Ok, so this is a little out of order, but I'm blogging as I remember. Monday was the first official day of Fresher's week, even though the vets unofficially began on Saturday.
Monday began with this awesome free lunch at Southsider's, the official vet watering hole. We all got a free bag o'goodies at our very first Southsider's/Dick Vet t-shirts! Lunch was a tastey combo of chips (aka french fries), curry, chili, and some pastry stuff with stuff in it. There was such a huge croud of fresher's there, that the GEPers were lost in the crowd. We eventually got tired of the noise and went on an eshopping spree across town.
Since Lindzie lives so close the the stores we did a lot of back and forth to drop things off before treking out to Princes Street to marvel at the glory that is the POUND STORE. Everything you need for only a pound! I got these really cool stripped knee socks, a thing of salad cream (the most amazing condiment in the world), this cute hanging basket thingy, and various other things.
On the way into the mall we passed by this candy stand what was so huge my pancreas fainted and I got contact diabetes. No lie. There are actually quite a few candy shops like that around town. I don't understand how there are not more obese people in this country.
After shopping, we all went back to our flats to chill. Pookish and I decided to go out running in the Meadows. I am so out of shape it's not even funny. It took us 45 minutes to cover 2.5 miles! I can only hope that our regular running sessions become more productive soon. After running we were hungry, so we walked around looking for a place to eat. Peckham's (great organic/weird food shop) has a diner downstairs with student specials, so we split a za. While walking out, we ran into Barbara and she invited us to go out with her and some other GEPers.
Since I was all sweaty and gross, I decided to take a shower before heading out to Southsider's. By the time we finally got there, it was so full of Fresher's that our group had abandoned it in favor of Adrian's flat. But when Pookish and I arrived it was so crowded in the common area that you could barely more, so we talked some people into going to Brass Monkey with us.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Viva Las Vixens
On Tuesday there was a Sports and Societies fair in Summerhall. I ended up signing up for the Pony Trekking Club, the Expedition Society, 
and last but not least, the Ladies Football Club (soccer for you Americans)!!!!
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon, 2pm. I hustle over to Summerhall (late as usual) to meet the girls for practice only to learn that they had already walked over to the Meadows. So I had to go wander around the Meadows until I found them tucked away into a little corner. Turns out that a lot of girls are still out of town, and a few are also in the Rugby club (boo). We did a few introductory rounds of pass the ball, then had a relay race (twice) and my team lost (twice). To be fair, the grass was real slippery and I fell (once), but so did another girl.
After that, we played for football! Yellow shirts versus non-yellow shirts. My team won the first round, and I helped score two or three times. The second game was neck and neck , and we only lost because I was an inch shy of blocking the ball. Playing goalie was a lot of fun! My most epic almost-save involved me knocking a girl over short of the goal, but when she feel she some how tapped the ball into the goal with the bottom of her foot! It was such great fun. During the term we have practice twice weekly, once on the school's turf field with coaches, and once in the Meadows just for fun. I think our games are on Saturdays.
Later that night, we met back at Summerhall (I was not late!) and walked over to the capta
in's flat for some pre-partying before heading out to Lava/Ignite for a wild foam party. Words cannot describe how much fun we had. Let's just say that I wowed the Scottish girls with my Miami dancing, Pookish got hit on by this weird, short dude, and foam is an incredible thing to have at a club. We dance so much that my legs still hurt two days later!
and last but not least, the Ladies Football Club (soccer for you Americans)!!!!Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon, 2pm. I hustle over to Summerhall (late as usual) to meet the girls for practice only to learn that they had already walked over to the Meadows. So I had to go wander around the Meadows until I found them tucked away into a little corner. Turns out that a lot of girls are still out of town, and a few are also in the Rugby club (boo). We did a few introductory rounds of pass the ball, then had a relay race (twice) and my team lost (twice). To be fair, the grass was real slippery and I fell (once), but so did another girl.
After that, we played for football! Yellow shirts versus non-yellow shirts. My team won the first round, and I helped score two or three times. The second game was neck and neck , and we only lost because I was an inch shy of blocking the ball. Playing goalie was a lot of fun! My most epic almost-save involved me knocking a girl over short of the goal, but when she feel she some how tapped the ball into the goal with the bottom of her foot! It was such great fun. During the term we have practice twice weekly, once on the school's turf field with coaches, and once in the Meadows just for fun. I think our games are on Saturdays.
