck!!

I'm not bringing my computer, but I might be able to check in online at the hostel. Otherwise, I'll fill in the details of the trip on Sunday night when I get back!

Day 9: Den Haag

2009-06-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

We took our first group trip to Den Haag (The Hague) today. It's hard to remember all of the things we did, but I will try to give a brief overview.

I know we did pretty things, though, because I took nearly 400 pictures!!

We met at the train station at 9:00. The train ride from Leiden Centraal to Den Haag Centraal is only about 15 min, so it went very quickly.

Den Haag is the governmental center of the Netherlands although Amsterdam is the official capital. We also learned that The Hague never officially changed its name to be a city, so it is still a village. This means that there aren't city rights...

When we got there, we walked around and happened to run into a big thing happening at the Queen's palace. Some foreign diplomats were in the country and were arriving by horse and carriage.

We went to the M.C. Esher museum, which was AWESOME. When I told my brother Matt that I was going, his response was: "beware of any stairs, they may not be safe..." Haha!

We ate lunch on our own and then went to two photography/art/etc. museums. I don't remember the names of those...

The third museum was very interesting because it had a special exhibit in the basement. The exhibit was geared toward young adults and aimed at getting their attention in a different way. It was definitely different and attention-getting! There was music and colored lights and couches and things were interactive... I really liked it!

My favorite part was a dress room that we were in. We were looking at the dresses hanging, and the staff person said we could try them on. We thought he was kidding but he wasn't! So we got to play dress up in the museum!

We got back to Leiden about 4:30, and my feet were tired and sore from walking all day.

I came back to the dorm and talked to Chris for a little while before I made dinner. Then Allison and I booked our hostel for Paris and started finalizing some more of those plans. We finished the night by gathering in my room and watching a movie. There were five of us, so it was somewhat crowded, but really fun!

Tomorrow, we have drawing and the afternoon off!

Day 8: Adventure in Amersfoort

2009-06-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm up WAY after I should have gone to bed posting pictures and blogging... Oh well! Here are my updates:

I forgot to mention last night that some girls helped me cut my bangs last night. I laughed that it's funny to do girly things like spontaneously cutting each others hair when I don't like with lots of them anymore. We cut them quite a bit, but I like how they turned out. They made me do the first chop, because it was probably 3" or more. After that, Emily trimmed it up while five girls watched. (I'm not even kidding... I felt like I was on parade at the circus!)

Today, we had our first photography class, and I finally felt in my element. We talked about really basic things like shutter speed, aperture, ISO and the predefined settings - things I already kind of know about, but have never been formally taught. I could finally answer questions and seem somewhat intelligent!

In the afternoon, we had a group trip to Amersfoort, a small city in center Netherlands. Because we missed a connecting train in Amsterdam, the trip ended up lasting about 2 hours.

We went to a contemporary art museum to see an exhibit called "Wonderland." The art was all mediums and was based off of the "Alice in Wonderland" story. Some of the pieces were very interesting, and some were eccentric or just odd. After the museum, we walked around with our professors for a while.

We saw medieval gates and the houses that comprised the walls of the city. There was also a huge church tower that didn't have a church. There was a small church at one time, but as our director Staaf said, "it disappeared long ago."

This evening, Allison and I discussed our travels. Paris and Rome have always been at the top of our lists, so we focused on them first. Paris seemed more doable this weekend, but it was frustrating to find a reasonably priced train ticket.

Amazingly, a flight on a Dutch airline from Amsterdam to Paris ended being the cheapest option. We leave early Friday morning and return late Sunday evening. Essentially, we will have almost three full days in Paris! I'm very excited, but there is a lot of planning to do in the next two days!!

Tomorrow we're going on another group field trip to Den Haag (The Hague). We really have no idea what we will be doing, but we know we'll be there all day. One thing I do know is that we're going to the M.C. Escher museum, and I am REALLY excited about that!

Mom asked me today whether I can read or understand any of the Dutch language, and the truth is... not really. We make somewhat educated/somewhat logical guesses, but we have been wrong many times. A few words look similar, but many are entirely different.

This is a problem with going to restaurants and grocery stores. We guess at the menu until we have something that sounds like we know what it is (kaas/cheese, tonjin/tuna, koffie/coffee) and/or don't know what exactly we're buying at the store (butter/cheese, turkey/chicken).

