Paris in the Fall

Paris was not my city. I did all the required stuff (up the Tour Eiffel, climbed up Notre Dame, toured the Louvre... you name it, I pretty much had it covered) but was remarkably uninspired by it. Plus I got sick, like the second day in. Don't get me wrong, I still had a blast, but I could never have spent more than a month living there.

I went to visit my little sister Amanda, who is studying there this fall. I got a place to stay and a free tour guide, which was great, but she had these annoying little things called "classes" which kept getting in the way of my sightseeing, so while she was busy, I wandered Paris by myself. I spent HOURS in the Louvre and was horribly disappointed by the Mona Lisa, but it's okay, because I still found my two favorite statues (Cupid and Psyche, above, and Nike, not pictured here) plus the Hermaphrodite, which is a trip.
One of my other solitary excursions produced the picture below, which I discovered, when I posted all the pictures on facebook, was everyone's favorite. I hadn't thought much of it until then. I snapped the photo in just a second, because the kid's dad was right behind him, so I had to get the shot before he stepped into the frame. This kid wasn't actually being all cute, he was screaming "QUA! QUA!" at the ducks, who ignored him.

Everyone takes this picture when they climb up Notre Dame, but I didn't want to pay for the postcard, so I just took it myself. Not bad, eh? Even got the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Halloween was a blast. We went to Asterix Land. I don't know how cool it is normally, but it was awesome for Halloween. Everything was lit up, and even though I couldn't go on the terrifying rollarcoaster, since I was sick enough that the Metro made me want to heave cookies, I did go on a few other rides, including one that's just the coolest swingset ever. You sit down and pull the little bar down so you don't fly out, then the whole set swings you around up in the air so you're flying in circles.
The highlight was the haunted house. Unlike every other haunted house I've ever been in, this one had people inside and out, so you weren't even safe from flesh-eating zombies once you made it through the house. They also didn't have that silly "don't touch people" rule, which meant that at one point, an undead clown zombie came up behind me through the fog and the blinding strobe light and put his hands around my neck to choke me. Best haunted house ever.
I've discovered that I really like silhouette pictures. The one above is Alessandra, one of Amanda's friends that I really liked. The other two who went with us were Mike, who was a doll, and Kelsey, her roomie.
The picture below had to be taken in about five seconds, because it was my last sight-seeing day, and I was driving Amanda nuts, taking pictures of EVERYTHING.


Even though she'd done it before, Amanda went all the way up the Eiffel Tower with me. ALL the way up. It's a long way up. Apparently Amanda didn't know I'm afraid of open high spaces. We cheated and took the elevator, and Amanda teased me about the death-grip I had on her hand on the way up. Despite my fear, I did manage to take several great pictures, but this one I took after reaching solid ground again was my favorite. The policeman standing at the exit when I snapped this giggled at me. I must have looked a bit rattled. Worth doing though, because now I never have to do it again!


The best part was just hanging out with my little sister. She was absolutely in her element, and I loved seeing it.


This last picture is my favorite, and my favorite story from Paris--
There's a tiny pond in a garden in front of the Louvre that is dark and murky so you can't see more than an inch into the water. These dubvious depths, which seem like they couldn't support even scum life (seriously, this water was really gross), hide giant killer demon fish.
I know, I didn't believe it either.
Amanda was trying to prove it by luring these monsters to the surface with muffin bits, but this one pesky seagull kept swooping down and stealing them, so Amanda got down on her knees at the edge of the cesspool and valiently attempted to protect her precious bread crumbs.
Funniest thing ever. I was laughing so hard, I could barely get this picture, because my hands (and thus the camera) were shaking uncontrollably.