Later that night, we met back at Summerhall (I was not late!) and walked over to the capta
in's flat for some pre-partying before heading out to Lava/Ignite for a wild foam party. Words cannot describe how much fun we had. Let's just say that I wowed the Scottish girls with my Miami dancing, Pookish got hit on by this weird, short dude, and foam is an incredible thing to have at a club. We dance so much that my legs still hurt two days later!
Monday Nite Madness
Ok, so this is a little out of order, but I'm blogging as I remember. Monday was the first official day of Fresher's week, even though the vets unofficially began on Saturday.
Monday began with this awesome free lunch at Southsider's, the official vet watering hole. We all got a free bag o'goodies at our very first Southsider's/Dick Vet t-shirts! Lunch was a tastey combo of chips (aka french fries), curry, chili, and some pastry stuff with stuff in it. There was such a huge croud of fresher's there, that the GEPers were lost in the crowd. We eventually got tired of the noise and went on an eshopping spree across town.
Since Lindzie lives so close the the stores we did a lot of back and forth to drop things off before treking out to Princes Street to marvel at the glory that is the POUND STORE. Everything you need for only a pound! I got these really cool stripped knee socks, a thing of salad cream (the most amazing condiment in the world), this cute hanging basket thingy, and various other things.
On the way into the mall we passed by this candy stand what was so huge my pancreas fainted and I got contact diabetes. No lie. There are actually quite a few candy shops like that around town. I don't understand how there are not more obese people in this country.
After shopping, we all went back to our flats to chill. Pookish and I decided to go out running in the Meadows. I am so out of shape it's not even funny. It took us 45 minutes to cover 2.5 miles! I can only hope that our regular running sessions become more productive soon. After running we were hungry, so we walked around looking for a place to eat. Peckham's (great organic/weird food shop) has a diner downstairs with student specials, so we split a za. While walking out, we ran into Barbara and she invited us to go out with her and some other GEPers.
Since I was all sweaty and gross, I decided to take a shower before heading out to Southsider's. By the time we finally got there, it was so full of Fresher's that our group had abandoned it in favor of Adrian's flat. But when Pookish and I arrived it was so crowded in the common area that you could barely more, so we talked some people into going to Brass Monkey with us.
After a few rounds of drinks and a shot or two, we migrated over to some Vodka place that had a ton of flavoured vodkas and many many cocktail specials. Pookish bought a vodka pass and got a free pair of knickers/pant/panties for it. We met a lot of the "older" girls and a few guys. Our stay there was rather short lived because the group wanted to meet up with the Safari super Freshers at Dropkick Murphys Bar. Pookish and I didn't stay there too long because it was overly crowded. Somehow, the rest of the crowd had enough energy to keep partying until 3 or 4 in the morning. I think I'm going to need to work on my party stamina if I want to keep up with these young'uns.
Monday began with this awesome free lunch at Southsider's, the official vet watering hole. We all got a free bag o'goodies at our very first Southsider's/Dick Vet t-shirts! Lunch was a tastey combo of chips (aka french fries), curry, chili, and some pastry stuff with stuff in it. There was such a huge croud of fresher's there, that the GEPers were lost in the crowd. We eventually got tired of the noise and went on an eshopping spree across town.
Since Lindzie lives so close the the stores we did a lot of back and forth to drop things off before treking out to Princes Street to marvel at the glory that is the POUND STORE. Everything you need for only a pound! I got these really cool stripped knee socks, a thing of salad cream (the most amazing condiment in the world), this cute hanging basket thingy, and various other things.
On the way into the mall we passed by this candy stand what was so huge my pancreas fainted and I got contact diabetes. No lie. There are actually quite a few candy shops like that around town. I don't understand how there are not more obese people in this country.
After shopping, we all went back to our flats to chill. Pookish and I decided to go out running in the Meadows. I am so out of shape it's not even funny. It took us 45 minutes to cover 2.5 miles! I can only hope that our regular running sessions become more productive soon. After running we were hungry, so we walked around looking for a place to eat. Peckham's (great organic/weird food shop) has a diner downstairs with student specials, so we split a za. While walking out, we ran into Barbara and she invited us to go out with her and some other GEPers.