It is also VERY hard to understand Dutch when it is being spoken. We didn't even know the names of our professors for almost a week, because we couldn't understand what they were saying. That's not saying their English isn't good though!

This is an example of a menu from a koffie store... I ordered the cappuccino because I knew what it was.

First full week of classes

2009-06-08T17:30:00.001-07:00

Emilee
Originally uploaded by _sealion
This is a picture Madison took in Leiden the other day. Her caption is that it describes me perfectly... camera and all. -- I thought that was funny!

Today was another good day!

We got up early, and a group walked to our now routine koffie shop. (I decided to use the dutch spelling to represent the coffee coffee.)

Our class today was graphic design, and we finally got to forget about the lions that we've been using up until now. Our assignment this week is character, so were were supposed to create two collages...

The first was a collage of images that remind you of a person you know using images that you created (drew). I chose Chris, and his collage included items like Hank (the cat), music notes, a disc and a disc golf pin, a baton, a tent, a motorcycle, the cubs logo, a passport, sunflower seeds, the Apple logo, the Corvette logo, a grill spatula, a conductor's stick a tie and a moon (he's a night owl). We drew the images and then cut them out and arranged them into a collage.

Our second assignment was to create a collage in photoshop of images representing an invented/made up person using images from the Web. This was actually more difficult, because we had to completely make up who this person was and what they were interested in. It was an interesting assignment, though, and our homework is to finish it for next week.

We tried to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant, but it was closed, so we went to a nice little restaurant on one of the canals. It is a glass pyramid-like building, so it had a great view!

We did a little shopping (groceries and postcards) in the afternoon and then made dinner and hung out in the evening. A few of us walked around for a while, and it was still beautiful outside at like 10:00 (or I mean 22:00).

It was a good day, but we're a bit overwhelmed because we're trying to figure out our travel plans for the rest of the trip. It is more difficult that we assumed to figure out the trains, planes and other devices that would get us to our destinations!

Tomorrow we have our first photography class and then have a roadtrip to Amersfoort... I'll let you know what that is tomorrow! =)

Last night, Madison and I went around Leiden taking night photos... here's my favorite:

Big weekend!

2009-06-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

This weekend was really busy, so I decided to consolidate it all into one post. Let's start on Friday...

Friday--

Our first graphic design class was in the morning, and we were supposed to sketch lions from memory. This is HARD!!! My lions didn't look very lion-like... Then we went to the computers and had to design a lion in profile. This is hard too! The whole exercise was from memory, and if you think about it... I bet you have a hard time thinking of what a lion looks like too!

In the afternoon, we took another tour of Leiden. I'm starting to learn my way around, but we saw lots of new and interesting sites.

One of the places we visited was the first of the university buildings, founded in 1575. There is a room called the "sweat room," where students waited to learn their grades. Starting in the 1640s, graduates started signing their names on the wall, and it has been a tradition since. There are some famous signatures on the wall like some of the Orange family (William of Orange), Nelson Mandella and Sir Winston Chruchill).

The signatures on the wall in the sweat room.

Another stop on our tour was the Pilgrim Museum. I won't go into detail, but it was boring. The guy just rambled and was not very interesting.

For dinner, we went to the grocery store and stocked up on some food. Then we made dinner at the dorms. It was really nice, because we could just all hang out and relax together.

A few of us ventured out later in the evening and explored Leiden a bit. They thought I got us lost, but I knew exactly where we were. If they wouldn't have doubted me, I wouldn't have secondguessed myself, but I stood my ground and was self-confident and got us back safely!!

Saturday--

On Saturday, we actually got to somewhat sleep in. After talking to Chris in the morning, I fell back asleep and almost didn't wake up in time to go to Amsterdam!

We walked to the train around 11:30, and took an about 20 min train ride to the center of the city. It turned out that the other Emily and I were the navigators of the group, so we studied the map and figured out where we were going to go.

We walked around for a little while and took pictures. It is so beautiful, and the canals are so picturesque!!

We ate lunch and walked to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum took about an hour, but it was very interesting to see how his art changed as he went through different periods of his life.

We went to the Anne Frank Huis (house) afterwards. It was a very somber experience. Of course, no photography is allowed, but I got some postcards to remember what it looks like. It is the actual house with the "Secret Annex." Otto Frank (Anne's father) requested that the rooms never be furnished, but we were able to walk through them and Anne's photos and posters were still on the walls in her room. The moving bookcase was also very interesting to see.

