katie's adventures

Spring to Summer and early Fall in NY

2008-11-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here are just some random pictures of my spring, summer and early fall in the city.

This is in San Francisco (actually right before the marathon). I visited my friends there for a few days before heading down to Monterery. And of course we had to go back to the Cat Club for 80s night! Our stamp said "Die Yuppy Scum." yes...hum...it was funny though.

The girls at the Cat Club. Katy's roommate, Katy, Mary, me and Jen. Good times! I miss my SF girls!

The ritual night out dancing in NYC when Jen comes to town. Although this time...without the dancing (since due to the presence of sandals, we were not allowed in the club.) Oh well, it was a great night.

Some of my friends from work at the F.C. Barcelona vs. NY Red Bulls soccer game.

FC Baracelona vs Red Bulls.

My roommate Rob and his fiance Raphi.

The Mets game for a friend's birthday. I believe this was their 3rd to last game at Shea Stadium.

The Richard Marx concert. It was actually pretty awesome. I know you all remember his biggest hit..."Right here waiting for you." Yeah it was awesome.

Big Sur Marathon

2008-05-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

For more than a year I had been contemplating running a marathon. After some research I discovered the Big Sur Marathon and it was just perfect. From the moment I read about it, I knew it was the first marathon that I wanted to run. It was perfect in every way. Not only did it allow me to travel back to California to see some of my best friends. But I never seen the Big Sur coast and what better way to see it than to experience it while running.

Quickly after deciding I told my best friend Jamie of my decision and she quickly jumped on board. Funny enough, our friendship owes so much to running. Over the years we have spent most of our time together running and talking, it's just who we are and what we do. It started years ago as freshmen running track together. We could be seen running the 1600 meter race stride by stride next to eachother the entire race. Over the years our runs together have made us best friends.

So 4 months later we both met in Monterey.

Jamie and I at the Hotel waiting for the bus ride to the race start. If I remember right...this was at about 4:30 am.

The start of the race.

Jamie and I at the race start.

All the people preparing for the start!

Jamie showing off her GU.

The starting line.

Jamie and I at the starting line! After 4+ months of training we were finally there!

The pack at the beginning of the race.

Getting closer to the cliffs. The scenery was just incredible!

haha. Jamie in line. This was repeated about every 2 miles.

Yes, pretty amazing.

Running along Highway 1.

The cliffs were breath taking!

It was a very emotional run. I ran in the shirt dedicated to my friend Liz who died about a year before my race. She was an inspiration to everyone around her. And definitely was the inspiration for me to run this marathon.

From the pictures you can't read what the shirt says...but on the front it says "Life is Short. Run Long." and on the back "Always running with Liz." Her strength and incredible passion for life gave me the strength to run that day and continues to inspire me today. She will never be forgotten.

Every 2 miles there were different musicians along the road. Since all access to highway 1 was blocked to allow us to run, there were very few people along the race cheering. So instead we had musicians to inspire and keep us going.

The Pianist was placed perfected at the end of the beautiful iconic bridge. And when we arrived he was playing "It's a wonderful world." Quite perfect for the circumstances.

Waiting for us at the finish line was Jamie's husband Ryan and our good friends Kiko and Matt. They had made signs for us and were a great sight to see 100 yards from the finish line. And in true form...Jamie and I crossed the finish line stride in stride.

The Marathon Trip

2008-05-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

So as I told you all before...I was training for the Big Sur Marathon which was on April 27th. So yeah, that was almost 2 weeks ago! Crazy!

Anyways, it was AMAZING! It was such a great experience and such a fabulous vacation for me! I turned the trip into a week long vacation and spent time in San Francisco, Stanford and Monterey with all my friends. It was absolutely PERFECT!

So I started the trip in San Francisco. My friend, Katy, picked me up and took the day off from work to hang out. It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco (sorry no photos). We walked around downtown and the marina district. Later we met our friends Jen and Matt for dinner in Little Italy. Later in the evening we met up with our friend Mary and headed to the Cat Club for some 80's dancing!

The next day I headed down to good old Stanford. It was really great to be back. Going back made me remember how great of a time I had there. I do really miss it and definitely miss my amazing friends I made while I was there. Ah...sigh...

So while at Stanford I met up with one of my best friends, Kathryn, and her Fiance' Drew, Dan and his new girl friend and Luping for dinner! It was so great to see everyone! Especially Luping since I haven't seen her in ages! After dinner, Drew, Kathryn and I drove down to Monterey to stay with our old roommate Julie in Pebble Beach.

The next day we met up with my home town friends for brunch in Pacific Grove at the cutest little restaurant. The group ended up being my best friend Jamie, her husband Ryan, my old childhood friend Kiko, and then Kathryn, Drew, Julie and I. It was fantastic having all my friends together!

On the coast in Pacific Grove

After brunch, Kiko, Jamie, Ryan and I drove around Monterey and Pacific Grove. Kiko gave us the local tour (she grew up in Monterey).

Jamie, me and Kiko. The Bomber girls.

Jamie and Ryan

The coast

In Monterey, we went to see the sea lions.

More sea lions. The were ginormous!

Me and the sea lions.

More sea lions!

This was on Kiko's tour. I had to put this picture up for Kiko....

Later that night we all joined up again at Julie's house for the pasta feed! This time Matt (Kiko's husband) and one of Julie's college friend were able to join us. It was such a great night! While everyone was cooking, Jamie and I went on a small jog to loosen up our legs after our travels. We took Julie's dog Terra with us on the run. The only problem was that we got a bit turned around on our way back. Yeah, our 30 minute run turned into an hour...luckily we found a nice old man who told us where to go.

After dinner we all hung out, played fussball (which I haven't played before...wait that is a lie. haha) Ah, it was an awesome night! I love my friends!

After the marathon, I hung out some more with Kiko, Matt and Jamie and Ryan before Jamie and Ryan flew home to Washington. After that I crashed at Julie's house in Pebble beach. The next two days consisted of taking naps, taking Terra (Julie's dog) for a walk, and walking on the beach. Not to shabby huh?

The beach near Julie's House.

In Pebble Beach

I think that rock out there has tons of sea lions on it...

Looking up toward the houses in Pebble Beach...even though you can't see them.

On the coast in Pacific Grove.

Looking towards Monterey on the coast. I think that is actually Hopkins (the Stanford Marine Biology Station)

If you look closely you will see seals and their puppies!

Loads of seals and their babies on the beach in Monterey.

Trip to Portland

2008-05-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

In April I took a long weekend and went back home to Portland to see all my family and friends! It was a great weekend. It was amazing to be back and see everyone again! Especially all the new little guys I got to meet! Unfortunately I didn't take more photos...

Ah...Portland...I love that city and miss my friends...

My good friends from OSU. Aeyoung, Javier, Melissa, and Theresa.

Yummy. It was a cake night reunion! This time the guys were allowed to join.

Theresa and her new little boy Rowan.

Scott and Rowan playing the Piano.

Cute little Oliva. This is Cynthia and Dave's new little girl.

Cynthia and Olivia.

Me with Olivia.

Spring!

2008-05-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Haha...I got a little overexcited in April about the weather! It was becoming so beautiful that I really wanted to start planting and gardening! I went on this shopping spree to attempt to buy flowers and such...just to be told that I was a bit early. Basically I was told that any flower I buy then would die if I put it outside.

But still, I was determined to buy some. So I loaded up with herbs to start indoors. And purchased a few flowers from the local Park Slope Farmer's Market. Here are the pictures! And good news! My herbs and tomato plants are doing amazing! But...I'm sad to say that I can't say the same about my flowers =(. My lovely tulips were eaten by a rodent (I think it was a squirrel). And I think I might have killed my daffodils due to lack of watering...I know I'm awful. But at least they were beautiful for a little while!

Enjoy! A little greenery in an urban jungle.

My lovely basil and tomato starters!

My other herbs!

My tulips and Daffodils...so sad.

My crocuses...oh right, these died too. I did so much better with my herbs.

Here a pictures of my balcony/porch and the backyard we share with our neighbors! I can't wait for summer!

Chicago

2008-05-08T18:41:00.001-07:00

For a quick weekend trip, on Easter weekend I went to Chicago to visit my friend Aeyoung. Aeyoung had been living in Chicago for about a year and a half. As she was to be soon moving back to Portland in early April, I wanted to make sure I visited her before she left. And I had never been to Chicago before, so it was the perfect opportunity!

Of course the day I had to leave for Chicago...it had to snow. But it made for a beautiful first morning and it turned into beautiful days. So I can't complain.

We started the day by walking around downtown Chicago.

A Frank Gehry Structure...pretty cool.

Downtown Chicago. It was gorgeous in the snow!

Aeyoung and I reflected in the Bean!

The Bean
Chicago Reflected in the Bean

After walking around by ourselves for a bit in the morning, we went on an architectural walking tour of the city. It was the "History of Skyscrapers" tour. So I was pretty excited! Might as well know the history of them if I'm designing them! By the time the tour started, the weather was beautiful in the city! Clear blue skies! Although you did have to beware of ice falling on you from the buildings...yeah, scary!

The Sear's Tower

The above ground train
and again...

Me along the river.

Along the river.

Some other buildings in downtown Chicago.

Wriggly's Building

After walking around in the morning, we went back to Aeyoung's apartment and I took a nap! I was so exhausted from a long week! I was also trying to save up energy for my long run the next day! I was ran my 18 mile run in Chicago the next day along the lake and it was fantastic! It was such a beautiful day and great to see the city and the lake while running!

Later that night Aeyoung and I met up with my friend Lauren and her boyfriend Chris for dinner. I knew Lauren back at OSU. So it was good to catch up with them. After dinner Aeyoung and I went to a play. It was in this great small playhouse off the what seemed to me like the middle of nowhere. But it was great!

After my run, Aeyoung and I decided to wander the neighborhood. She lived in Old Town, so she was surrounded by beautiful old houses! They totally reminded me of Brooklyn! It was great to just be able to walk around and see the city!

Some cool houses!

The John Hancock Tower

Winter in NYC

2008-05-08T18:23:00.001-07:00

New York in the winter was amazing! It is such a beautiful city! And you definitely feel Christmas over here with everything all lit up and decorated! Anyways, it was a great winter...not too cold, I survived. I was also lucky to have several friends come visit me too! So anyways, here are some random pictures I took over the winter months.

My friend, Lauren, from OSU.

Just the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ice Skating in Central Park. I went ice skating twice this winter, once at Rockefeller Center and once here in Central Park with Marie Cadwell and her mom and sister.

The Mall in Central Park! So great!

Kiko, one of my old childhood friends, and Me

More Central Park Pictures...

Times Square

Me and Eva (my new Danish family friend)

East Coast Skiing

2008-05-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

This winter I had the opportunity to go on two ski trips over here on the east coast. The first was with my friends from work. LERA sponsors an annual ski trip to upstate New York every year, so a group of about 30 of us piled into vans and hit the hill (yes, I can't call them mountains...they just arent!)

Yes, there is the hill.

Anyways, the ski resort wasn't anything amazing, but none the less I had a blast. The conditions were windy and snowy with icy hills, sounds great huh? haha. It was fun though to get back on the board. And I would have to say that me and my friend, Elizabeth, had a blast complaining the whole time! All the locals probably hated us, especially when Elizabeth yelled "This ski lift SUCKS!" right as we got off, in front of dozens of people. Oh well...

My friends (and coworkers) Jeff and Elizabeth

Me and Elizabeth

Later in the season, we decided to go on another trip, this time to a larger and better east coast resort. 5 of us joined Elizabeth's Alumni Chapter and went to Killington and the resort was HUGE! I still can't call it a mountain, by there were many hills with many good runs on them. And even though the snow wasn't amazing, they took really good care of the runs, so they were manageable. It was a great weekend of skiing and hanging out!

This is the view from near the base of the bunny hill. It was a little overcast the first day...at least below the peak of the hill.

The view from the top, not bad huh?

This run was the worst! Definitely do not attempt moguls on a snowboard, especially if the conditions are a bit icy!

Just beautiful though!

Me and Jeff

This is the complex that we stayed at.

The second day was amazingly clear! I think I could actually see the Canadian Mountain range!
The gondola

The crew at the top of the mountain

Why I run.