Alice in ... Paris

Okay, so I know I've missed a lot, but it wasn't good stuff, so it's not important anyways.
Tonight Mom is helping me finish sewing my costume, because I leave for Paris in the morning!
A week in Paris! I'm going to visit my little sister who's studying there this Fall. And I'm spending my favorite holiday there!
Halloween... the one time of the year where you are EXPECTED to dress crazy, and then told to go out and take candy from strangers. Gotta love it.
So I'm being Alice in Wonderland, and when I told my little sister that, she informed me she was planning to be the Queen of Hearts. How perfect is that?! I tried to dye my hair blond for it, but my hair apparently refused. So basically what the dye did was take all the brown out of my hair, and leave all the red that I didn't even realize was there in the first place. Whatever. Alice will just be a little off color.
Post and pictures when I return, wish me luck!

Rizzo's Jail Stint

Rizzo got in a fight recently, and had his face all chewed up. It abscessed, swelled, the hair started falling away, and that's when we could finally see how much damage had been done (he's a long hair cat. Unless he's dripping blood, all you can really see is fluff, and he hadn't been showing any sign of pain, even snuggling his face into my hand).
I took him to the vet, and they kept him overnight to clean him up. Well, actually now they've kept him two nights. I know he's fine now (abscesses are a messy business) but I still don't feel right when he's not home with me. Also Rizzo hasn't gotten more than a scratch in a fight in several years now. He's a big kitty (more than 15lbs, none of it fat) and he's been neutered, so other cats don't generally start fights with him. Apparently now there's a dog (or coyote, we know we have those around) that I have to worry about.
On the other hand, if he HAS to get in fights, at least he's winning.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to bring Rizzo home.

Life Sucks. Here's a Sandwich.

...I think it would taste bitter and delicious all at once.

Sandwich Fair! Other than of course the Highland Games and Halloween, this is the highlight of my year. No, not a fair centered on sandwiches, but a little country fair in a town called Sandwich (which is awesome, and I almost want to live there just so I can say I live in a sandwich).
Of course James went with me, as he has every year since highschool. I suppose that wouldn't be all that surprising of a tradition-- fairs and friends, makes sense, right?-- except that the fair, for him, is a form of torture. Why, you ask? Because I like rides, the spin-y-er the better, and James likes his stomach to stay where it is. He KNOWS that every time he goes to the fair I am going to make him go on those rides, and yet he still goes every year. The past few years, he's brought his girlfriend Vicki along so that SHE can go on the rides with me, but this year she bailed.
Her loss, because we went on a helicopter! Helicopters don't really fly, they're just so ugly the earth repels them. They ARE, however, amazing. James let me sit in the front with the pilot (headphones and everything! The pilot was very amusing.) so I got the most incredible view, with glass all around me and even right up to my feet.

Kate-- I think you should take Mom to the fair.

They also had a new ride this year! Like my favorite one (the one James refuses to go on ever again, he says) only it drops you, AND you twist around upside-down. James refused to go on, so obviously the entire time waiting in line, and then once he was strapped in, he was informing me that he hated me. It's a lie; he totally loves me, ESPECIALLY since I force him to prove he's tougher than he thinks he is. If I didn't torture him with fair rides, the fair wouldn't be as much fun.


Oh, and because I'm lovely, the night before, I gave him a little bottle of Ouzo and another of Absinthe, and made him shoot both, no chaser. Yeah, I'm a total sweetheart.

End of the day, we hit up the bee stand (another tradition), and then James's mom, whom I adore, made us dinner, and his two labs (Seamus and Sully) sat on me and tried to lick my eyeballs.

And now, for your moment of Zen:

Not a Great Weekend

Quick update:

Oscar died on Friday.
LSAT was on Saturday (I didn't pass out or throw up, so that's pretty good), but I won't find out how I did until the 19th.
The one good note was dinner tonight at my sister's.
Let's hope tomorrow is better.

The Stonewall Series

Spent the past few days at Dad's. I told him about how I'd gone to Maine and my friend Matt had let me shoot his shotgun, but that I hadn't liked it since it kicked. Well, apparently now I've probably developed a permanent flinch, so Dad took me out for some remedial shooting practice. I don't know whether to hit Matt or thank him for permanently ruining me but at the same time making my dad take me shooting (finally!).