It is amazing that we were able to stand in a place with so much history. I said as we were walking toward it that although the house gets all of the glory, all of the buildings around the area were part of the war and part of the Holocaust. It's just a very somber, moving thing to experience.

We ate in a nice little Irish Pub for dinner. I had a hamburger, and realized that it was the first red meat I've had in Europe. That's the biggest change for my diet... I'm not eating meat like I'm used to!

We walked QUICKLY through the red light district in the evening before it got dark. Everything passed by very quickly, but we could get the idea of what everyone talks about. It's only a few blocks long, so when we passed it, it seemed kind of like a dream... unreal.

We had one or two pints before we got back on the train to Leiden and called it a day. We were all exhausted!!

Sunday--

Sunday started off sadly when I heard that Jim Anderson had passed away. I was thankful that he went peacefully, but still felt heartbroken for the Anderson family. I am sad that I won't be there for the services, but I am sending my prayers to Iowa.

I slept in really late Sunday, and it ended up being a relaxing, lazy day. It was raining (more than usual) outside, so everyone just stayed inside and lounged. We played my new card game Scrabble Slam, and made both meals at the dorm.

I loaded some pictures on Facebook, and downloaded and edited the ones from Amsterdam.

Tomorrow will start our first full week of classes.

The time is seeming to go fast in some ways and slow in others. We have done a TON of things in only 5 days, but it's also crazy that we're 1/5 done with the program.

I'm getting to know a lot of the people in the group, and I'm becoming quite good friends with some of them. This really is a wonderful opportunity, and I'm so glad I'm doing it!

Madison, Emilee, Allison and Lauren posing at the "Iamsterdam" sign.

I looked out my window today and thought to myself, "It is crazy that THIS is what I see when I look out my window." When I'm in Des Moines, I see a parking lot.

A few other details...

2009-06-04T23:11:00.001-07:00

A few things I forgot to mention were that I slept really weird the first night...

I woke up at 10:49 and was SURE that it was morning. I heard people in the hall and knew I had to get up, but I couldn't understand why my phone said that time. So I got up and came to my computer, and it said the same thing.

It turns out that it WASN'T morning, and I had actually only been asleep for about an hour. Somehow, it felt like I'd slept for 3 weeks.

It also stays light out amazingly late here... I wasn't awake to see it the first night, but I heard that it didn't get dark until 10:30 or 10:45 pm. It was true! Last night, we left the building around 10:30 and it was still decently light outside... Crazy!

Well, those were a few things I remembered as I was falling asleep last night... Today is graphic design and another Leiden tour!

Duii (at least that's how it sounds... it means 'bye-bye')

Beginning to feel at home...

2009-06-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day... but it seems like it's been 3 days in one!!

Allison, Madison, Lauren and I started the morning by wandering around trying to find a coffee shop (for real coffee... not the other stuff). It was early, so not many places were open, but we finally found one.

Madison, Emilee, Allison and Lauren

Our formal day started with an introduction to the program, and we met the professors for the courses. Matthijs is the graphic design and drawing teacher, and Lotte is the photography teacher. We found out that we're taking all three courses, but only getting graded for two. That means I'll be doing drawing along with photography and graphic design!

We went to Naturalis, the natural history museum, for our first drawing class. We each got sketchbooks and charcoal, and we were supposed to draw the animals we saw. Here's my favorite, the zebra:

This is the real thing...

And this is my sketch...

After that, we went to Leiden University for lunch, and then proceeded on a walking tour of the city. I got a lot of great pictures, and I'll post some of those when I have a bit more time.

We went to lots of great places. A few to mention are the city fortress (there's a more formal name that I don't remember right now). It's the highest point, and it was intended to keep out, not enemies, but water.

We also watched a very strange Japanese dance called Butoh. You can YouTube it, but I'll tell you it was very strange. It's very modern, and the dancers moved very slowly. It was an hour long, and I couldn't begin to tell you the meaning. We weren't allowed to take pictures though...

We had a break before dinner, so the four girls went with Lotte to get cash for Madison and ethernet cables for Allison and me. Yay!! I finally have Internet in my room!! We also stopped by V&D (pronounced fay and day), which is somewhat like a Target in that it has a little bit of everything. I bought a towel, which means I finally got to shower!