2008-03-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know yet. I have been training for the last couple of months for the Big Sur Marathon in California this April. Yeah, it's quite a surprise for me too. But at the same time it, at this moment is makes so much sense to me.

If you would have asked me a year ago if I ever desired to run a marathon...my answer would have been "are you crazy?" I had absolutely NO desire to do so. Not only did I have no desire to start running races, but I felt that the required training would take over my life.

However, I was wrong.

As I am two months (actually a little less than that...) away from the race, I've learned that running a marathon is MUCH more than purely running 26.2 miles... it is goes much deeper than that. As my training has progressed, my reasons for running have changed.

My original desire to complete a marathon actually started last April. I can't remember the exact date, but it was the day that one of my high school friends died. Liz Duncan was two years older than me in high school. We played soccer and ran track together. As a freshman/sophomore on the Varsity soccer team, she was the upper-classman who looked after me...gave me inspiration and constantly kept me motivated. She always encouraged me to be my best (as she did everyone she encountered). After she graduated, she went on to WSU to play soccer and we stayed in touch. I eventually went to visit her on a recruiting trip. Although over the past few years we hadn't been in touch her death hit me hard, and still does. I rarely think there is a day that I don't think of her and remind myself to live for today because you never know what will happen.

Anyways, she was a big runner and was training for the Chicago Marathon before she died. And the motto she lived to was "Life is Short. Run Long." Her funeral inspired me in many ways. It made it clearly obvious that you never know what the next moment will bring, therefore you have to live for today. I will always thank her for that lesson.

Her funeral also inspired me to run a marathon. I don't know if it is exactly for her that I am running or in her memory. But what I do know is that since that moment I finally had the desire to run.

So that was the beginning.

Over the past year I have attempted to stick with a training program. However starting work, moving to a new city, and getting a concussion prevented me from attempting it earlier. But finally in the winter I decided it was the time and enrolled in the Big Sur Marathon. I had the desire and I felt the location was perfect. It would give me an excuse to get back to California to see all my friends and allow me to run in an incredible place! I felt that if I was running in a beautiful location...maybe the 26.2 miles wouldn't be so terrible =)

However, as my training has progressed, my passion for running has changed. It is difficult to describe but I used to run because it was on my schedule and because it was "healthy" for me. I would dread getting up early in the morning and had to fight through those few miles and hope that it would end quickly.

However now, I feel worse when I don't run. I miss those mornings that I have to myself as I run when the sun is rising over the city. And additionally, I love the way I feel now. I haven't felt so together both physically and emotionally in a long time.

My running began as a tribute to a beloved friend. But now it is turning into a daily passion. And I definitely have Liz to thank for that. I mean, it is too true. Life is short....so why no run long?

In memory of Liz Duncan.

Thanksgiving in Washington D.C.

2008-03-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

This past Thanksgiving was the first year I haven't been able to make it home to eastern Washington. It was a sad time...considering how almost all of my family on my dad's side of the family convene at my aunt and uncle's house.

As I started to plan my Thanksgiving in NY, I quickly found out that all of my good friends were leaving town! AHH...so I had to act fast! I decided that I too should leave town! I remembered that one of my good friends from high school was back in D.C.! So I figured there would be no better time to go visit, hang out with an old friend and see D.C. (I'd never been there before!).

So Thanksgiving Day, I boarded a train from Penn Station heading to D.C. Unfortunately I had chosen a 7am departure time which made me have to wake up at 4am to make it there on public transportation! Yeah, public transportation is amazing most of the time...but every once and awhile a car would be so handy! As I was walking from the train to the station...I got to experience a little bit of the Macy Day Thanksgiving Parade. Well, at least I got to see all the crazy people standing outside of Macy's at 6am!

Anyways, I made it to D.C. by 10ish and Jessi came and picked me up! Later that day she toured me around Fairfax Virginia. I got to see where she went to school, at GMU, and a lot of the country side! After a long and stressful fall, I would have to say it was VERY great to see an old friend!

We spent Thanksgiving at her friend's house. They were AMAZING cooks and the food was incredible! I had a great time! Her friends were really great! Through Jess, they learned of my soccer skills and tried to recruit me for the kickball team. Supposedly they are #1 in the nation and travel all over for tournaments.

The next day we went into D.C. and walked around a bit. We walked past the White House and to George Town, which is the cutest city ever! And ended up eating in China Town. She also drove me to Alexandria, which is also a super cute city!

The main street in George Town

A super cute side street in George Town. It was a gorgeous time of year to visit because of all the leaves changing color!

An old street in downtown D.C. with the huge modern building behind. It's crazy when the old meets the new like that.

Me in front of the White House

The White House

China Town in D.C.

Coble stone street in Alexandria

One of the days, Jess had to be in class most of the day, so I took the subway into Washington D.C. to walk around the Mall and see all the historical stuff. I walked past the Washington Memorial all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial, stopping at the World War II and the Vietnam Memorial along the way.

The Washington Monument

Looking up the Washington Monument

Looking down the Mall towards the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Memorial.
(You can see the World War II Memorial in the foreground.)

The World War II Memorial

The side of the memorial dedicated to the Pacific. Below it was names of some of the largest battles...see below.

My Grandpa fought on Okinawa...

The Lincoln Memorial

Good old Lincoln

The reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial.

The Vietnam Memorial. So simple...yet so moving.

Vietnam Memorial

I also made it into the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bills of Rights. It was very cool to see those old documents...but rather difficult to fully appreciate them as you were swarmed by other people trying to get a glimpse.

The Newseum...I couldn't resist LERA did the structural design for it.
Unfortunately I couldn't go in...it's not open yet.

A small sculpture I liked outside of the Art Museum.

I also walked up to the Capital, through the Botanical Gardens and to the Library of Congress. It really was a great afternoon. Oh, I also wandered through the Art Museum and quickly walked past the impressionist paintings they had (my favorites).

The U.S. Capitol

The Capitol again...

An orchid in the Botanical Gardens...I took this for you dad!

Outside the Botanical Garden there was this coolest little train track set up with bridges and all!
I thought it was super cool!

The Library of Congress

The ceiling of the Library of Congress...it was a beautiful building!

The rest of the weekend entailed of me and Jess just hanging out and relaxing. It was a perfect Thanksgiving and weekend get away!

Here are some other great pictures of D.C.

From the Capitol looking down the Mall.

Again looking down the Mall.

The Capitol at Dusk...the sky is beautiful! I had such amazing fall weather while I was there!

The Capitol at Night. Quite impressive I will say.

Washington Monument at Night

New Apt

2008-03-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Alright you all know about my fire and that I had to move again (well didn't have to...but definitely chose to). 2 fires in 3 years...not a good track record.

So one depressing day in my burnt apartment I sat down to begin the new apartment search. I began scanning the Craigslists adds for Brooklyn. As I kept added interesting apartments to my inbox, I came across one that had an open house scheduled for later that day. I looked at my watch and was like...alright I can walk there in a couple of hours.

So a few hours later I ended up in Park Slope to interview for this new apartment. I really didn't have any expectations at all because I was just beginning. Instead I was thinking of this as the "first step." I was also a bit nervous because I have never interviewed for an apartment before. Previously my good friend, Courtney, had always interviewed for me. (Which I will have to say is basically a guarantee that I get that apartment! Ha....Court is the best interviewee I know...I owe so much to her!)

Anyways, so I get the apartment tour and this place was AMAZING! It was in the upper floors of a brown stone. It is actually a duplex, so we have a lovely spiral staircase (which also makes moving VERY difficult). There was a backporch/balcony which led to access to a back yard! YES, greenery! And a TREE! How much better could it get...oh wait...but it does! The room my roommate was hoping for me to move in to had a fire places (yes a little ironic) and a skylight!!! The apartment also has a washer/drier and a dishwasher. So basically it was perfect!

Some how I passed the interview. I really don't think I was still in the right frame of mind yet then to really give a good interview (still being a little off balance by the fire situation). But two days later I got a call back and got an apartment!!

I moved in to the apartment in October. My bed barely made it up the spiral staircase. We had to kinda dismantle the handrail to the staircase to get it up...but hey, it's up there! Now I just hope I don't have to worry about getting it out for a long time! And by November I was starting to return to normal. I believe I remained anti-social for most of November. Not having your own place and crashing at friends (even though you might love them to death) just isn't the same as having your own space.

So anyways, here is what it looks like!!! Enjoy!

My amazing fire place and expose brick wall in my room...ah...I love it!!

My three huge windows looking to our back yard!

After move in...

And yes...you do see a "DANGER" sign in front of the fire place. We should all be away of the dangers of fires! =)
I'm still yet to use it...I need to purchase a fire extinguisher first!

Sailing...or at least attempting to.

2008-03-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

I need to apologize...I promised to tell you all this story back in October. But anyways, here it finally is... my summer sailing story.

Every summer the employees at our firm get invited to Les and Saw-Teen’s lake house in Connecticut for the day. (Les is the engineer who started our firm—it is named after him, and his wife Saw-Teen is one of the principles, the one I actually work under). So one weekend in August, a big group of us (about 20+) headed up to Connecticut for a day on the lake.

It was a beautiful day, sunny but with a great breeze, perfect for sailing! After settling in on the dock Les and I began to rig his hobie cat to take out on the lake! I was really excited to go sailing because I hadn’t been since fall term at Stanford when I took dingy sailing classes. Last year I also took his hobie cat out, but there was hardly enough wind to really sail…so this year was looking like an exciting sailing opportunity! Ha…if only I knew what would happen.

After Les and I finished rigging the boat he was ready to send me out there with another coworker, but I talked him into coming out—since it was his boat and he did help me get it all ready. I wanted him to be able to be out on the lake as well. So with me in control of the rudder, the two of us headed out onto the lake.

We were doing great, sailing and heeling as we flew across the water. The wind was perfect—well a bit strong, but still great for sailing. Then it came time to head back to the dock and let someone else take a turn on the lake.

Now you have to understand that Les is an adventurer. So when we were deciding to head back to the dock, he convinced me it was a good idea to attempt to sail the boat up the ramp. Bare in mind, their dock is probably about 5 feet off the water and there is a long ramp that leads to the lake (which is how you get the boat in and out of the water). He also has told me many times that he has successfully sailed the hobie cat all the way up the ramp to the deck. So that was what he was convincing me to do as well.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I finally gave in to his persuasion. But the conversation went something like this.

Les: “Let’s sail the boat up the ramp!”

Me: “Are you serious? You really want me to try to sail this boat up the ramp???”

Les: “Yeah! Let’s go for it!”

Me: “Are you REALLY sure, do you want to take control of the tiller and attempt it?” Les: “No, No, you stay in charge, but let’s go for it!”

Me: “Are you REALLY sure…alright, ok…let’s give it a try.”

Keep in mind at this time everyone who was at the lake house that day was on the dock, just watching what we were doing. So when they noticed we were headed towards to ramp, I’m sure it was just a little frightening.

I was pretty good with my alignment, until the last little bit. I was so slightly skewed that instead of making it all the way up the ramp, I ended up halfway up and totally taking out one of the cross-braces on the ramp! Yeah, we came to a pretty quick stop!

WOW, is all that I can say. I was totally in shock and still couldn’t believe that I had attempted that docking. But it was done, and no damage was done, to either the boat or us (even though I was still shaking for about 30minutes afterwards).

Luckily Les, absolutely loved it! He was so excited afterwards, couldn’t have cared less about his cross-brace on the dock and was just full of smiles! His wife, Saw-Teen, also thought it was pretty hilarious! After getting off the boat, she came up to me laughing, to tell me that I had done very well in making their ramp truss into a vierendeel (yes, a structural engineering joke that was very perfect for the situation).

Don’t worry, the story doesn’t end there. After getting off the boat and being totally embarrassed in front of so many coworkers (at this time I had only been a full-time employee for a maybe 2 months) and also being freaked out that I could have just killed me and my boss, and not to mention just wreaked their dock and almost their boat! Les says to everyone “So who wants to go out next, Katie will take you.” I looked at him again and was like, “you’ve got to be kidding, are you sure you want me to take your boat out again.” And he said back “of course, why wouldn’t I”. So I was like, “alright…who’s up?”

And my brave coworker, Elizabeth rose to the challenge. Poor thing must have been so scared! I don’t think she had ever been on a hobie cat before, so her first time had to be right after witnessing my expert docking technique! But none the less, we headed back out to the water. Sailing around went smooth as ever, I don’t seem to have problems, with the sailing bit, just the docking.

