Last weekend was the Chemistry Department's rafting trip. A bunch of us loaded up the cars to make the 6 hour trek to Millenoket, ME. That's right, we decided to go rafting in Maine...that's pretty far north, and I don't want to exaggerate or anything, but it was effin FREEZING on the river.
I think it would have been ok if we had nice weather, but when we left the base camp to go to the river (the Penobscot River) it was about 60 degrees and cloudy. By the time we broke for lunch it was ~55 degrees and rainy. That means the weather was crappier, folks; it also means that my hands were frozen while I was trying to eat lunch. Everyone was shivering.
In their infinite wisdom, the rafting company we used decided that within 5 minutes of getting back in the river after lunch we would go over a class 5 rapid (read: a 10 foot water fall cleverly nicknamed "lose your lunch falls"). I managed to keep my lunch, but then we did this thing called "surfing" in which we paddle the boat into a "hole" at the bottom of the falls and basically get stuck there trying not to fall in until the river decides to give us a break or our guide can steer us out of it. In our case we had to get another boat to bump us out of the hole. It was fun, but exhausting. Then the guide asked "who wants to go over the falls again?" and everyone in my boat is like "hell yeah!" Going over the falls again entailed paddling over to an outcrop of rocks, getting out and lifting the boat back up the falls (10 feet!) and then paddling down the falls again.
Let me paint several pictures in your minds' eye (I am aided in this endeavor because I have seen the pictures the rafting company too k for us from shore).
Picture 1 - April's boat is half way down the falls, all seven crew members are holding on for dear life. Looks fun, right? It was tons of fun!
Picture 2 - April's boat is in roughly the same place, but now it's making a 45 degree angle with the water's surface. Everyone's mouth is open as we're yelling in our surprise/excitement. Still a lot of fun.
Picture 3 - what is no longer April's boat is perpendicular to the river, none of the crew is in site (we're under water)
Picture 4 - The ill-fated boat is once again flat against the water's surface, but now we can see the bottom. You still can't see people (please imagine us under the boat desperately trying to find a way out from underneath it...we're looking for air dear reader).
I had to use the aid of pictures because the sequence of events took place so quickly that none of us in the boat had time to figure out what the hell was going on until we were already drowning. In the pictures, the boat barely changes it's location in relation to the river (only the angle)...they must have a pretty awesome camera to get so many shots so quickly.
Luckily we all made it back to the surface without incident. One nice thing about being dumped was that the water was actually warmer than the air, so we were a little more comfortable in that respect.
Talk about treading water!
The next hour was pretty calm, so we "dried" in the freezing, wet air. We were actually paddling to try to stay warm.
That's it for now folks!
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Now playing: Sergio Mendes - E Menina (Hey Girl)
via FoxyTunes
back to school
Teenagers aren't the only ones going back to school these days. That's right, folks, last week was my first week at school in not less that five years.
Wouldn't you know it, I was half an hour late to the first class of my graduate school career (I thought I had that bus schedule down, but apparently they just show up whenever the hell it suits their fancy). I have since been making an effort to get to school an hour before my class; this has proven very successful as far as my punctuality is concerned. I should note that the rest of that first day proceeded as it began with my being late for appointments, having problems with insurance, and getting lost on routes I regularly take. I think the stars were just aligned out of my favor.
The rest of the week was much smoother. I am currently taking two classes (organic and inorganic chemistry) that are for my required core proficiencies. Both of these classes will be very challenging for me (as the undergraduate level classes on the same topics were), and I will have to put in a lot of time outside of class to keep my head above water, so to speak. My first weekend as a graduate student was primarily spent studying and doing homework (already!)
In addition to my classes, there a several seminars I am required to attend throughout the semester (usually a couple a week). These seminars are presented by visiting scientists, department faculty and other graduate students defending their thesis. I will be exposed to a variety of topics and this should help me decide what type of work I am interested in doing.
Finally, since nothing is free, I have a teaching assistantship position that I have committed to in order to get that nice stipend they promised me. I got my teaching assistant assignment last week; I am a TA for Chem1 Recitation. In addition to helping the professor grading and proctoring exams, I teach 3 one hour sessions a week, I am required to have at least one regularly schedule office hour each week, the TA's have a weekly meeting with the professor to go over the assigned homework problems (that we should go over beforehand), and we are required to attend the class lectures (3 one hour lectures a week). It's quite an undertaking all by itself (I'd say a full day's work each week).