We went to a very famous pannekoekenhuysje (pancake house) called Oudt Leyden for dinner. Sir Winston Churchill and the Dalai Lama have eaten there! But don't be fooled. The pancakes were ENORMOUS! And they came with every imaginable topping. I had apples, sugar and cinnamon. Allison had pineapple and powdered sugar. The guy next to me had bacon, ham and cheese. But they also had veal, tuna, mayonnaise and capers. Yum... You can buy the pancake plate for only 40 euro... or $60.

My apple, sugar and cinnamon pancake.

The day was finally over, and my feet were bleeding... No joke. One of my toenails cut the side of my other toe! But we had some rest time in our rooms, and then the four girls and the only two guys in the program (Drew and Doug) ventured out to a pub and had our first beer in the Netherlands.

Isn't it beautiful at night?

I think we're kind of getting our bearings in Leiden, and hopefully it will only get better. We're thinking about going to Amsterdam this weekend, so that could be an adventure!

I'd better get to bed though... We're starting graphic design in the morning!

Day 2: Or is it Day 1? I don't think we ever saw nighttime...

2009-06-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 3 – 9:25 p.m. – Leiden time

We made it to Leiden! It really took us planes, trains and automobiles. And it was actually quite fortunate, because we had no directions or instruction from Central. Good thing Allison and I were together!

We took the train from Schipol Airport to Leiden Centraal. Then, we took a ride in a Mercedes-Benz taxi. I was amazed by the number of bikes!! I knew there would be a lot, but I truly think there are more bikes than people here.

After a short meeting with the group, we were dismissed for dinner. Allison and I walked around with two other girls: Madison and Lauren. They go to school in Texas and Philadelphia, respectively.

With no direction, it was actually quite difficult to find a place for dinner. Many planes close early, and we can’t read Dutch to see what’s on the menu. We finally decided on a pizzeria, and even that proved difficult. After eating our meal, we encountered a culture difference – we didn’t know how to get our check and pay! We didn’t know if we should wait or if we should ask for it or if we should go up to the counter. We ended up doing 2 of the 3 – asking AND going up to the counter.

Another thing I noticed about the bikes was that none of them are locked!! I’d heard that, if you were going to have a bike, you would need 2 or 3 locks, but that’s not the case here! There are hundreds of bikes along the street, and I don’t know if I’ve seen any that are locked up.

I’ve also seen 3 cats… =)

This evening was fairly relaxed. Everyone was tired from their travel, so I set up my room in the dorm. We all have single bedrooms with a shared bathroom area and kitchen. The rooms are actually quite nice, and the building is high-tech and secure. We have magnetic keys that get us in the front (sliding glass) doors, up the elevator and into our rooms. Then, once we’re in the room, the magnetic key goes in a credit card reader-looking thing, and it gives power to the room. Pretty snazzy.

My room... not quite all set up yet.

The view out my window... so pretty!

We still haven’t gotten the Internet to work, so this post will actually be posted at a later time than I am writing it. We were assured that wireless would be available pretty much everywhere, and so far… nothing.

We will probably have to go to the store and get a cable tomorrow. Who knows where that store is though?!

I’m feeling a little lonely right now, but I think things will get better once we get into the groove of things. It was a bit overwhelming today, and I’m still not sure if it’s hit me that I’m in Europe for a month… but it will.

Tonight though, I have to go to sleep in my lonely room. The sun is still up, but everyone else in the program went to sleep a while ago. Sigh… Wish me luck!

Day 1: And so it begins

2009-06-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 3 – 9:30 a.m. (Dublin time)

We made it to Dublin! I meant to write [Monday] night, my last night in the U.S., but I was up late packing and didn’t get it done. But now we’re in Dublin, so the marathon day begins…

In preparation for the trip, I wrote my list, checked it twice (or four times) and then packed. Of course, not everything fit in my bag, so I repacked and repacked. Eventually, I gave in and decided to use a big bag and a small bag. Not my original plan, but I’ll make it work.

Chris (my wonderful boyfriend) and I left for Chicago around 8:45 a.m., and it took approx. 5 ½ hours to get there. After a few stops, we made it to the airport at about 4. Allison was already through security, so I checked my bags, and we went to the café.

I ended up being more emotional that I thought I would be. As soon as Chris said he should go, the tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t sob or bawl, but there were tears. At about 5:15, I pulled it together to go through security. We said our goodbyes, and I was off.