However, since I was still freaked out and was not willing to attempt such another docking (for Elizabeth’s and my own sake). I opted for the totally opposite and very lame docking. So for those of you who haven’t sailed hobies much, they can be very difficult to tack. You lose a lot of wind and it is difficult to get the boat turned quickly. So instead most of the time I end up at a standstill for a moment or too before the boat can come clear round and catch the wind again.

So my grand idea for a less eventful, yet entirely lame docking was to come to a standstill up wind of the dock and just float to it. I figured once we got close enough to the dock, we could push ourselves around to the front and up the ramp. No harm done….well, not exactly, it was almost just as embarrassing, but not as exciting as the first docking.

There we were just content to sit there and wait for the boat to float to the ramp. While everyone on the dock was wondering what in the heck we were doing. Once we got close, I had to jump off the boat and make sure it didn’t ram the side of the dock and help push it to the front. Yes, very lame. But at least it was a lot safer than the first.

Ha…yes, most would think that that would be the last of my story. But no, it continues, there is a third time. Later that afternoon I took out another coworker, actually my mentor, Matt. Ha…this time getting into the water turned to be the problem.

As we were preparing to get onto the boat on the ramp, it ended up slipping down the dock just as I was stepping on. So I had one hand full of the lines, one foot on the boat as it shoots down the ramp, I fell backwards and was dragged into the water after the boat. Yeah, great huh? Matt didn’t even make it onto the boat and had to swim to it!

Luckily the third time is a charm. I made a good ramp docking and made it up (half-way onto the ramp) without hitting any of the trusses on either side. So I felt a little redemption.

But goodness, how much can I embarrass myself in front of half the firm? At least I can handle it. But still, I know I will never live it down—nor do I think I deserve to.

FIRE

2008-03-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

Fire Fighters...you gotta love them!

Alright, I know that most of you have already read this (this is from the email I sent in Nov or something...) But I felt I should add it to the list of stories...because it definitely was quite a crazy couple of months back then.

So you all are probably wondering why I moved already. Because before I was living in Downtown Brooklyn and also loved that apartment and my roommates there. But unfortunately forces out of our control kinda convinced us all to move out. Basically there was a fire in our
apartment building. The fire didn't spread to our apartment, but we had fire damage and me and my roommates ended up being homeless for about 5 weeks. Luckily I have some amazing friends here in NY and was able to crash in an extra bedroom or on the couch. But it wasn't easy
being homeless and having to search for a new apartment.

Anyways, you're probably a bit intrigued to know more details about the fire....so here they are.

It all started on a Monday morning about 2 months ago now. Me and my roommate were woken up at 4:30am by the crazies on our street yelling "Fire, Fire" at us. There usually are crazy people yelling on our street, so at first I was just confused...but when it continued I looked out my window and saw that they were serious. So then I heard our door buzzer going off and the smoke alarm going off as well. My roommate and I ran out of our rooms (one of my roommates luckily wasn't there) and I went to answer the door buzzer. That weekend we had just got a new video door answering thing...so I picked it up and the guy outside just yelled into the phone "get everyone out." So yeah...that was pretty freaky. And on the video I could see people
running out the front door....

So me and my roommate look at each other and were like...Fire escape. So we ran into my room. I opened my window and we climbed over my air conditioner...under the window out onto the fire escape. Just to get out there...look over the edge and see orange smoke pouring up at us.
And then everyone on the street started yelling at us not to go down.

I was like...not go down...but this is the way we get out. I mean it is the FIRE ESCAPE! Honestly thinking back...standing on the fire escape was the scariest thing I have ever had to do. Going out there at all to escape is crazy enough. But being told not to go down...yeah, that wasn't so cool.

Anyways, so we both scramble back into my room...and run to our front door. The only path left for us to escape was the main staircase. Luckily I had seen people going out our front door. So I knew it wasn't blocked and it could be ok to go that way. So I felt the door knob with the back of my hand (yes, I'm very proud of myself for that...all those times I went into that smoke house things put on by the local firefighters during elementary school definitely paid off). It wasn't hot...so we opened the door and just sprinted down the stairs and out the front door. The staircase was filled with smoke and smoke was pouring out of the walls--yeah, freaky!

But we made it outside safely. As we just got outside the fire department arrived and started to get to work to putting out the fire. We were so impressed with how fast they got there...supposedly the guy who gives away papers next to the subway called them. After that
day...I definitely loved all the random people on our street! They basically saved our lives!

The fire ended up being in the flower shop below us. And conveniently it was right beneath the fire escape and next to the door. But the fire fighters pulled out their big chain saw and opening the grate covering the door and quickly put out the fire. We didn't really even see them use much water. After that they opened some of the shops next door to make sure it didn't spread. They also went into all of our apartments to probably check for people and help get the smoke out (which basically entails them punching holes in walls and breaking windows).

We were lucky though because for some reason they didn't have to break any of our windows...even though all the other apartment's windows were broken. So at about 8:30 or 9...we were allowed back into our apartment to change and take out anything we would need. Yes...for about 4 hours I was sitting on the street in my pjs...awesome. After we grabbed some stuff we waited to see when we could lock our apartment back up because we didn't want to be louted. And after we locked up me and my roommates went our separate ways.

You can see all the broken widows with plastic bags covering them...

I went up to Midtown to get apartment keys from my good friend Courtney...then went to her place to nap and shower. I totally smelled like smoke...it was pretty awful. My roommate even said that people moved away from him on the subway because he smelled so bad! Later that day I went into work to explain the whole ordeal. It was perfect timing...because we had a HUGE deadline later that week on the project i was working on...but you really can't plan for fires. Anyways, I only ended up working half days for the rest of the week before I flew home for one of my best friend, Danielle's wedding.

Here are the photos...

Our front door...conveniently located right next to the fire.

The Flower Shop...and oh yes, there is the fire escape (once again conveniently located right in front of the fire)

Harry Potter Craziness

2007-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

On the Harry Potter book release date...Laura and I were walking around SoHo and just happened to walk right past all the Harry Potter craziness! I didn't partake in the festivities but I bought my book bright and early the next morning. And of course spent the whole weekend finishing it! Yes, I know...

The Scholatic Store in NY.

All the people waiting outside for their books. Some were dressed up at witches or were in their favorite Hogwarts House colors.

The count down...

Me in front of the Harry Potter party...this was NY's verious of Diagon Alley.

Bastille Day in Brooklyn

2007-08-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

After I first arrived in NY, my roommate Chris could talk of was Bastille Day. It is where they shut down a whole block in Brooklyn on Smith St...fill it with sand and have petanque tournament.

My roommate Chris in the tournament.

Mermaid Parade - Coney Island

2007-07-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

One of my first weekends here. Me, my new NY best friend Sandy and her two roommates headed out to Coney Island for the afternoon. The Mermaid Parade was taking place that day at Coney Island and my roommate and his band were playing in it...so we went to check it out!

We actually didn't watch too much of the parade, but instead just enjoyed riding the rides. This is the last summer Coney Island will be the same...and the last time the Cyclone will be running. So of course we had to ride it one last time...

Here are the photos.

Our view of the Mermaid Parade...yeah, it doesn't help being short.

The famous Cyclone! This roller coaster scares the heck out of me...But it is too much fun not to go on it!!!

I barely made it...

Sandy's roommates Nick and Pat on the Wonder Wheel! They didn't know we were getting on the moving cart! Ha...it was so funny watching them after they realized it moved!!

Sandy and me on the Wonder Wheel. Today we decided to dress as twins.

Coney Island from the Wonder Wheel

Nick and Pat playing the games! Before this Sandy totally killed both of them in air hockey!

Yeah! Nick won!

Brass Band Blowout

2007-07-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

So I've learned my apartment is fairly well known for their parties. Which makes sense...my roommate Scott is an events planner. So he knows how to throw good parties.

Anyways, this party was because Scott's old band from Madison Wisconsin came to town to play at the Mermaid Parade out in Coney Island. So we hosted the after party where they played a couple of sets for us! And I've got to tell you...they were AMAZING!

They are called "Mama Digdown's Brass Band" and are a New Orleans Brass Band! It was so much fun to have them play at the party! They have such a great sound!

Here are some pictures...

Here is how it looked at the party! Now imagine everyone around them dancing! It was so much fun!

Here is a better shot of the band.

The rest of my apt

2007-07-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

I figured that since I've already shown you my room, I would update you on the rest of my apartment.

So far I LOVE living here! It is so perfect for me right now! There is just so much space, I can entertain and cook! And my new favorite thing about the apartment is the record collection and the record player! My roommate has a HUGE collection of records and there is honestly nothing better than to put on some jazz...sit back, read and drink some wine! =)

So anyways, here are the pictures...

Here is my room a little more finished. I actually have pictures on the wall now! And one of the most important things I should point out...is the air conditioner. I couldn't live without that thing! ha..and funny story...when installing it. Me and my roommate almost dropped it out the window. Luckily outside my window is the fire escape. Yes--close call.

More of my room...

Here is our kitchen! And another amazing thing about the apt is next to the frig...our washer and drier...

Hall way leading from the kitchen to our two living rooms. Yes, my roommates have it all decorated! Nice huh?

Living room #1. My roommate also collects boomboxes!

Another view...

Ha...so you see those blinds? I have lost many wars against those! For some reason I can never get them to come down. I honestly don't know what is wrong wit h me! I think I've dropped them on the floor twice now trying to get them to come down! My roommates love to make fun of me for this. Yes--I just got my masters...but I don't know how to work the blinds...

Another view...looking the other way down the hall.

Living room #2 where the DJ station is and all the records.

So yeah, thats the tour...I hope you enjoyed it =)

My First Week

2007-06-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

My first week in New York was quite busy and exhausting.

The first couple of days were pretty crazy as I spent running around NY ordering furniture (hoping that it would be delivered as soon as possible), painting my room and doing a little house cleaning. After that I was locked inside my apartment waiting all day long for packages to arrive--definitely one of my least favorite things to do!

But by Friday (I arrived the previous Sunday) my room was looking fairly well put together. But more importantly it was looking like MY room--not someone else's. It was quite exciting to paint my room, put together furniture (even though that was really hard work!) and decorate!

Here are some photos of the progress I've made so far...

My room right after I arrived. It definitely wasn't fun sleeping on an air mattress or living out of bags--but what can you do?

The other end of my room...

After the painting! I've actually never painted a room before! I was impressed that it didn't turn out too bad! (sorry I combined a couple pictures...thats why the room looks a bit crooked).

haha...yes I made quite a mess

ahh...and then the bed arrived...I was very excited to not be sleeping on the air mattress anymore!

The Transition

2007-06-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

It has now been over two months since I graduated and moved away from Stanford. I still can't believe how fast the time has flown. But here I am only one day before I fly away to New York to begin a new chapter of my life.

These past two months have been absolutely perfect for me. They couldn't have been better. Instead of traveling to some far off country like I have encouraged many of my friends, I spent the time at home with my parents and traveling around the Pacific Northwest. These small trips were exactly what I needed, just to spend time with my family and friends before I moved across country. Below I'll try to share some of the stories from my various trips around the NW.

My first trip was to visit my grandma in eastern Oregon. We spent the week making two quilts--yes, I can quilt! They were actually memory quilts from all of my soccer days. My grandma and I cut up about 50 t-shirts for the quilts! And I would have to say they look pretty good! But other than sewing, we rode our bikes around town, played cribbage, looked through old photos and just talked and laughed! We had a blast! Oh...and we went dancing on Friday night! At the Senior Citizens Center!!! HA! Yes, I waltzed and fox trotted the night away with the Senior Citizen men. And I would have to say I had a blast!!!

My grandma helping to tie one of my quilts.

My OSU quilt--it is my favorite!

After that I went to Portland for a week. I stayed at my Aunt Sig's house where I used to live when I worked in Portland. It was great to be back and see all of my friends and just wander around the city! I absolutely love Portland! It is one of my favorite cities, if not the favorite (NYC is very close). It is such a beautiful place! I also made it down to Corvallis for a couple of days. It was great to see my friends there and see how the campus has changed these last few years. And my last weekend in Portland my roommate from Stanford, Julie, and her boyfriend Paul came up to visit! So it was fun showing them all around the city...giving them the whirlwind tour!