As you can see, dear friend, it's a lot. I am trying not to let it get too overwhelming, but please understand if I phone you even more infrequently now (for those of you I am in the practice of phoning). If I do post updates here, they will probably come on Thursdays since I have a break from 1-7:30 that day (evening recitation section).
All of that said, don't fret for my mental well being. This weekend I am going rafting with some of my fellow students in the chem department. It promises to be a raging good time. I'll let you know!
Oh- i just downloaded this little plug-in that inserts the song i am listening to...see below! exciting
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Now playing: The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
via FoxyTunes
Wouldn't you know it, I was half an hour late to the first class of my graduate school career (I thought I had that bus schedule down, but apparently they just show up whenever the hell it suits their fancy). I have since been making an effort to get to school an hour before my class; this has proven very successful as far as my punctuality is concerned. I should note that the rest of that first day proceeded as it began with my being late for appointments, having problems with insurance, and getting lost on routes I regularly take. I think the stars were just aligned out of my favor.
The rest of the week was much smoother. I am currently taking two classes (organic and inorganic chemistry) that are for my required core proficiencies. Both of these classes will be very challenging for me (as the undergraduate level classes on the same topics were), and I will have to put in a lot of time outside of class to keep my head above water, so to speak. My first weekend as a graduate student was primarily spent studying and doing homework (already!)
In addition to my classes, there a several seminars I am required to attend throughout the semester (usually a couple a week). These seminars are presented by visiting scientists, department faculty and other graduate students defending their thesis. I will be exposed to a variety of topics and this should help me decide what type of work I am interested in doing.
Finally, since nothing is free, I have a teaching assistantship position that I have committed to in order to get that nice stipend they promised me. I got my teaching assistant assignment last week; I am a TA for Chem1 Recitation. In addition to helping the professor grading and proctoring exams, I teach 3 one hour sessions a week, I am required to have at least one regularly schedule office hour each week, the TA's have a weekly meeting with the professor to go over the assigned homework problems (that we should go over beforehand), and we are required to attend the class lectures (3 one hour lectures a week). It's quite an undertaking all by itself (I'd say a full day's work each week).
As you can see, dear friend, it's a lot. I am trying not to let it get too overwhelming, but please understand if I phone you even more infrequently now (for those of you I am in the practice of phoning). If I do post updates here, they will probably come on Thursdays since I have a break from 1-7:30 that day (evening recitation section).
All of that said, don't fret for my mental well being. This weekend I am going rafting with some of my fellow students in the chem department. It promises to be a raging good time. I'll let you know!
Oh- i just downloaded this little plug-in that inserts the song i am listening to...see below! exciting
----------------
Now playing: The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
via FoxyTunes
something witchy this way comes
or should i say, we went someplace witchy?
Last saturday, Tammer and I got up early, hit the local IHOP and then scurried our butts downtown to catch the ferry to Salem, MA (appropriately named the "Salem Ferry"). We had book a room at the Salem Inn, a lovely little bed and breakfast near the heart of downtown Salem.
We visited the House of Seven Gables and the birthplace of famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie (the oldest candy company in America) and a nice little restaurant on the wharf the first day.
The next day we visited the Witch History Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum and the New England Pirate Museum. It was all so hokey and wonderful.
We took the ferry back to Boston around 2pm after a quick lunch in a local hot spot (Red's Sandwich Shop). The town is so small that in the 24 hours we were there we managed to walk across it about 8 times. I think I write for both of us when I post that Tammer and I would be willing to take any of our visitors to Salem if they wanted to day. Even just a day trip would have been so much fun; however, I think we'd have to drive next time since I got quite sea-sick on each ferry ride.
Last saturday, Tammer and I got up early, hit the local IHOP and then scurried our butts downtown to catch the ferry to Salem, MA (appropriately named the "Salem Ferry"). We had book a room at the Salem Inn, a lovely little bed and breakfast near the heart of downtown Salem.
We visited the House of Seven Gables and the birthplace of famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie (the oldest candy company in America) and a nice little restaurant on the wharf the first day.
The next day we visited the Witch History Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum and the New England Pirate Museum. It was all so hokey and wonderful.
We took the ferry back to Boston around 2pm after a quick lunch in a local hot spot (Red's Sandwich Shop). The town is so small that in the 24 hours we were there we managed to walk across it about 8 times. I think I write for both of us when I post that Tammer and I would be willing to take any of our visitors to Salem if they wanted to day. Even just a day trip would have been so much fun; however, I think we'd have to drive next time since I got quite sea-sick on each ferry ride.
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