The plane took off at 6:50 p.m. (already the end of a long day), but I didn’t get much sleep. I watched the Twilight movie and an episode of Friends. I think I got a few hours of sleep between the dinner of chicken and rice and the OJ breakfast.

Although the flight was LONG, I suppose it could have seemed longer. Allison and I sat by each other on the outside row of the plane. It was a smooth flight, and we made it safely.

After we landed, we waited in the immigration line for over an hour. Next, we had to traverse quite a maze of back hallways in the Dublin airport. We went through security again, and then made it to our gate.

By this time, we looked really ragged. We took a few pictures as we departed the plane, and we looked gross. Haha… Between the tears, sleeping with my contacts in and being up for 24+ hours at this point, we needed a little freshening.

So here we are, waiting at gate A11 for our flight to Amsterdam.

As we were landing, we discussed our dominant emotions. Allison said “apprehensive.” I’d say mine is “nervous-excited.”

We still have a lot to learn about the program, and it hasn’t truly sunk it yet for either of us. We’re both going to miss some very special people at home, but we know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the month is going to go very quickly.

That’s all for now.

I’ll probably check back in when we’re settled in Leiden this evening.
I love you all. Special thanks to you, Chris, for driving me to the airport. Also, if Molly happens to be reading this, there’s a flight leaving for Cork, and I’m thinking of you!!

Big things are happening...

2009-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

I had a huge week... Graduation on Saturday. My 22nd birthday on Monday. A job offer on Thursday. And accepting the job on Friday.

Now it's Tuesday, and not only am I starting my job, but I'm preparing to leave for a month in the Netherlands in a week!!

It is safe to say that big things are happening for me right now...

My new job is with Iowa Resource for International Service, a small nonprofit in Ames, Iowa. IRIS has a great cause, and does some wonderful things for Iowa's communities. However, it is not very well known -- that will be my job as their PR specialist!

I know the organization very well, because they were the client for my capstone class at Drake. We researched the organization and did some preliminary research in the fall and in the spring, prepared full PR campaigns in groups of six. My job will be to implement the campaigns as prepared by my peers...

Today is my first day! (I'm blogging over my lunch break...)

I'm feeling like an adult... Nevermind the fact that I'm working 2-3 days this week and then leaving for a month in Europe!

The beginning of the end... or the end of the beginning?

2009-05-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

I'm graduating in 11 days. 11 FREAKING DAYS!!!

I've known that this was coming for months... for years, but it didn't fully hit me until just recently.

Today as I was finishing a paper for my Internet Marketing class, I realized that this paper was the last one I would ever write in college. Then I started thinking about all of the other "lasts" that will be happening in the next 11 days, and even worse, the "lasts" that have already happened without me noticing.

I have been so incredibly busy with my capstone and other classes, I haven't had time to really comprehend that my college career is VERY close to being over.

I hear people reminisce about their college days, and people always say to enjoy it while it lasts... But somehow, I'm afraid that I haven't done everything I should have done or taken advantage of the things I should have.

It's like after you graduate high school... there's no possible way you could ever be the same person as you were before.

I know it will be the same way with college, but it's scary because I have no idea who I am going to become.

A few months or years from now, I will look back at the "good 'ole days," but I will never be able to relive these moments. Things will never be the same.

Although this post sounds really depressing, that isn't my the truth of my emotions. The truth is that I don't know how I feel. The mix of emotions in my head and heart are something I've never felt before...

I am excited in many ways to be finished with the useless homework, and I'm definitely ready to be done paying for tuition and books. I am anxious about my future and finding a job that will challenge and provide for me. I am sad that I will not see many of my friends for long periods of time - and I know there are some I will never see again. And I am worried that I have forgotten something...

Mostly right now I am nostalgic.

I feel like I'm in limbo - between my youth and my adulthood... between yesterday and tomorrow... between the end of college and the beginning of something called "life."

I'm not even going to attempt to resolve this limbo... For now, I am just going to be.

What I love TODAY: 'Delicious'

2009-04-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

The word "love" is often overused. The respect that you place on the word in the first stages of a relationship is also used when describing a favorite movie or a particularly delicious* slice of pizza.

(That was must my random thought of the day.) Nonetheless, I now will disrespect it myself because I want to tell you what I LOVE today.

Delicious.