Beautiful Portland, OR from the top of the new tram.

My last big trip was to Seattle to see my good friends, but more importantly my big bro. It was great to hang out with him, since we haven't had a lot of time to hangout these last couple of years. I also got to see my good friend Danielle in Olympia. She's getting married in Sept, so it was fun to talk to her about all the plans and even buy my bridesmaid dress!!

Seattle from my brother's old place in Bellvue.

My small trips were great and perfect! I had incredible weather the whole time...it really made me remember how incredible the NW is! There is definitely no place like it!

So when I wasn't traveling around, I was packing and hanging out at home with my parents, my good friend Jamie and her husband and catching up with old high school friends. During this break I become Jamie's personal trainer as we ran by the river almost everyday with her dog Mindy and lifted weights at the Court Club. It was great to be home and I can't believe I am already leaving.

During this time an awful thing also took place. One of my high school friends, Liz Duncan, died. She was hit by a car while running in Seattle. It is so incredibly sad and obviously unexpected, but I was thankful that I was home. Liz was two years older than me and was the upperclassman who I looked up to the most. She was so inspiring and was always encouraging me to be my best. She was an amazing young woman who will be missed by so many--I know I will never forget her. A foundation was started in her name...so if you are interested you should check it out. http://www.brooksrunning.com/corporate/news/04_21_07_Liz_Duncan.phtml

Well, that basically summaries my past two months. They have been perfect and I am very ready to begin the next chapter of my life. I can't wait to see what is to come.

579

2005-10-12T13:49:00.001-07:00

A look at my apartment building from across the street, my building is the one in the center (the shorter one)

579 was the apartment that I stayed in while living in the city. It couldn't have been a more perfect place for me to live. Not only is the location prime (since it is right in an amazing shopping street with tons of stuff to do right outside my door) but the place was great (although a little--ok, a lot dirty) and my roommates were AWESOME!!! Basically, It couldn't have been a more perfect set up for me to be in.

The apartment was a HUGE loft, so lots of space (which is rare in NY sometimes). And all the rooms were in the back made out of partitian, so we each had our own little caves to retreat to whenever we wanted.

Here are some photos....

My bedroom...a little small, but it worked

My roommates:

Mikey "Teadybear" Williams is a GIGANTIC guy, at least when you're talking to a girl who is 5'2". He is 6'9", but is a total teady bear! He is originally from New Jersey, but has lived in the city for awhile now and is a computer programer. He was so much fun to hang out with. I believe he was constantly making fun of me, but we still had tons of good times!!!

Courtney and my roommate Mikey!

Jamie Ideou moved in about two weeks after I moved in. And the crazy thing about her is that she is originally from Yakima, WA (only about 45min away from my hometown) and went to UO and studied Architecture. But now she works for MTV in Timesquare and knew Courtney through the Yap family. But Jamie was awesome and hilarious! I definitely loved having her there!

Me and my roomie Jamie!

Jo LeVine was my third roommate. He was a really nice guy but worked crazy hours, so was rarely at home. Sorry...no picture.

The fifth roommate was my good friend Courtney Carter. Yes, technically I only had 3 roommates, but Courtney was there a lot. And since she would be taking my place in the apartment after my 2 months were up...she was practically our roommate. But it was SO much fun to have Courtney there in NY with me...I can't say that enough! We had such a great time hanging out again and I'm totally going to miss her when I move back to the west coast!

Me and Courtney...I love this girl!

New York City, Here I come!!!

2005-10-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

On the evening of July 24th, I flew from Washington to NYC. This was my second visit to the city (the first was Sept 2004 when I went with some friends), but it was bound to be a much different visit because this trip I was not a tourist, but living as a Newyorker in Manhattan.

I easily made it from the airport to my front door. I was to be living with 3 roommates in an apartment in SOHO. My good friend Courtney Carter, a fellow OSU graduate and OSU soccer teammate, met me there and let me into my place. I definitely owe a ton to Court, since she is the one who found me the apartment and arranged everything for me! It was so awesome to have her help me with the move and especially to have her in NY with me!

After dropping of my luggage, we directly hit the town. Courtney definitely wanted to show me EVERYTHING! And we probably didn't stop walking for most of the morning and early afternoon. But it was nice to have her show me around and tell me about all the fun places nearby and show me all her favorite hangouts. We also went to church and met Jamie, one of my roommates to be, for brunch.

From that first morning, I knew I was going to LOVE New York!

My Little Sister...

2005-10-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember, the Stumetz family has lived next door. They had 3 kids, 1 girl and 2 boys and the girl, Brittany, was only 3 years younger than me. Growing up, our house was theirs and theirs was ours. I recall many times walking into their house unannounced and asking if Brittany could play...or sometimes if I could just play with their nintendo. And there was countless games that all of us created and played on the trampoline in their backyard. But all is another story in itself.

So on July 24th, Brittany, my little neighbor (practically my little sister) got married to Nathan Jankov. It was a beautiful wedding and Brittany was such a beautiful bride!! But I still can't believe she is married...just seems so crazy! But I'm so happy for her and Nathan.

Here are some photos....

Brittany and Nathan (isn't she a beautiful bride!)

Brittany and me...see how short my hair is now!!!

A Quick Transition

2005-10-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

From the minute I got home from Europe, I began to start preparing for my next big adventure...moving to NYC!

I only had 3 days between my return from Europe and leaving for NY, so I had a lot to do in a short amount of time. Not only did I have to unpack and repack, but I had to also pack for Stanford because my transition between NY and Stanford was going to be only 2 days. (yes, I know I am crazy...but it is what I had to do).

But it worked out, I even had time to spare to say a quick hello to my best friend, Jamie, and her husband Ryan. And I also went to my little neighbors wedding. So it was a nice short stay at home.

Returning Home

2005-10-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

After spending a whole month across the world in foreign countries, I was definitely looking forward to returning home. I missed my parents, my friends and was getting anxious for the next big adventure on my agenda (working in NYC).

There were several things that I was looking forward to doing while being home again. Here is a short list:

1. I wanted to cut my hair! I was getting so tired of my long hair and couldn't wait to chop it all off....
2. Drink lots of soda! Since soda was so expensive in Europe, we hardly drank any...so I was definitely looking forward to having a pepsi!
3. Go to the movies (specifically Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)! For some reason I really wanted to see this movie and it came out while we were in Europe, so the weekend I was home my mom and I went to see it. It was really good...different, but good!

I'm sure there were a lot more, but those are all I can remember that I was really excited for when I returned home. Europe was such an amazing time and I can't wait to return! I already have the next trip planned =)

Last Day in Rome

2005-09-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well we flew out of Venice back to Rome for the last time. It was nice to be back in Rome since we had become quite accostomed to it over the course of the trip. So it was nice to be in a familiar place when we were really tired and preparing to leave.

But none the less, we still had items on our agenda for us to see before we left. The main one was Capitol Hill. On our previous trips we had passed it by, but never actually went into it or spent a lot of time looking at it. So we took a specific trip to go directly to Capitol Hill and walked all around and inside of it. By this time on our trip we were rather tired of site seeing, so we didn't spend too much time there.

Capitol Hill

The rest of the day and evening we spent revisiting our favorite Rome sites. We walked to the Pantheon, past the Trevi Fountain, stared at the Colosseum and the Roman Forum from Capitol hill, visited our favorite Plazas and just enjoyed the city. That evening we had our last italian meal in a back alley italian resturant. The food was delicious and it was nice to find a back alley away from all the tourist attractions.

Before turning in for the night, we had one last gaze at the Pantheon while we had dessert in a cafe nearby. It was a beautiful evening with a full moon and the Pantheon glowing in the back ground. I definitely miss this part of Italy.

The Pantheon...such an incredible structure!

The Sinking City

2005-09-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

The following day, Lauren and I woke up and took a bus through the main canal. It was a lovely ride because we were able to just sit and look at the beautiful old buildings lining the canal. It was interesting to think of Venice during it's prime when it housed over a million people and was a major trade location. But I loved the old buildings, even though some had been neglected for many years, the still retained their original charm.

The Grand Canal

After the ride, we walked along the water to the main square, San Marco. During the day, San Marco is a whole different scene than at night. The dueling musicians are no longer there and the square is full of pigeons. Lauren and I were quite lucky that we didn't get hit by any pigeon poop or a pigeon for that fact. There were just so many of them! It was really insane!

Me infront of San Marco Square (Can you see all the pigeons?)

Later that day, we decided to go to Murono Island to see all the beautiful glass and hopefully find some beautiful pieces for ourselves and presents for our families. Murono Island was fun! It was a smaller version of Venice and full of glass shops! Lauren and I first scoped out all the stores and then decided what we wanted to go back for. I'd definitely say we bought a lot, but hey we were in Venice...who really cares. After shopping, we just wantered the city for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Since our Europe trip was quickly coming to an end, we decided to treat ourselves to a wonderful evening and sit in the outside cafes, eat a delicious dessert and listen to the music! It was a great evening to just relax and enjoy the atmosphere!

The Muscians...They were so good!

The Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge at Night

While we were eating our ice cream and enjoying the music, we overheard some people talking about fireworks. And as it turned out that night was some other type of holiday in Italy and there was to be a big firework display that night. We tried to ask some italians what the holiday was...but I don't know if they really understood what we were asking, but it might have been some sort of independence day (but not really sure). However, no matter what holiday it was, Lauren and I enjoyed our second fireworks display of our trip.

The fireworks...we always seemed to have something slightly blocking our view of the fireworks...oh well, they were still beautiful

Below are just some other great photos from Venice.

The Rialto Bridge

One of the smaller Canals

This was the ceiling of our room in Venice. Lauren and I found it slightly discerning...especially since there is a rock up there helping to transfer some of the load...

The Grand Square

2005-09-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

We arrived late in Venice to find a transportation strike taking place. Therefore instead of taking the bus "boat" to our hostel, we shared a cab (which again was a boat) with two Australians. They were very nice and definitely helped reduce the cost of the expensive ride.

I loved the boat ride through the canals. During the cab ride I really fell in love with Venice. It was just so different from all the other places we had visited with all of its canals and small bridges. The houses along the canals were quite run down (which was slightly sad) but they still were very charming as their front doors stepped into the canals or padios lead to their boat docks. It was definitely a beautiful entrance to make into Venice.

Once we arrived at our hostel, I took off alone to wander through the streets of Venice. It took me a little while to get oriented, but I was finally able to find myself to Venice's main square "San Marcos." When I arrived I found a beautiful scene where tables were crowded around musicians and many people enjoying the wonderful music.

I took my time to meander by the different Musicians and eventually found a nice place to sit, write and enjoy the beautiful evening. That night in Venice just relaxing and listening to the music was definitley one of my favorite moments. I can't wait to return.

The Return to the Eiffel Tower

2005-09-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

The day we were prepared to leave Paris, we took one last visit to the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to make an attempt to visit the very top, but unfortunatly ran out of time. But even without making it all the way up to the top, I had a fabulous time relaxing on the tower. We actually walked up to the 2nd level this time (the walk was suprising easy...perhaps by this time in our trip we were becoming accustomed to stairs).

While on the tower, we took the time to write postcards, relax and enjoy the beautiful view of Paris. Picture of the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower

Me from the Eiffel Tower overlooking Paris

The Firework Show

2005-09-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

That evening when we returned to our hostel, we ran into a few of our new Paris friends. It turned out that they were getting ready to head out to go watch the fireworks, so we decided to join them. So we set out with our new group of friends in search of a prime locaiton to watch the show!

We ended up being led to a very crowded area where the Eiffel Tower was hardly in our view (well, at least mine...thanks to me being so short). So four of us left in search of a new location. As we trotted through crowds, down the streets and over small pedestrian bridges we finally found a location we were satisfied with.

The location ended up being right along the river with the Eiffel Tower directly in our view. So we ended up just sitting there for a few hours waiting for the show to start. When the fireworks start, it was an AMAZING show! It was so beautiful to wathc the fireworks with the Eiffel Tower as its backdrop! Unfortunatly we were viewing the show from the side, therefore we were not able to get the full effect, but I still thought it was pretty incredible!

I loved it when it sparkled! It was so beautiful!

The Eiffel Tower alone is impressive, and when you add fireworks...it is even better!