We spent the better part of two days out at Jackson Pond. The first day Dad wanted to clear out some rocks out of the well, so he stripped down and hopped in. In case some of you aren't aware, the water was like ice. I can't decide if he's tough, or just crazy.

Ajax and Dad discovered a ground hornet nest, and both suffered several stings. The bees actually chased Dad for a long ways, even going up his shirt, which was rather mean of them. Dad then had enough bee stings to test out several different remedies. Egg membrane apparently works the best, while baking soda does nothing. I don't know what else he tried. The weirdest thing was that immediately after escaping the bees, he said to me "Let's go find them." "What? You just found them! Why would you go BACK?!" I have no doubt that Dad will get his revenge and take out the whole nest, but there was no way I was going back LOOKING for a stirred up nest of angry hornets. You're on your own with that one.


Day two had less (read: none) shooting, but more wandering on my part. Dad borrowed a back-hoe and proceeded to play around on that, while I wandered around taking pictures, because that's what I love to do.

MOST PEOPLE, when they go for a walk to take pictures, manage to stay fairly clean. Not me. I managed to get scraped up and bruised, and come home covered in dirt and dog slobber. I got some good pictures though, so I guess there's that.




New Hampshire Highland Games! One of my two favorite annual events in New Hampshire. Mom and I went on Sunday, the last day. Most of the fun stuff happens on Saturday, but that's also the most crowded/most expensive day. We did everything-- watched the music, dancing, competitions, ate the food (got harassed by bees), and basically just wandered around for a few hours. It's an ADD kid's dream: There's always a thousand things going on, so you can run from one thing to another.

I bought two cds from non-traditional type bands. One is Albannach, which has five drummers and a bagpiper they call "Bullfrog," who can puff out his neck like you would not believe! The other cd is from a group called "Red Hot Chili Pipers," and they're... interesting. If you've never heard Queen played on the bagpipes, you're missing out. They were definitely showmen.
Also made sure to find the MacLean and MacFarlane tents.

Oh yeah, and totally got mooned by a dancer when he spun right as the wind kicked up. Oh yeah, that's on video. Poor guy. (Look to the right.)


The (rather cute) guy manning the MacFarlane tent informed us that the wind had been really bad on Saturday, saying he had one hand holding onto the tent, and the other holding onto his kilt. I think Mom was a little embarrassed, but I thought he was a riot.


Great weekend.

Oops

I've been really bad at posting lately, and pathetically enough it is because I can't find my card reader, so have no new pictures. What good is a story without pictures?
So while I've waited in vain for my card reader to magically appear or else my pictures to magically transfer to my computer, I have missed posting about a Rohdenburg family reunion, my friend's rib-cracking surgery, my little sister's sojourn to France, and my trip to Maine.
Since the last thing happened most recently (I just drove back last night) that's what I'm going to write about, despite the lack of pictures.
I went up to Maine to visit a friend of mine (Matt), taking "my Australian" (my GPS has an Australian accent) with me, and so Matt refused to email me directions, saying I should test out my GPS. I found out later he didn't email me directions because he didn't think I could read a map, because "most girls can't." Kate and Amanda should rest assured that I quickly called him out on being a sexist schmuck, and got better directions for the trip home. All in all, the trip cost me SEVEN TOLLS. Seven tolls in a stick-shift car with roll-down windows. I am NOT that coordinated. I told Matt he owes me big-time. I'm making him go visit Nedra with me. I haven't told Nedra yet.
While I was there, we went out shooting (I think to make up for the five tolls I hit on the way up, which I insisted on grumbling about) and I shot a shotgun for the first time. Screw that. My shoulder KILLS. Plus I have much better aim with rifles and handguns.
We also went out to dinner twice, went to the movies (Inglorious Basterds) went to the bar... but most of the time we just hung out. Aside from the ridiculously long car rides, all in all not a bad trip.

Home Alone II

So I've been house sitting and am halfway through. This is the first time I've been alone since I left Cyprus. Crazy, huh?
Well, not ENTIRELY alone...