No, not the -- adjective: highly pleasing to the senses, esp. to taste or smell: a delicious dinner; a delicious aroma -- kind of delicious. I'm talking about the social bookmarking tool Delicious.

Delicious makes it easy to bring my bookmarks wherever I go. How often have you remembered something really cool that you intended to show someone, but realized that the bookmark was on your home computer or work computer? It happens to me a lot.

With Delicious, I can bookmark a page and come back to it later... wherever I am.

Another great feature is multiple tags. By using more than one tag, you can eliminate the inevitable mind-raking when you go back to find a bookmark.

Let's say you find an article about 15 Twitter tools that can save you time... Tag it with: Twitter, lists, tools, organization, timemanagement, etc. When you go back to look it up, any one of those tags will bring you to it. This is great for people like me who can never remember where I put something.

You can even look at your "tag cloud" that shows which tags you're using most often. It's pretty sweet!

Here's mine!

Last, but certainly not least, of my favorite features is its ease. Delicious has an application that works with Firefox that puts a button on your browser bar. When you want to bookmark a page, you just push and button and enter your tags. When away from your own computer, you can enter bookmarks through Delicious.com. And finally, a growing number of sites have a "share" button that includes adding the page or article to Delicious.

That's my quick and painless review. I highly suggest checking it out. It has made my life (or at least my bookmarks) much simpler and more organized. Ciao!

Online portfolio

2009-04-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

With everything going digital, I though it would be a good idea to put some writing and design samples online.

View my online portfolio here.

Roadside Iowa

2009-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was notified that I was receiving a Mark of Excellence Award in photography from the Society of Professional Journalists. I was entirely unaware that I was even nominated, so that I won an award was a huge surprise. The award is for my photo essay from the Spring '08 issue of the Drake Magazine.

Here are the photos from the photo essay:

Adair: The site of the world's first robbery of a moving train -- Jesse James and his gang pulled the rail from the track and sent the train crashing.

Audubon: Meet Albert, the world's largest bull, standing 33 feet and weighing in at 24 tons.

Avoca: Humans = 1,623. Mutant Volkswagon spider: 1

Eldon: Create your own American Gothic in front of the house Grant Wood painted over 75 years ago.

Riverside: March 22, 2228 - the date Captain James T. Kirk will be born in this cozy town. Get a vial of "Kirk Dirt" from the actual site for only $3.

Riverside (again): the Enterprise

Cedar Falls: One of the surprise finds of the trip, a four-legged tree.

Clear Lake: Be prepared to jump a fence and walk a mile through a field to find the Buddy Holly crash site.

Britt: Home of the world's only Hobo Museum. Arrive in August for the convention and witness the hobo committee's selection for king and queen.

West Bend: Containing more than 100 carloads of semi-precious stones, it took two men over 40 years to build the spectacular Grotto of Redemption

West Bend (again): Looking up in one of the towers.

Pocahontas: This town's claim to fame is a 30-foot tall statue of its namesake

And so concludes our road trip. Total distace covered = 903 mi.

Another format option

2009-03-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here's another resume format I'm considering... With a few revisions, thanks to @mshwery and @KevinJHanson. Comments are appreciated and taken to heart!

Resume reformatting

2009-03-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

I worked on my resume today. I reformatted and updated it a month ago and completely changed it today. Either I'm doing a lot or being indecisive.

The "objective" part is incomplete, but... thoughts?

What 15 years can do to technology...

2009-03-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Technology never ceases to amaze me. I found a "Wired" magazine from January 1995 and as I flipped through it, I found some pretty incredible high-tech pieces. Fourteen years later, in 2009, these devices look like they were from the Stone Age. Where will we be 14 years from now? In 2023, I'll be 36... Will our current technology look as archaic as these?

One of my favorite quotes is very fitting:

"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done. Then they begin to hope it can be done. Then they see it can be done. Then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago." -Frances Burnett

Six Shooter the Pioneer DRM-604x, quad-speed CD-ROM drive that holds six disks in a fast-spinning magazine.

$1,395-$2,495

NEC's LCD 1280 monitor

Made to order! This "sleek" 13-inch LCD monitor has a crisp 24-bit display resolution of 1280x1024.

For the low, low price of... $11,755

The NoteJet II 486 C

A color laptop with a bubble-jet printer built into the computer. Weighs under 10 pounds! $3,599 with a 340 MB hard drive.

"AnthroCarts will knock your socks off!" And how can you resist that hairstyle??