The Long Walk

2005-09-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

After the Louvre, we decided to walk down Champs-Elysees Ave to the Arc de Triomphe. I didn't know what was in store for us as we walked down the street. I think I was expecting to take a walk down history to a place where Napoleon's funeral took place. However, instead we found a beautiful park and a street full of shops.

So we took our time and shopped in a few of the crowded stores. And then we finally reached the Arc de Triomphe and decided it wasn't necessary to cross the large round-a-bout to be able to stand directly under it. Not only is that round-a-bout one of the most dangerous in the world, but it was super crowded underneathe the arch. So we passed and after taking a few photos decided to walk back down the street in search of food.

Me infront of Arc de Triomphe

However, of course when you are in dire need for something, you can NEVER find it. So we just kept walking...and walking...finally our adverturous selves took hold and we saw a glittering gold dome and decided to check it out. It ended up being the golden dome of which Napoleon is buried and there was also a large army celebration taking place outside. However, instead of checking out those festivities, we kept walking to find Rodin's Museum.

At Rodin's house we found many of his famous sculptures. "The Thinker", the "Prisoners" and "The Gates of Hell." He also made some very beautiful sculptures of men and women. But the museum was very nice because it was small, quiet, simple and very beautiful. It also had a lovely garden where Lauren and I were about to find some food and rest our tired feet.

"The Thinker," the original is actually very small

After leaving Rodin's House, Lauren and I walked back to Notre Dame. This time we just sat infront of her. This was one thing I loved about Europe...just being able to sit and stare at the magnificient and beautiful buildings like Notre Dame.

The HUGE Museum

2005-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

While in Paris, we knew we HAD to go to the Lourve. Not only is it the museum of all museums, but it houses some of the most famous paintings (the Mona Lisa). So we woke up early and quickly made it to the Lourve to try to beat most of the crowds. We were actually kinda worried that it wouldn't be open since it was France's Independence day...however we soon discovered that it wasn't only open, it was free.

Me infront of the Lourve Entrance

It was quite lucky that the museum was free...but at the same time unlucky because it was bound to be more crowded than normal. So once inside the museum Lauren and I made a mad dash to get our view of the Mona Lisa. I found the painting to be quite incredible (no wonder it is so famous) and I especially loved her smile! It makes it seem as if she is hidding something and will not let you know what it is...because she is just having too much fun keeping you guessing. I also really liked the painting because she wasn't a beautiful lady, yet instead displayed an air of confidence and contentment with who she was. Basicially over all it is an incredible painting...but everyone in the world knows that.

The Mona Lisa

After viewing the Mona Lisa we walked all over the gigantic museum! As we walked past isles and isles of artifacts, paintings...etc I kept finding myself looking at the building itself. I found it to be a very beautiful building and actually used to be the old palace before it was moved to Versailles by King Louis XIV.

The Lourve definitely was my favorite museum. It had such an incredible collection with everything from Egyptian, Greek, Italian, French, Napoleon's Rooms and crowned jewels! I could have easily spent all day there!

Another Famous sculpture, "Aphrodite"

Sculpture by Michelangelo, I think it was titled "A Slave" (at least as far as I can remember...)

I really like this one. It was called "Winged Victory"

The Lourve

The Sacred Heart

2005-09-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

After Versailles, we headed straight to the church of the Sacred Heart. It was a beautiful smaller church, fantastically situated on a hill. The church was great because it had a very different architecture than all the rest. Inside was also very beautiful because it had several domes which created amazing spaces in the church's interior.

At the base of the church, we sat in the grass and rested our weary feet. Once again we were lucky enough to be sitting near musicians. All the outdoor musicians is definitely something that I love about Europe! All the wonderful music you can find playing in the plazzas is just incredible!

A Grand Palace

2005-09-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Versailles, now that is a palace! The palace in Madrid does not even begin to compare! This palace was so large, lavishly decorated in gold and just so incredibly beautiful!

The front of the Palace

Versailles reminded me a lot of King Ludwig's palace and castles in Germany. Everything was just decorated in gold and absolutley EVERYTHING is decorated, it is so beautiful! It definitely would have been so much fun to have lived during that time and parade through the palace and its grounds in all your grandure!

If I recall correctly...I think this was his chapel...

My favorite room was the Hall of Mirrors. However unfortunatly it was slightly dissapointing because it was half-way under restoration, but the half that was showing was incredible! And then there was the magnificient grounds! The garden was enourmous! Not only could you have easily gotten lost and perhaps never found, but you could spend days there and probably still not see everything! And the grounds were just incredible with their flowers, fountains and statues! Lauren and I took a 2 hour walk through parts of it. The whole place was just so incredible!

The Hall of Mirrors

The Palace from the garden

Picture in the Garden looking back at the Palace

Another picture of the gardens...these were actually Orange trees that they only bring out when the weather is nice...and the rest of the time keep them inside in the nursery (those crazy rich people can do anything)

The Eiffel Tower

2005-09-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Later that evening, Lauren and I headed to the Eiffel Tower to catch the sunset! We arrived a little early, so we relaxed on the great lawn with the tower in our sight. It was such a perfect setting because near us two guys were playing the guitar, so we just sat, enjoyed the music and stared at the Tower. It was so perfect!

Instead of walking up all the stairs (we were getting tired of stairs by that point in our trip), we took the elevator to the 1st level. On the first level I walked around gazing at all the magnificent views of Paris. I also learned some of the history of the Statue of Liberty. I never knew the same structural engineer designed the Eiffel Tower, designed the structure undernearth the Statue of Liberty. And then we watched a very unimpressive sunset.

As we were leaving the level, the tower lit up and began to sparkle! It was so incredible! Luckily we made it down just in time to snap a picture. All I can say is that the Eiffel Tower is such an incredible site at night! I definitely loved it!

The Sparkling Eiffel Tower

The City of Love

2005-08-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

I have found Paris to be a wonderful city! It is so beautiful, lively and so very friendly (yes, we were rather surprised about that too—but it is true!)! I absolutely have fallen in love with everything here! It definitely does not have the incredible historic feel Rome has that I adore, but everything about Paris just feels so magical!

The first day in Paris we headed straight to Notre Dame! However before we made it to Notre Dame, we made a quick stop at La Sante-Chapelle. It was a beautiful small chapel with magnificent stained glass windows! They were the largest that I have ever seen and so beautiful!

After the chapel we finally found Notre Dame and what a sight it was! I was so excited to finally see it because I had been waiting for Notre Dame since the beginning of the trip and there it finally was! Her beautiful towers and flying buttresses seemed to be absolutely perfect!

Notre Dame from the side...so beautiful!

Me infront of Notre Dame

To get an even closer look at the beautiful church and a magnificent view of the city below, we climbed to the top of the towers! It was 470 steps on small spiraling staircases, but it was definitely worth it! At the top we got close-up views of the crazy gargoyles! One of them is called the “bored” gargoyle and he definitely was my favorite. I also think I saw another gargoyle who looked like one of the characters in Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

My favorite Gargoyle..."The Bored Gargoyle"

And the city was so beautiful! From the top of Notre Dame we also got our first glimse of the Eiffel Tower and many of the other buildings and beautiful churches! We even got to go to the bell tower and see the bell! It was pretty incredible and definitely reminded me of the “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” I really enjoyed the cathedral because of all the character it displayed. Even one of their statues looked as if they were ready to fall over and were trying to catch their balance…it was funny!

View of Paris from the top of Notre Dame

Me infront of the Bell in the bell tower

After getting down from the tower, we immediately got in line to enter the cathedral. Inside Notre Dame was so beautiful. It was so different than those in Italy because the decoration was plainer and instead of covering it with paint, they let the building’s structure be the beauty. Additionally, the stained glass windows were incredible, but of course I would expect nothing else.Inside Notre Dame

Again...Inside Notre Dame

The Night Train

2005-08-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

The plan was to travel from the North Coast of Spain to Paris by a night train. But before we could catch the night train, we first had to pass the day by. For the most part we lounged around the beautiful San Sabastian (at least as much lounging as could be done with your traveling packs on your back).

The Beautiful San Sabastian.

But I found San Sabastian to be a beautiful city! It was everything that I would expect from a beach town with its beautiful sandy beach packed with people relaxing in their swimsuits under their umbrellas. It was such a colorful site to been seen! However, the view that I enjoyed the most was the sailboats anchored out in the cove. It makes me excited for the day when one of those boats will be mine. That day I decided that San Sabastian deserves a trip of its own…one where I can just lay on the beach and enjoy sailing off the coast.

Lauren and I hanging out in San Sabastian.

We finally left San Sabastian for Hendaias, which was a bad decision. Hendaias is a tiny, boring town in France just across the border from Spain and unfortunately it was where we had to catch our night train. But finally after spending several hours bored out of my mind, the train arrived and we quickly found our car.

To me the thought of the night train was exciting because I had no clue what to expect! But we had the top bunks in our car and locked all our bags to the baggage racks and laid down to go to sleep. I slept quite well considering the conditions. It was fun to lay there as the train swayed back and forth as we clattered down to track to Paris.

Me on the Train to Paris.

Bilbao and Sol’s Family

2005-08-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

We stayed three lovely nights with Sol and her family. Her family was just so nice to us and staying there was exactly what Lauren and I needed. We were in dire need of a stress-free and relaxing place to rejuvenate us before the last leg of our trip.

Lauren and Sol walking along the Beach in Plentzia

Picture of Plentzia and all the boats along the river.

Lauren and I on our way to Bilbao.

Sol and I in Bilbao in front of one of their signature bridges.

The first day in Bilbao, Sol took us to the city. We took a long metro ride from Plentzia to Bilbao and started the day with the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim was so beautiful! I think I could have stared at it all day long! And I found the modern art inside very refreshing after seeing all the classic art in the previous museums. I even began to appreciate the modern art because to me, I felt as if it was up to you to draw a meaning or a feeling from the pieces. Everyone could come away from the art with a different experience and I really liked that.

The Guggenheim...what an incredible building.

After the Guggenheim, we just walked through the city. When we finally went back to Plentzia, Sol took us to a few fun bars to view the sunset from. We even explored and found a new bar with a great view of the ocean. The north coast of Spain is truly a beautiful and relaxing place to visit and live.

A sunset on the coast of Spain.

The next day, we woke up and took off directly to Bilbao again, but this time it was for a sailing adventure! Sol’s father wanted to take us for a short sail on his boat (that is named “Stanford” yes…that is correct…it is named after the school I will be attending in the fall, as it turned out Sol’s father also attended Stanford for a year, how crazy is that?) that morning and I could not have been more excited! I love everything about sailing and have not gone for many years. Sailing has always been one of my favorite past times and I can’t wait to become an avid sailor myself.

Sol, her Father, and Lauren sailing on "Stanford." Yes, "Stanford" was the name of the boat.

We didn’t sail for very long, nor did we really catch any great gusts of wind, but it was still nice to be out on the water with the sails up. I was really happy to realize how quickly I remembered how to sail and ended up being a big help to Sol and her father while we were out and about on the water. It was kinda funny because Lauren had never been sailing before…so she had no clue what was taking place (and being yelled at in Spanish, definitely does not help to clarify things). So I was trying to help her and explain to her what was taking place…what to look out for (swinging booms and ropes that were about to go crazy).

When we got home from sailing, Sol’s dad directly started to make paella! I was so excited because I was incredibly hungry and homemade paella just sounded delicious! The whole process was also very interesting and Lauren and I tired to watch intently with the hope to be able to reproduce it someday. But I fear we will never have the correct ingredients or the correct process to be able to recreate it. But it was so delicious and I was so full afterwards!

Later that afternoon, Sol had to leave to return to Madrid. After Sol left, Lauren and I definitely took it easy. We took a siesta (a lovely LONG nap), a short walk, and watched the sun set on the coast over the water. It was a very beautiful sunset! That night we also had our last dinner with Sol’s father and actually tired to help him prepare it. We had a lovely time talking with him that evening.

Overall, staying with Sol’s family was absolutely perfect and exactly what we needed on this part of our journey! I was very sad to leave.

I want to be a European

2005-08-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

It is nights like tonight that make me want to become a European… Sol picked us up from the train station after a horrible train ride and just when Lauren was ready to pass out (yes, at this point in our trip Lauren was insanely sick and definitely ready to pass out). But after hoping in her car, everything horrible faded away and I instantly fell in love with Bilbao and Spain.