Since I was all sweaty and gross, I decided to take a shower before heading out to Southsider's. By the time we finally got there, it was so full of Fresher's that our group had abandoned it in favor of Adrian's flat. But when Pookish and I arrived it was so crowded in the common area that you could barely more, so we talked some people into going to Brass Monkey with us.
After a few rounds of drinks and a shot or two, we migrated over to some Vodka place that had a ton of flavoured vodkas and many many cocktail specials. Pookish bought a vodka pass and got a free pair of knickers/pant/panties for it. We met a lot of the "older" girls and a few guys. Our stay there was rather short lived because the group wanted to meet up with the Safari super Freshers at Dropkick Murphys Bar. Pookish and I didn't stay there too long because it was overly crowded. Somehow, the rest of the crowd had enough energy to keep partying until 3 or 4 in the morning. I think I'm going to need to work on my party stamina if I want to keep up with these young'uns.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Dinner at Lindzie's
Fresher's week is a crazy week where the older students take the fresher's out on wild and crazy adventures. Tuesday was Safari night, but since we didn't have any safari attire and were not too sure about the "feed and water part" since vet students are well known for their drinking habits, we decided to have our own safari night, or "Farm Night". The idea came to use while sharing a few 'zas close to Lindzie's place. So after lunch we all trekked down to Lidyl's, and el-cheapo food place, to buy supplies for the evening. Dinner for five was about 12 pounds, and wine for five was a bit more. We all split up to shower and recover from all the walking and then headed over to Lindzie's at 7ish.
The evening began with some fine wine, lots of ComedyCentral podcasts, and Pookish attempting to burn down the place with really hot olive oil. Bout an hour later, dinner was served! Pasta, some nice sauce, veg, and shredded pork. Ha--mazing!
After we finished eating, we watched Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. That movie never gets old, and get funnier with each viewing, mostly because you can quote more and more of it. Afterwards, we had some good old-fashioned shinanigans involving a cube, the other Alan/Poon/Canadia "killing" everyone, and Pookish trying to hide under the bed.
It was such a great evening and I hope that we have many more in the near future.
The evening began with some fine wine, lots of ComedyCentral podcasts, and Pookish attempting to burn down the place with really hot olive oil. Bout an hour later, dinner was served! Pasta, some nice sauce, veg, and shredded pork. Ha--mazing!
After we finished eating, we watched Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. That movie never gets old, and get funnier with each viewing, mostly because you can quote more and more of it. Afterwards, we had some good old-fashioned shinanigans involving a cube, the other Alan/Poon/Canadia "killing" everyone, and Pookish trying to hide under the bed.
It was such a great evening and I hope that we have many more in the near future.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Animal Husbandry
Holy smokes! The past five weeks of school feel like they just flew by! Now we are in Fresher's Week and on Monday we start "real classes"... da dum dun... doom! I have to say that most of the classes were not all that interesting, but animal husbandry rocked!
The first one that I did was the milking parlor. We weren't allowed to bring in cameras, but I got some outside shots. We mostly talked and then spent an hour or so milking the cows. The hardest part was not getting splashed by all the pee and poo. Then we had to scrub down as thoroughly as possible. I never realized how hard it was to get cow poo off until two days later when I realized that my water-proofs still smelled because I had missed a few spots!
My next class was horse handling. Being the organized human being that I am, I naturally forgot the battery to my camera in the charger! However, I do have stories. We split up into four groups of one horsey person and three non-horsey people. My group ended up getting the twitchy TB-type dude. He was a little difficult to halter, but behaved so nicely for us! He even trotted up over and over and over again while we tried to assess his gait. Once everyone was comfortable handling the horses, we rotated through a few stations. The first was groom, blanket, and shave. Apparently the Brits and Scots are really into clipping and blanketing their horses. I also learned that I have been using my grooming brushes wrong for years and years! Interestingly, nothing bad ever happened because of it.... We then moved on the wrapping legs and tails. That was fun since the pony had a really thick tail with mud in it, so we couldn't take the bandage off properly. The last station was tacking up, but we ran out of time and didn't get to do it. Overall, the afternoon was a lot of fun and the weather was lovely.