"If you want to see a full 8 1/2" x 11" page without scrolling, shrinking, or spending a lot of money, only the Portrait/15 Pivot makes sense."

$699

Tektronix Phaser 140 Color Printer - 360 dpi

Starts at only $1,695

"Beam into the ether with Magic Link, Sony's nifty pocket communicator."

"At $200, these things will be irresistible. And the built-in, low-cost modem, though easy to use, only whets the appetite for a built-in, low-cost cellular phone. When that comes - maybe in '96? - we're in PDA nirvana."

YES! CD-ROM.

Photos and descriptions from "Wired" Magazine, January 1995: 3.01.

Netherlands: Here I Come??

2009-02-26T18:49:00.001-08:00

I finished my applications for the Art and Culture program in Leiden, the Netherlands tonight!! I will have to wait a few weeks to hear whether I am accepted, but I am so excited I can hardly stand it. The application required two faculty recommendations, approval from the study abroad adviser and Dean of Students, my transcript and an essay about why I wanted to do the program. That was the easiest essay I've ever written!

Anyway, I'll let you know when I hear back. Here are some pictures to get your mouth watering...

Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day this year was simple, but nice.

It started with two members of the Drake Choir singing "Till There Was You" to me while delivering my singing valentine on Friday. It was very nice, but always a bit awkward to have people singing at you. They delivered this pretty rose from my beau, Chris.

I worked at the Science Center most of the day on Saturday, and it was funny to see all of the couples coming for dates. If anyone is interested, though, it does make a pretty good date spot!

When I got off work, I hurried back to my apartment to get ready for the Iowa Chops hockey game. Since we're both poor and we were in a hurry, we decided to make Totino's pizza. It was delivered like this:

I didn't get it at first... but it didn't take me too long! (It's a heart.) It was a sweet romantic touch to a normally unromantic food.

After that, we went to the Chops game with some friends. It was a really fun time. Economical and entertaining! We're going to Hu Hot at a later date for the Anti-Valentine's special... Pretty creative marketing if you ask me!

Here's my shoutout to my beau, Chris... Happy Valentine's Day! I love you always and forever!

Twitter-ific!

2009-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have recently become addicted to a social networking site called Twitter. Today is "Follow Friday," in which you suggest interesting people for others to follow. I'm copying @mikesansone here... but before I suggest who to follow, I want to show off my follower mosaic. Here 'tis:

Get your twitter mosaic here.

Daily Mugshot

2009-02-10T13:16:00.001-08:00

Daily Mugshot

I just started this 3 days ago... It's pretty sweet, but will be even cooler once I've done it for a while!

Science Center Evacuation!!

2009-02-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

There was a false fire alarm at the Science Center today. Evacuation. Firetrucks. Pandemonium. (OK, so maybe not pandemonium.)

I was in the middle of my program Zap-squared when the lights started flashing and the oddly British voice said "Danger. Danger. An emergency has been reported." We had to evacuate the whole building and deal with disgruntled visitors who wanted refunds.

But the awesomely ironic thing was that, in my program, I was just showing them the "Danger" warning on the Tesla coil when the alarm when off. I had just said "Can you see what this sign says?" when the flashing commenced and the speaker read the sign for me!

On the bright side, it was a BEAUTIFUL day in Des Moines, so the participants weren't freezing while we waited outside for the firemen to check the building. The programs staff (myself included) took out some of our demonstrations to entertain everyone, and it all turned out okay.

We still don't know what caused it. Possibly a kid pulling the alarm. Possibly a faulty detector. Possibly some dust knocked off by a rocket balloon. I guess it's a mystery that we might never find the answer to! Anyway, that was my excitement for the day!

Life after graduation...

2009-02-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

There was a career fair at Drake yesterday. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like I never do career fairs right. I walk around and don't know who to talk to.

It also makes it difficult because I'm *probably* going to the Netherlands for a month after graduation. I'm doing a photography and graphic design program, so I won't be back in the States until mid-July. Unless I can find a full-time job before I leave for Europe, my current game plan is to work somewhere for a month and then try to get a full-time internship/job for the fall.

My boyfriend, Chris, will be student teaching in the fall, so I'm probably going to stay in Des Moines. But after that... who knows! Maybe I'll just work on finding a BOMB job for wherever I might be in 2010. Wow. I've never said 2010 before... that feels futuristic!