Bilbao at night seems to be such a beautiful city! There were so many signature bridges and lit up buildings, I loved every one of them. Then we arrived at Sol’s house and was greeted by her wonderful and kind family! IT was exactly what we needed! To be welcomed into a stress free and loving home, just when it seemed everything was going wrong.

That evening they had a small dinner prepared for us. It was so cute and delicious! It was all just so perfect! And her family was so sweet to us! Her father obviously loves company and was constantly talking to us! His love for music was definitely apparent at every moment! Additionally, I found Sol’s house to be absolutely beautiful! Someday I would love for my home to resemble it. It was just so picturesque and so perfectly simple and beautiful in many different ways.

Overall, the first evening I spent with Sol and her family, I became absolutely in love with Spain and the “European” lifestyle!

European Coffee

2005-08-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Before heading to Europe, I knew the coffee shop scene was a lot different than it is here in the states. I knew they took shots of espresso and downed their cappuccino in a few swallows. Before being there, I thought this new coffee shop scene would be charming and fun to experience, however, as it turned out…once I was there I was instead yearning for my grande white chocolate mocha from Starbucks that I could take with me as I wandered down the streets instead of standing a bar chugging my coffee.

However, nowhere I went could I find a coffee shop that would allow me to indulge in my “American” coffee shop routine….until Madrid.

It must have been the funniest thing to watch me get so overly excited about locating my first Starbucks in Madrid. But honestly, I was so incredibly excited! (I am almost ashamed how excited I got over a silly cup of coffee, but obviously not too ashamed or else I wouldn’t be telling the story—oh well) But yes, finding the Starbucks in Madrid definitely was one of the highlights of staying in that city. It gave me a glimmer of hope during the dark times I spent in Madrid and helped to return me to the light hearted and cheerful person I am.

Wow…it is amazing how small things like a silly cup of coffee can do to someone….wow…

The Dreaded Madrid

2005-08-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

I have been avoiding writing about Madrid because I haven’t wanted to write anything bad about it. But the truth is that I did not like Madrid at all. From the moment I stepped off the bus, I knew it wasn’t my type of place and on top of it all….Lauren got very sick while we were there (and that is never fun when you are traveling). To be honest, Madrid was the only place where I have been really home sick and to the point of tears.

However, with all that, there were some definite good times and great parts of Madrid. I visited the Prada Museum, which was absolutely gigantic and very overwhelming! But it had some fantastic paintings by El Gaucho! They are so beautiful and colorful! I really enjoy his work because it is so refreshing from the other paintings of the time. The colors he used are so bright and add to the scenes he is portraying. And I love the way he paints eyes, he brings so much feeling to them…they are incredible!

We also saw the Palace in Madrid which was very beautiful! It reminded me of all the beautiful castles and palaces I saw on my first trip to Europe (those oh so many years ago)! However, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to view the gardens…but health definitely comes over site seeing (and Lauren wasn’t feeling too hot at this point).

Outside Madrid's Palace

The beautiful entry way into the Palace

The Dinning Room

Another Beautiful ceiling...

The morning before we left we also walked through the huge park in Madrid. I really enjoyed the park because I believe I began to miss trees and open grass areas. The park also had a large lake in the center where people were out for their morning workouts on the boats. It was great to see so many people out and about running, rollerblading and walking.

Me in the Park near the big lake.

Overall, I was very happy to leave Madrid, but I think I should go back someday. Because I feel I owe the city a second chance…and I’m sure I’d enjoy it. It just wasn’t meant to be this time around.

Right before we left Madrid, we came upon the Puerta de Europa towers. There are two of these leaning towers (sorry I couldn't get a good enought picture to show them leaning or both of them together for that fact). But these are two buildings that LERA designed. I was so excited to have been able to see them!

Spontaneous Spain

2005-08-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I left Rome for Spain, where honestly we did not know exactly what our plans would end up being. I have a friend, Sol, who lives in the North coast of Spain, in a small town near Bilbao. So we were hoping to spend time with Sol while additionally visiting Madrid sometime over the course of the time we were in Spain.

We arrived in Spain to the nice welcome of Sol's sister Pilar picked us up from the airport and after giving us a quick tour of Santanders, she put us on a bus to Madrid.

Time to use your Imagination

2005-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

"Palatine Hill and Roman Forum"
After our stay in Tuscany we returned to Rome. This time while in Rome we would finally get to see what I had been desperately wanting to see...The Colosseum, Roman Forum and the Pantheon.

We started off the morning by walking through Palatine Hill and wandered around in the rubble, which was once the home of Rome's Caesars. After Palatine Hill, we walked through the Roman Forum, which was even more incredible! I absolutely loved recreating what Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum might have looked like in my mind as I wandered down the cobble paths passing freestanding columns or outlines of a foundation where large buildings used to stand.

An old arena in Palatine Hill

A tree that I found fasinating on Palatine Hill

Me infront of the arena in Palatine Hill

More of the Palatine Hill

The Roman Forum...part of it is still being discovered/uncovered.

The Roman Forum from above

The Roman Forum...again...

I really thought it was incredible to imagine what the place would have been like those many years ago. I definitely loved letting my imagination run wild!

"The Colosseum"
I had been looking forward to the Colosseum for so long! It was one of the main reasons why I so badly wanted to visit Rome on this tour through Europe. And I will definitely have to say that it was difficult to put off the visit for so long while we were traveling around Italy. But finally the time came when we visited the Colosseum...

Me infront of the Colosseum from within the Palatine Hill.

Me inside the Colosseum

A view of the structure that was beneath the Colosseum's floor

Just a cool picture at the Colosseum

The Colosseum...I still think it is incredible that it used to be 3 times as big as it is now.

I thought the Colosseum was absolutely incredible, I believe I was in awe the entire time I was standing inside the incredible structure! Once again I couldn't help but imagine to myself what it would have looked like in all its glory. Not only would it have been three times larger than it stands today, but I'm sure the walls and columns would have been covered and finished with white stone facade with beautiful carvings. It truly would have been an amazing site!

"The Pantheon"
After leaving the Colosseum, Lauren and I once again walked to view the Pantheon. Throughout our many visits to Rome over the month, the Pantheon became to be one of my favorite parts. I loved the fact that you could be aimlessly wandering the streets of Rome and then just run into the Pantheon as you turn one corner. It was one of the main reasons why I fell in love with Rome--because its history so present everywhere throughout the city.

We might have seen the Pantheon many times before, but we hadn't ever entered in. Unfortunately we had the bad luck that it was currently under restoration, so we couldn't get the full effect of the incredible dome. But it was still a beautiful building and I loved how the dome looked so elegant and peaceful with its center opening to the sky above.

Inside the Pantheon

Outside the Pantheon, the facade no longer displays all the glamour and beauty it must have held. But to me it still makes a significant impact because to me the weather worn exterior does not display a building slowly crumbling, but instead displaying its strength and perseverance over the test of time.

To me, Rome IS these fantastic buildings and ruins. It shows how glorious the city once was during its full height of power, but also displays its survival of time.

The Most Insane Sporting Event Ever!

2005-07-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I went to Siena for the main purpose of attending "The Palio." "The Palio" is one of two horse races that take place during the year in Siena and is a huge part of Siena's culture. Siena is broken into contratas (who knows if I spelled that right) and 10 of the 17 contratas have a horse that races. Whoever wins basically has bragging rights for the whole year--it is a BIG DEAL! However, instead for me, "the Palio" was just the most insane sporting event I have ever witnessed!
All the people corralled into the center of the square. Once in there...we were stuck until the races ended.

The Palio takes place in Siena's main square, Il Campo, where they create a race track and the cheap/free seats are in the center. In order to get a good view of the race (to be near the start and the rail) we started our camp out at about 1pm that afternoon--the horse races did not start until after 7pm. So we showed up prepared with lots of water, lunch, and bread for dinner. But we definitely were not prepared for what was instore for us! Luckily we found my friend Robbie and his friends in the crowd, so we passed the time playing cards and talking.

Lauren and me at the Palio

Robbie and Me

About 4 hours before the race was to start the fun began...the rest of the evening would turn into a struggle to keep the standing locations we had been waiting for all day. The first contenders were a group of 4 or 5 italian girls who for at least 2-3 hours were constantly pushing us to get our spots. It was insane because they wanted to take a 2ft x 1ft square area of standing place in front of us and didn't even give up even when we didn't budge. There were even some times where I didn't have to really stand because I could just lean back against them (since they were pushing on me so hard) and stay standing! Finally they gave up and moved down the line, but honestly I do not know why they wanted that spot so much...I mean it wasn't a very big spot to begin with!

Finally the parade began. The parade consisted of the contratas walking around the race track in their original regalia, some of their outfits were very intersting! If I remember correctly, some of the armer had fish, swords or even a hand sticking out of it....very interesting. There were also flag throwers, although we couldn't see them preforming their routine (the curse of being short). The parade also showed off their races horses.

The Parade

One of the Race horses

After the parade, it was finally time for the races to begin. But by this time we were totally smashed against eveyone near us, about 3 fights broke out, and girls were dropping like flies (due to the heat and, I imagine, lack of water) and had to be carried away on stretchers. And right before the race a group of VERY INTENSE italians came barging through our area desperately trying to steal the spots infront of us at the rain (we easily let them through, since we didn't want to start a fight ourselves).

So finally the races were starting, or trying to start because it really didn't start for about an hour later or so. We can only guess about what was actually taking place during this time, because we could not see or understand a thing. But supposedly some of the horses were very restless and it was difficult to get them all to line up in a line (they don't use starting gates or anything). During this time the VERY INTENSE italians were yelling and screaming and who knows what.

However, after 2 false starts, the race started. We were only able to see the horses pass by the three times they circled the track, because we couldn't see anything else. At one point in the race, the very intense italians faces went into shock and the girls were crying hysterically and others were slapping them trying to knock some sense into them! It was so crazy because we had no clue what was taking place.

Finally, the race ended. The contrata I was cheering for, well maybe not chearing...but I was wearing their flag, won and we were let out of our corral full of intense italians and scared tourists (Lauren and I). Once we were out, we went in search for the least croweded area we could find. We ended up taking refuge under Siena's Duomo and sat there thanking God that we were still alive.

When we went back to our hotel for the night, we were actually able to see the race for the first time. In the end, 4 out of the 10 riders got de-horsed, one of them (the one the intense italians next to us were cheering for) got trampled by one, maybe two horses! It was so crazy, but we think that he is alright (at least he is alive).

So yes, that was our experience with "The Palio." For me, this was definitely a once in a life time experience. I am glad to have survived.

A Beautiful Bike Ride

2005-07-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since watching (and reading) "Under the Tuscan Sun" I have been in love with Tuscany! And since watching the movie with the "Cake Night" crew...I have been dreaming of visiting and eventually purchasing a villa out here (someday). So since being in Italy, I knew I had to experience Tuscany more than just the train and bus rides through it.

So I decided to take a bike ride. The nice young lady who ran the hotel was sweet enough to allow me to borrow their bike and gave me directions to the hills. So early on our first morning in Siena, I went off on my bike ride. At first I was a little dissapointed because I could not find a quick way to the Tuscan hillsides, but after riding along the highway with Italians speeding by in their tiny cars and exploring a few driveways (that still offered beautiful views) I found the road I was looking for. I love this picture. I think it is great to see the bridge spanning a river of sunflowers!

The road took me up into the Tuscan countryside, road me past the golden wheat fields, charming villas and through small towns (if you can call three houses grouped together a town). But I had such an amazing time! Tuscany is so beautiful and peaceful! I had such a great time riding past Italians taking their early morning walks and greating them with a friendly "Buonogiorno." I even recieved a friendly honk of a tractor horn as he passed me along one of the smaller roads. It was just absolutly a wonderful bike ride and was exactly what I have been wanting to do for so long!

As I neared the end of my little bike journey (about 1 1/2 hrs into it) I discovered what I thought would be a very quick way back to our hotel. I mean I could see the hotel from the hills above and a road that would take me directly there. So with my time running short, since I was supposed to meet Lauren at 11:00 to head to Siena, I was excited that the way back seemed to be so easy. But as I have learned with most everything over here...it is never as easy as you first believe. Instead of an easy way back I was again confronted with the same construction I had encountered earlier. With a fence blocking my path I decided to avoid obtaining a big fine for entering a construction zone and decided to look for another route back. I mean, you would think there would be a detour somewhere new, but I just could not find it.