--My little demon kitty is very affectionate and has been alternately snuggly and trying to bleed me out (my lower legs have been scratched to hell, because she likes to climb up and sit on my lap when I eat). In fact, this very second she's sleeping on my chest with her head tucked up in my neck. I'm trying to teach her to come when I call her name, like Rizzo does, and so far she's managed okay, but I'm not sure if she's coming because I call her, or because she GENERALLY follows me around unless she gets distracted.
--Amanda's dog has been kind of sulky. He took off once (yeah, that was a mistake on his part) and since then has been even following me into the shower, sleeping on my stomach, under my feet when I'm on the couch (hiding from my kitten, because she terrorizes him).
--Amanda's cat is not my favorite at the moment, but we'll not go into that.
--My baby seems to have adjusted to the kitten's presence, but has figured out that when I come home from work, I am too exhausted by the dogs and the kitten for immediate attention, so he chills outside until I have about an hour to deal with everything else.
--Mom's dog comes out for meals and once in a while to go outside, but otherwise skulks under the bed.
--The hamsters, unfortunately, are the ones suffering most from my exhaustion. I haven't held Oscar all week, and Amanda's hamster has been fed, but that's the extent of our interaction.

I feel awful about it, but I'm a very introverted person. Usually that doesn't extend to animals, but after working all day, I just can't seem to deal with three very demanding animals and then a bunch of passive ones without overlooking someone. I guess I'm just spread too thin.

I have to admit, it's a little weird for me. I can't figure out what's wrong. I've always loved animals, and I've worked with groups of kids and animals before, and not had such a limited patience. I don't understand why I can practically run a horse barn with 25 horses, and direct a camp with 50 kids, but I can't seem to come home from work and handle a handful of dogs and cats.

♫ I Believe in a Thing Called Love ♥

So David and Katy's wedding was lovely, but the highlight had to be Nate (David's brother) 's follow up to his Best Man Speech (how could I not have gotten the speech on video?!), which unfortunately I'm having issues posting at the moment, so it will have to be added later.

Since Katy's favorite color is pink, bridesmaid's dresses and groomsmen's vest were all in pink. David's father was NOT matching, because he said the bride's father had refused, so he felt a bit left out. Keith sang at the wedding (and did a great job), David had to sing to get his bride back (at the reception)... and then Nate had to sing, so that we could all be amused.

I'll try (for the 800th time) to post the pictures and videos later, so keep an eye out for this to be updated!

The True Value of Family

Apparently, there is none.


Notice: this post has been deleted because it shows my sister in an unflattering light by telling the events of last Sunday, and my mother demanded I take it down. Censorship hits again.

Oscar Not-So Wild(e)

So today's story begins on a dark and stormy ni-- err, morning, actually. I was driving home from Dover, and it was just pouring rain. Twice I nearly had to pull over and wait it out, because it was raining too hard to see anything. Finally I made it about halfway, which is Concord, and pulled into -- you guessed it-- Petco. To wait out the storm, of course! While I was there I figured I MIGHT AS WELL check out their dwarf hamsters, I mean, I had time to kill anyways, right? So one of the workers brought out two little "surprises" for me to look at, about 6 or 7 weeks old. The first one was an itty bitty little white thing, that flipped out when I picked it up and nearly took a 5 foot plunge trying to run out of my hands. Hamster number two was not so pretty, but snuggled up in my hand for a nap, and didn't even freak out when I flipped it over to check the gender (being so young and tiny, neither of us could actually tell, but since my pets always end up being boys, even when they're not supposed to be, I'm guessing boy.) Anyway, Oscar is probably the sweetest hamster I've had yet (and the tamest!), and I'm attempting to train him to be really good at being just scooped up out of his cage. So far, so good. He pretty much lets me do anything I want without too much fuss, even when it means waking him up. He even climbs right onto my hands.