Still on the pursuit of a detour I rode up some hills past a few more houses, but I felt as if I was going in the total wrong direction, so I made the decision to just go back the way I had come. It might be a long ride back to the hotel...but I figured at least I knew it would be me back, even if I was an hour late. So as I was starting to head back (walking my bike up the hill), an Italian man drove by. So I waved him down and asked him for a ride to the town. He did not speak much english, but he did understand that I wanted a ride to town and eventually I was able to explain to him what hotel I was wanting to go to. But he was so sweet and put my bike in the back of his truck and drove me to the hotel!

I think I scared the hotel lady when I showed up back at the hotel in a pick-up, since it was her who sent me out alone on a ride. But I quickly explained to her that I was alright, and not lost...I was just running out of time and wanted a quick ride home.

But I had the most fantastic time on the bike ride through Tuscany, I was definitely able to experience it's beauty. And now I even have a funny story to tell about how I had to hitch a ride home...all I can say is only me. It always seems like things like this happen to only me! =)

Happy Birthday to...ME!!!

2005-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, I celebrated my birthday in Italy this year (July 1st)...and I'm now 23 (so I can now feel REALLY old when talking to all the recent high school graduates on their graduation trips..oh well). But it was amazing to spend my birthday in Italy.

The first part of my birthday was spent traveling from Florence to Siena. But I didn't care because I found the Tuscan countryside just so beautiful to watch as we passed by! I absolutely loved the Tuscan Hills as they changed from being covered in trees to golden wheat fields. But each of them offered charming villas resting on the hillsides and in the valleys. It was just so beautiful!
The sunflowers were amazing! We found these on our walk from our Hotel to the small town.

Once in Siena, we had an adventure trying to find our hotel. Due to "The Palio" being the following day, there were no hostels or hotels available within the city of Siena, so we settled for a nice hotel in a nearby village. With some luck and good directions from people we got on the correct bus to the small town. However, once in that town...we had no clue where to go. Once again, we were lucky and found some nice people in the ice cream shop who pointed us down the correct road and told us to walk about a mile or so. So we were sent off out of town walking along a two-lane highway (with hardly any shoulder) carrying our packs. But we did make it and found a great hotel with an incredibly nice family who ran it.

Siena's main square, Il Campo. We had no clue what was instore for us there the following day...

I now can really appreciate a hotel after spending the past two weeks in Hostels with no air conditioners and sharing a room and shower with 4 or more people. So once we were settled and cooled off in our air conditioned room we headed back to Siena to explore. Once in Siena we walked to the Il Campo (town's main square, where the Palio would be held the following day) and to Siena's Duomo. Unfortunatly the Duomo was under restoration, so the front was covered with scafolding. But the inside was extravogant. It was a very beautiful Cathedral with sculptures and beautiful paintings. It was what I expected Florence's Duomo to look like in the inside. It was absolutly beautiful.

The Siena Duomo...unfortunatly it was under reconstruction.

Inside of Siena's Duomo. I loved the colored tiles. It was gorgeous!

After hitting those main spots, we began to wander the streets in search of a telephone to contact my friend Robbie Mitchel (a fellow engineer from OSU who I randomly ran into in the Cinque Terre and is staying in Siena). But of course when you want to find a telephone (at least a working one) you can never! So instead we ended up finding his hostel and stopped by. It was really nice to see Robbie again and catch up. He only had about an hour to spare, so we ended up walking around Siena a bit and got some gelato.

My friend Robbie Mitchell. I still can't believe we ran into him...such a small world.

Once we dropped Robbie off at his hostel again, we found a lovely shaded location under one of the churches. We spend this time relaxing...catching up on postcards and just people watching. After resting our legs we began wandering again and found some nice gardens and a fountain. In this garden was the smallest (and shortest) mazes I have seen. So of course I had to walk through the maze...with all the little kids (the only difference was that I could see over the bushes and they couldn't :) I would definitely have to say that seeing over the bushes definitely takes the fun out of walking through the maze.

For dinner we went to this lovely restaurant that Robbie suggested. He described it as the Restaurant with the view and what a view it did have! We had an amazing view of Siena's Duomo...it was absolutly perfect for my birthday dinner! (Here is the food info specifically for you Aeyoung) And the dinner was the best I had have so far. I have Gnocchi with Truffels which was so delicious and some great white wine! And of course we had to finish the dinner off with dessert (I mean, it was my Birthday!) so we had tiramisu, which was very delicious as well.

Me and Lauren at my birthday dinner!

The view during our dinner...not too bad, eh?

Overall, it was a lovely birthday!

The Renaissance City

2005-07-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

After leaving the Cinque Terre, our next destination was Florence (the renaissance city). However, before Florence we had to stop in Pisa to see the leaning tower. We didn't stay long in Pisa, only long enough to take the corney touristy pictures of us holding the tower up. Yes, even I could not stop myself from taking one of those unoriginal pictures. It was quite funny though because everyone was doing it and it was entertaining to watch the picture taker line up the person with the tower.

Yes...Here is the corney touristy picture at Pisa (I couldn't help myself)

Before leaving Pisa we had one last meal with our new friends, Nora and Rachel (sisters from New Mexico who were our roommates in the Cinque Terre). Nora and Rachel were so much fun! And I'm very excited to say that both of them will be moving to NY this fall. So I hope I will be able to hang out with them before I take off to Stanford.

Lauren, Nora, Rachel and I at Pisa before we went our seperate ways.

Once in Florence, our first stop was the Duomo, Florence's Catherdral. I loved the Catherdral and thought the front was very beautiful. It was covered in white tiles and beautiful sculputures and paintings in the front. I think I found it most interesting mainly because it was so different than all the Cathedrals I have seen in the past. The Duomo is also home to the first dome ever constructed. Lauren and I walked the 473 steps to the top and got a beautiful view of Florence. I still think it is amazing how they constructed such structures back then. The inside of the Cathedral was very simple. It did not have the usual ordaments, sculptures, or paintings covering the walls or ceilings (other than the painting of "the last judgement" underneath the dome. But it was still beautiful with it's simplicity.

The Florence Duomo and the Giotto Tower

The Duomo again

Inside Florence's Duomo...so different than most of the Cathedrals I have seen.

The beautiful painting of the dome

We spent a total of three days in Florence, most of them during the lovely heat wave. So we spent the days wandering the streets and markets (eating gelato), finding cool plazzas to rest in and read books in quiet and great plazzas or cities with beautiful views of the city. While in Florence we visiting the Duomo museum which houses a lot of the original art and facade from the Cathedral and the Accademia and Uffizi museums. The Accademia which housed Michelangelo's "The David" sculpture which was purely fanstatic. You don't recognize it's size until you are right beneath it. And the elegance and power the sculpture displaces is amazing. I also really enjoyed the other unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo. I thought it was very interesting to see his work in progress and be able to really see how he created those amazing sculptures. The Uffizi gallery had a lot of famous paintings (although I can't name half of them or their artist's name). But it was interesting because they had the paintings in cronological order, so you can see how the paintings developed over the years. In the museum was the original work of "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli and another beautiful painting by the same artist. There were also a few others by michelangelo which were so beautiful. Basically by the end of our tour of Florence we had seen all of the turtles (Michelangelo, Rafael, Leonardo, and Donatello).

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge at night

A few of my other favorite places in Florence was the Ponte Vecchio bridge. I thought it was so cool, because it was a purely pedestrian bridge with jewlery shops lining its side walks. And at night it turned into a great hang out where people could come and sit and enjoy the beautiful river and local muscians playing. We were lucky to walk there one night and be able to sit and enjoy a local musician! One night we also saw a mime act in the street! Now that is what Florence is supposed to be all about...the music and artists!

The view of the Duomo from Michelangelo's Landing

Another picture from Michelangelo's Landing of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge

On our last afternoon in Florence, when we were getting tired of the heat...we took refuge in the nearby city of Fiesole. It was a beautiful and simple town on one of the surrouding hills and a great retreat to relax, read and catch up on my journaling. It not only had amazing views of the city...but a lovely breeze to cool us down!

Overall, I thought Florence was great...for it's museums and art gallerys. But for me it was too hot and had way too many bugs! Lauren and I got eaten alive (mainly Lauren though...poor thing has the worst luck!). But we were happy to leave but glad we were able to see some of the world's greatest art.

Me rubbing the Boar's nose...supposedly if you did that you're destined to return to Florence.

Five Charming Cities

2005-06-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

After spending the first two days in Rome, hoped on a train to the Cinque Terre. It was a four hour train ride, but seemed like one hour due to the cute Italian couple next to us and the beautiful Italian country side.

The Italian couple were incredibly cute! The did not speak a work of English and of course I do not speak a word of Italian (expect those that I am lucky to pronounce correctly from our phrase book). But they desperately were trying to communicate with us. Luckly Lauren can speak Spanish, so she could make out some of the words...but most of the time I was completely lost. However, with much struggle and searching within our small (mostly useless) phrase books, we were able to make some conversation with them. For lunch they even gave us some of their fresh fruit and afterwards the lady pulled out some coffee and offered everyone in our car a small cup (basically a shot) of coffee. She told us that it was to "complete the meal." But they were super cute, and made the train ride very enjoyable and entertaining.

The second we stepped off the train in the Cinque Terre, we were struck with the areas beauty. These five towns are the most simple and relaxing and each village are so unique and have so much character! I quickly fell in love with the area! The towns had small beaches and plenty of rocks to swim by or to sun bathe on.

The view of the Cinque Terre when we stepped off the Train

Picture of me in Riomaggiore (the town we stayed in)

While in the Cinque Terre we also made several new friends...and I randomly ran into an old one. The first night in the Cinque Terre we met some Austrailians and New Zealanders. They showed us a great bar on the cliffs overlooking the water, however the best thing about the bar (other than the amazing view) was that wine was only 1 eur!! We also happened to be there for the Festival of St. John the Baptist, where there were fireworks in the town and a small parade.

Lauren and I hanging out with the Austrailians and New Zealanders at the bar

The next day we met some sisters from New Mexico. We actually ended up spending the next two days with them and became pretty good friends. The crazy thing is that both of them will be moving to NY at the end of this summer to start school (one at NYU). So I think we might try to hang out before I leave NY for Stanford.

While in the Cinque Terre we went on a hike that took you between all 5 of the towns. The hike took us about 5 hours, but that consisted of a lot of rests to take in the magnificent views the hike provided and the necessary gelato stops and lunch break in the towns. I loved the hike, I thought it was so much fun and had some amazing views!!! It was defintely the way you really expereince the area! The town of Monterosso, the first stop on our hike

Me, Lauren, Rachel and Nora on the 5 hr hike

One of my favorite pictures from the hike

Manarola from above.

Randomly while we were in one of the towns on our hike, I ran into one of my old friends from OSU Robbie Mitchell. It was so crazy because I was just walking down the street and we both saw eachother and were like...what...is that who I think it is...and it was! So crazy, it is amazing how small this world actually is. So he is staying in Siena (where we will be shortly) during the summer, and ended up taking a weekend trip to the Cinque Terre. So hopefully while we are in Siena we will be able to get together and catch up. Such a small world....

The Cinque Terre was amazing! I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation in a charming area! Someday I hope to go back and spend a longer time there....it was truly an amazing and beautiful place.

A Picture of Riomaggiore
Me in front of Manarola (my favorite of the Cinque Terre Villages)

Don't worry...there are more pictures of the Cinque Terre to come!

Wandering the City

2005-06-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

So far we have spent two whole days in Rome. The first was in the Vatican City. The second at the National Museum of Rome and wandering the city. No, unfortunatly I have not seen the Colosseum yet...but we are to return to Rome within a week and that is definitely on the agenda.

Here are some more photos of our wanderings throughout Rome.

A nice plaza where we ate dinner one night

Another Lovely Plazza

The Trevi Fountain

Me throwing money in the fountain and making a wish to Return to Rome

The Pantheon

The Bath Houses

I believe this is the Imperial Forum

When in Rome...do as the Romans do

2005-06-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Rome is a crazy city...it is certainly a hustle/bustle city with everyone going everywhere and usually fast! The transportation here is insane...especially coming from small old Corvallis! But it is seriously insane, there are so many people driving their tiny cars and scooters! I think I would be scared to death to drive over here!