Yesterday, when Amanda's dog Max took off to play at the neighbor's (again) he doomed me. The neighbor's cat had had kittens: three tiger males... and the runt, a feisty little black female. Since I apparently have a thing for off-colored runty kittens (Rizzo being the only blonde out of an all-grey litter), Bailey came home with me, and proceeded to cuss out every single one of our other pets. Considering Rizzo has about 14 lbs on her, she's pretty gutsy. She's also got a mouth on her. She growls, hisses, has the loudest purrs... and yowls non-stop at 6:30 in the morning until I go pick her up. We have to work on this morning business.
Speaking of Rizzo, the neighbors apparently think that "Rizzo did it," as they so elegantly put it. Much as I'd love to have kittens with Rizzo's genes, he ummmm lacks the equipment. Bailey is not Rizzo's progeny.



Rizzo is NOT happy with me. He didn't care much about Oscar, but this new kitten business... well, I'm hoping he'll forgive me soon.

The Boys Are Back In Town

My LAST social foray was the fourth of July party at Ryann and Crystal's. By the time I got there (after work and the fireworks), Ryann was dead, Crystal had walked into a sliding glass door, and the weird alcoholic concoction that everyone there had been drinking was gone (thank god. No way was I touching that stuff! Tip for redneck drinks: If it isn't beer, it probably is going to either kill you or make you wish it had). Stevie was around for a bit, but then ditched me to rescue someone whose truck had broken down, and then Mike showed up (didn't recognize me) and drunkenly hauled both Crystal and Ryann off to pass out on the couch. That left me with the rest of the party, whom I didn't know... and Kenny.
Kenny I had only ever known as my friend's boyfriend, and I had never liked him. Now they'd broken up, so I didn't even have her around to keep us civil. Awkward?
Actually, it turned out pretty well. While I still trust my first impressions, as I found in Cyprus, sometimes when I give someone a chance to make a second impression, it's a better one. Kenny and I (and Ryann's stepbrother) ended up just chilling around the fire until almost 4am, and it was actually a good time. Kenny and I even had a glow-stick fight that left us both nearly brighter than the fire that Ryann's stepbrother kept sticking his hands in. So it wasn't a waste of a party even though everyone I knew bailed early, and it gave me a chance to re-evaluate someone.
And the last of the boys for today; I brought home a new little baby! Dwarf hamster, that is. After three days of no idea, he's finally been named Oscar. When I get him to sit still long enough to get a good shot, I'll put up pictures and a full post on him.

That's Not What I Meant!

Story of my life. And it has now infiltrated my sleep, so even in my dreams I'm awkward and misunderstood. And klutzy. Go figure :(

On the upside, I have just reread AND rewatched Alice in Wonderland (which I absolutely love... I'd love to fall into some sort of ridiculous nonsensical world) and found out that they're doing a NEW movie with Johnny Depp as the mad hatter. It's coming out around my next birthday, so happy birthday to me! If I'm in New England, I already have a date to go with me :D

Thought for the day: I really hate the question "so what did you do all day?" Why is it that that question immediately serves to do nothing but put the person it is directed to on the defensive? It is not idle curiosity that prompts that particular phrasing, but a demand that the person justify their own existence over the past 24 hours. I don't like justifying my existence. What did I do all day? Maybe I just chilled or read a book or something. Why shouldn't I? It's MY day. Maybe that's exactly what I wanted to do with it. Or maybe I just don't feel like telling about each of my various activities. What if nothing I did makes for a good story? What if I was really busy and productive all day, but it's incredibly boring? "Nothing" seems like a better story than a detailed play-by-play of a dull, average day.








I want to go back. :( I miss the random parties that seemed to be just wherever we were. What did you do today? Nothing, but it was an amazing nothing, and we had a blast.