But the insane traffic itself makes walking around slightly intimindating....at least at first. Lauren and I quickly learned the techniques to crossing the streets in Rome. "When in Rome...do as the Romans do" So Lauren and I did just that and instead of standing on the sides of streets with all the other tourists, we began to act like Romans and just walked across. Because the truth is that they will stop (when you are in the street and not waiting on the sidewalk). So you have to look for a slight break (or at least build up your courage) and step into the street and crossing streets become quite easy.

It becomes even easier if you can follow an Italian across the road because they are fearless! And even better is an Italian priest! Lauren and I were trying to cross a very busy street near Capitol Hill and found an Italian priest ready to cross. So we hurried up and closely followed him across the street. When we reached the "safe zone" in the center of the street we paused to consider stopping to take a photo of Capitol Hill, but decided it wasn't worth missing out on the easy of crossing the street behind the priest. I mean honestly, no Italian is going to hit a priest...so we were golden!

So just remember..."When in Rome, do as the Romans do"

Here is a picture of how small some of their cars are!!

Vatican City

2005-06-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

On our first day in Rome we decided to start with the best--Vatican City.

Getting to Vatican City proved to be our first struggle. Public transportation in Rome is quite different than anywhere else I have travel, and especially for Lauren (and throw in there that everything is in Italian...it just makes it that much more confusing). However after lining up in several wrong lines, we bought our tickets for the metro and headed to the stop. But the fun didn't stop there! I have never been on such an incredibly crowded subway ever! We were honestly smashed up against everyone...no room to move. We even had to get off the train two stops before the Vatican exit because Lauren thought she was going to pass out. So after a bottle of water and resting on a bench we were prepared once again to withstand the crowded subway to get to our destination.

Finally we arrived and after a short wait in lines we entered the Vatican Museum. The museum was amazing with everything from Egyptian artifacts to hundreds of statues, paintings, tapestrys, and murals. Of course I always found the architectural and decoration of the building itself to be the most beautiful and often found myself gazing at the ceiling. But it was a great museum where I could have easily spent a whole day. The tour through the museum ended with the amazing Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was a lot different that I expected. I honestly do not know what I expected...but basically it was a large room covered in the amazing art work of Michelangelo. It is very difficult to describe how beautitful it really is. The "Genesis Scene" is simple amazing. I really found the depictions of God seperating the light from the dark and and him creating the universe particularly interesting and beautiful. The Last Judgment mural was also so amazing. It was so incredible the way he showed the judgement day. Just being in the Sistine Chapel was very powerful and moving...it brought me to tears. It was simply incredible.

After we exited the Vatican Museum we headed to St. Peters Basilica. Now that place is incredible!!!! I was in awe the whole time I was inside! I now know why it is the center of the Roman Catholic faith...nothing comes close to it's beauty nor how much you feel God's presence. Once again I was moved to tears and sitting down to pray in there was an extrordinary expereince. I could never try to describe St. Peters Basilica's beauty to you and give it justice...just take look at my pictures.

Lauren and I in the Vatican Museum Courtyard

Me infront of St. Peters Basilica in The Vatican City

Inside of St. Peters Basilica...

Simply INCREDIBLE!!!

There are just so many more beautiful pictures I want to show!!

Over the Big Blue Ocean...

2005-06-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

Well...I'm finally over here! After 5 years of plotting, I actually made it. On Monday, June 20th, I flew out of LAX with my friend Lauren to Europe!

The original plan was actually for me and my best friend, Jamie, to travel together...but due to recent events (specifically her marrage) she wasn't able to make it. But luckily I talked to my friend Lauren, a girl I met through PEER (Earthquake Nerd Trips) and currently is getting her Ph.D. from UCSD, and she happily decided to join me!

This is a picture of me after the long flight waiting to catch our train to Rome.

I would have to say the flight was not the most exciting nor funnest experience to go through...especially when you are stuck in the middle between two people who are sleeping the whole time--It makes it rather difficult to walk around or even make a trip to the bathroom! But oh well, we survived and easily made it to Rome. And here we are in Rome for the next two and 1\2 days.

It is quite amazing to be surrounded by so much history!

The Order of the Engineer

2005-06-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 11th I took part in the Order of the Engineer Ceremony at OSU. I, along with many of my friends and collegues, recieved a steel ring symbolizing and took an oath declaring our dedication to the engineering profession. It was amazing to be among so many young and old engineers all who were declaring their passion and committment to the profession.

I first came across the Order of the Engineering Ceremony in my research for a paper on the "Quebec Bridge Collapse." I found the ceremony so fascinating and especially important for young engineers entering the profession that I knew I want to take part in one. So what did I do... I decided to organize one for OSU. It definitely took a lot of work, but with a lot of help from my friends and professors, the ceremony was a huge success.

Here is the 2005 Order of the Engineer Inductees at OSU

It was really an incredible site to see so many deans, professors and graduates turn out to publically display their dedication to the profession. However it was just as amazing to see the reaction of the families and friends of those partaking in the ceremony. All of that made organizing the ceremony worth it and I am proud to say that it will become a tradition at OSU and will now take place annually.

For those of you who don't know about the Order of the Engineer...here is a little history for you. The Order of the Engineer started from the Canadian Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. The Ritual of the Calling began in 1922 when Canadian engineers wanted to install in young engineers the understanding of the importance and social significance of their profession. At the ceremony the inductees receive a steel ring, which was originally made from steel from a fallen structure, to be worn on the pinky finger of their writing hand. "The ring symbolizes the pride which engineers have in their profession, while simultaneously reminding them of their humility. The ring serves as a reminder to the engineer and others of the engineer's obligation to live by a high standard of professional conduct."

Here is a pictures of a few of my friends and fellow inductees ( Ae-young Lee, Grahme Williams, Javier Moncada).
We were showing off our recently recieved "Engineer Rings"

Graduation

2005-06-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it has happened. On Friday June 10th, I graduated from Oregon State University. For some it was just the night of the 2005 OSU Civil Engineering Graduation Ceremony, however for me it was a night to remember. I was given the honor of representing the Civil Engineering Students as one of the evening's student speakers. Additionally I was chosen by the CCEE faculty as "Outstanding Civil Engineering Student of the Year." Did I already say it was a great night?

The rest of the night was filled with visiting with close family and friends. It was so great that a lot of my family was able to make it, it really meant a lot that so many of them made the trip. It was nice to have everyone there to help celebrate with me.

The next day I had my graduation party where my family had the opportunity to meet my close friends at OSU. It was nice to be able to introduce my family to all those people they had heard about in my stories. And it was a good time to say goodbye to so many good friends.

Me and my grandma Donna

Me with my "Aunt" Sig-Linda and my "cousin" Marie.

Me with my family...I owe so much to them all

Me with my two friends Chris Prahl (left) and Mikal Mitchel (right).
Don't I look cute? I had just returned from my last indoor soccer game
(yes, the game was friday night after graduation...and yes I already know I'm crazy)

My good friends Cynthia and Dave. I went to high school with Cynthia...it was so great to
have her at OSU these last few terms. They are getting marring this August! I can't wait!

Me and my big bro Scott

Me and my good friend Courtney Carter. Courtney is in NY and I'm so excited to be able to
hang out with her again this summer while I'm over there for my internship!

Memorial Weekend

2005-06-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

This last Memorial Weekend I spent in Leavenworth, WA rock climbing with a few of my good friends from Portland. Yes, I actually spent a whole weekend not studying! It was a first for me, but I would have to say that I deserved it. =)

The view from my tent...not bad huh?

Saturday morning my friends Kim, Spencer and I set out from Portland on the long drive to Leavenworth. With not too bad of traffic, we made it there by 1pm. Once in Leavenworth, we headed directly to the boulders. Meeting up with some of Kim and Spencer’s other good friends (Joe, Bridget, Katie, Pete, John, Josh, and many others) we started climbing some great problems.

My good friends Kim and Spencer

Katie, Kim and I started working some scary slab problems. They were slightly scary, but fun...I topped out on most of them. Then we went to work on some other awesome problems, one with a dyno move that I never stook (oh well, it was still fun trying). Later in the day we all went to the river to clean up and cool off. But the water was freezing!!! It reminded me of coldpools for soccer training. That night was spent eating and telling stories and jokes around the fire.

The next day was mostly spent climbing again with a dip in the river that afternoon (since it was so hot, we had no trouble dunking ourselves in the freezing water). Later in the afternoon a crazy storm rolled through, so we opted to head into town for our dinner. We found a german restaurant with a variety of food options (I chose to go with an authentic german meal). It was nice to walk through Leavenworth...it is a very cute town.

The next day I didn’t climb much, I believe I was more worried about the long drive I had ahead of me. I left Leavenworth by about 1pm and arrived in Corvallis around 7. Overall, it was a great trip with great friends!

Yes...that is what we do. Walk around in the woods looking for rocks to climb. =) What is not to love?

Bridget climbing...she is so amazing! Maybe that'll be me someday....

This Fall

2005-06-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

This Fall instead of entering the profession as most of my peers are at this time. I will be continuing my education at Stanford University to get a Masters Degree in Structural Engineering.

Deciding upon a masters program was actually quite a stressful process, but after laying out all the facts and relying on my instincts, I decided Stanford was the place for me. With that I had to turn down offers (some with $$) from MIT, UT-Austin, and Cal-Berkeley.

At present I plan on taking the 5 quarter course in their Masters Program. This will give me an extra 6 months at Stanford, a slightly lighter class load and allow me to take part in many other activities other than my studies.

Picture of Stanford...Isn't it Beautiful?

I can’t easily express how excited I am to be attending Stanford next fall. When I visited, everything seemed perfect. I felt it really fit my personality and career goals. On top of it all...it is a gorgeous campus! And I definitely won’t be able to complain about the weather! =)

At Stanford I will be living in the Rain Houses and will have 4 roommates (yes, 4...that shall be interesting, but should be fun). I will give you more information about my Stanford experience as it takes place.

Summer Plans

2005-06-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, my summer plans… All I can say is that this summer is going to be amazing. I will be jumping from one big adventure to the next. It will be very hard to return to school in the fall after all this, but I’m sure I will manage.

First on my list is a trip to Europe. I will be traveling through Italy, Spain and a little bit of France with my friend Lauren Stewart (she’s from UCSD, another fellow structural/earthquake engineering student). We leave June 20th and return to the states on July 20th.

After returning home for a week, I will ship off to New York City. Once in New York, I will be starting an internship with Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA). LERA is a structural engineering firm located in downtown NY. They design some of the world’s most famous and beautiful (in my opinion) buildings. Check out their website at: http://www.lera.com

A few photos of LERA's previous projects...

I am very excited to live in the city. I don't quite know where I am living yet...but I’ll find somewhere. But definitely let me know if you want to come and visit! Everyone is welcome to crash at my place! We can totally have a blast touring the city!

Graduation Nears...

2005-06-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am finally going to graduate from college. It has only been 5 years in the running, but hey most everyone graduates in 5 years now-a-days.

OSU Memorial Union

But so many things have taken place over these 5 years I have spent at Oregon State University. Not only have I found a career that I have a passion for, but I have grown and changed so much as an individual.

It is funny how such a simple (yet important) decision can drastically change your life. Attending OSU sent my life in such a crazy direction, and definitely a direction I would have never expected. My original plan was to attend OSU to play for the OSU Women’s Soccer Team and had no clear major in mind. But my path quickly changed as I discovered civil engineering and dived head first into pursuing that degree and career.

Since then, I quit soccer, became overly involved in the ASCE Student Chapter on campus (eventually becoming President), took part in 2 CECOP internships in Portland, completed my first structural design (a remodel of a fire station in Portland), and here I am 5 years later preparing to graduate and move on to my next adventures.

My time spend at OSU has been so amazing! I meet so many amazing people and made life-long friends. I will definitely miss it here in little old Corvallis, but I am also excited to leave because now there are just too many exciting things to look forward to!

The Beginning...

2005-06-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

As graduation nears, my adventures come out from my dreams and into reality.

In a week an a half I will close a chapter in my life that has been five years in the making. My time spent at OSU will be over, but never forgotten.

The exciting thing is that this is just the beginning...and so much more will be to come!