Priorities

What does it say about me when I get up in the morning, take a nice shower, put on clean clothes... and then immediately go snuggle up on the floor with the dog to read a book? I spend 15 minutes getting clean, and two seconds to get covered in dog hair and slime again. Now, most people would probably think "oh man! Now I have to go get clean again!"
But all I could think, other than "this is a very interesting book" was "For once, I am exactly where I want to be."
What does this say? It says that I ought to be a hermit, and just live out in the woods somewhere with a bunch of animals. Unfortunately, there are very few hermits who have made lucrative careers out of refusing to join society (in fact, I can't actually think of ANY at the moment) and even worse, if my future pets are anything like the dog I was snuggling with, being a hermit is going to be an expensive lifestyle. Bummer, man. I guess it's back to the rusty knife and dumpster.

Let's Get Political

I adore Rachel Maddow.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

and another of my favorite women on tv



I was planning on putting up more stuff, but today just wore me out completely.

The Antidote

Had a bad night last night, so I'm making myself feel better by looking at pictures I've taken since getting back to NH.
...which reminds me, in addition to all the other stuff I need to get done, I have to put all my pictures on discs so they stop taking up so much room on my computer. I have thousands just from the last few months. No exaggeration: I literally have over 4500 pictures from my trip abroad.

Back to Boring

Now that my adventures abroad are over, it's back to the boring stuff.
Unfortunately, that means that even when I'm busy, there isn't much interesting to report.
For instance:
1) My new car has insurance! Yay! And it's registered, and got a date with the mechanic for (another) inspection! And my old car has a for-sale sign, which is so depressing, but needs to be done. Anyone need a 1993 Honda Accord? Works great, just got inspected, great tires and everything... tell your friends.
2) Still searching for grad schools and programs, and started my app to the Peace Corps (scary thought. I'm HOPING that I'm accepted into a forestry/wildlife program. I'm not a huge fan of people, but working with animals and conservation for two years sounds like something I could handle.)
3) My room above the garage is still neither cleaned nor even finished. Every time I try to organize something, I make a bigger mess. And as soon as I start to get really productive, the insects start in. I've had gigantic demon killer hornets that refuse to die (tried three times to squish it), gargantuon godzilla spiders that vanish into sweatshirts (said sweatshirt is still outside on the railing. I'll eventually throw it in the washer when I think Godzilla has left it), and swarms of moths (okay, not really scary, but STILL!). Rizzo (for those of you who don't know him, he's my favorite boy-- a gorgeous blonde cat who is better trained than many dogs) sleeps up there with me at night, but although he will defend me from hyper-active ankle-biter dogs, apparently he feels I can fend for myself against insects, and just watches my efforts at de-bugging my room with a bored expression. He DOES snuggle with me afterwards to make me feel better though, so I guess that's something.
4) I have yet to go hang out with my friends. I DID go fourwheeling about the day after I got back to Sunapee, I dropped off a present and chatted for about 20 minutes with one friend, and another of my friends stopped by to say hello for five minutes, but other than that I've been incredibly anti-social.

And so it goes. Babysitting for a family friend tonight, working for a couple hours tomorrow...

I want to go back to Cyprus :(

London: Take 2

So I went back to London, and basically played nanny to this kid:
Most of you know him. For those of you who don't, that's my seven-year-old stepbrother, Rudy.
We went exploring again, wandering around, did the bus-tour thingy, saw a bunch of museums, and went searching through a 5-story toy store looking for Dr. Who action figures. Because what is England for, if not Dr. Who action figures?





While I plan on living in my Gaudi gingerbread house most of the time, I think this ought to be my summer home/ tree house





I was smart enough to bring an umbrella to London
... and dumb enough to forget it in the hotel. We spent an entire day walking around in the freezing cold rain.


We didn't get to have tea with the Queen, because Rudy kept wiping his hands on his pants (first after eating chocolate, and then cheese. You aren't allowed to have tea with the Queen covered in cheese and chocolate.) but still managed to see the changing of the guard (not as exciting as I'd hoped) and the horse guards. ...and some carriages with the windows closed so you couldn't tell if anyone interesting was inside.


So I'm back in NH now, and attempting to figure out what comes next. So far, in my attempt to organize all my stuff, I've made a gigantic mess, and now it's downpouring, so at least my car will be nice and clean.