A few weeks later it was our turn to learn how to handle sheep. Sheep are very interesting animals that tend to spaz out over just about anything that does not involved eating. It was a lot of fun trying to catch one to put it on its bum and trim its feet. You have to shove a bunch into the corner and then smoosh one and grab it by the chin before it has a chance to run away. To put it on its bum you have to turn it side ways, pull back on its head and lift its leg up while you step to the back and hopefully knock the sheep off its feet. It does not like to fall, b
ut then it just sits there like a teddy bear.
The following stop a few days later was back at Langhill for some more cows. This time we had them in cow stocks and we learned how to look in their mouths, halter them, and pick up their feet. I think I was doing the mouth thing wrong at first because my cow started chewing on my boob; she left a great big drool spot on my waterproofs. The poor instructor walked up to see how we were doing just as I said "my boob was violated!" He turned bright red and became so flustered that he couldn't talk for a few minutes. Eventually he recovered and was able to show us how to do it properly. Since the cows were in stocks and we were mostly working with their front ends it was much easier to dodge the pee and poo.
Our last stop was back at OatC to play with the piggies. It did not smell nearly as bad as I thought it would until we had to go into the weaner house (and no, I did not see Myers there, hee hee). Then the smell of ammonia was so overwhelming we had to keep stepping outside for fresh air. Naturally, our favorite part was when we got to handle the babies. They were so cute! We had to shoo them into the front part of the sowing crate and trap them in their warm houses, then we reached in, grabbed one, held it, and gave it a vaccine. I was good at the picking them up part, but two times in a row I made a baby bleed with the vaccine so I just gave up on that. The instructor was not happy that I was making them bleed.
We then went into the weaner house to move a set of piggies from one room, into a weighing crate, and then into another room. It was so much fun since they kept smelling everything and licking invisible food off the floor. Once we got them through the weighing crate they were allowed to roam around for a bit while we got the rest through, and they were running around like little puppies. Then we put them in their new home and they started chewing on everything!
The last stop was the breeding shed were we met the breeding boars and the mama's to be. One of the boars could eat a smal
l dog whole he was so big!
I don't know if we have any more animal husbandry this semester, but I can't wait until the winter holiday so that I can work with cows and pigs again! And then in the Easter holiday I get to do two weeks of lambing!
The first one that I did was the milking parlor. We weren't allowed to bring in cameras, but I got some outside shots. We mostly talked and then spent an hour or so milking the cows. The hardest part was not getting splashed by all the pee and poo. Then we had to scrub down as thoroughly as possible. I never realized how hard it was to get cow poo off until two days later when I realized that my water-proofs still smelled because I had missed a few spots!
My next class was horse handling. Being the organized human being that I am, I naturally forgot the battery to my camera in the charger! However, I do have stories. We split up into four groups of one horsey person and three non-horsey people. My group ended up getting the twitchy TB-type dude. He was a little difficult to halter, but behaved so nicely for us! He even trotted up over and over and over again while we tried to assess his gait. Once everyone was comfortable handling the horses, we rotated through a few stations. The first was groom, blanket, and shave. Apparently the Brits and Scots are really into clipping and blanketing their horses. I also learned that I have been using my grooming brushes wrong for years and years! Interestingly, nothing bad ever happened because of it.... We then moved on the wrapping legs and tails. That was fun since the pony had a really thick tail with mud in it, so we couldn't take the bandage off properly. The last station was tacking up, but we ran out of time and didn't get to do it. Overall, the afternoon was a lot of fun and the weather was lovely.
A few weeks later it was our turn to learn how to handle sheep. Sheep are very interesting animals that tend to spaz out over just about anything that does not involved eating. It was a lot of fun trying to catch one to put it on its bum and trim its feet. You have to shove a bunch into the corner and then smoosh one and grab it by the chin before it has a chance to run away. To put it on its bum you have to turn it side ways, pull back on its head and lift its leg up while you step to the back and hopefully knock the sheep off its feet. It does not like to fall, b
ut then it just sits there like a teddy bear.
The following stop a few days later was back at Langhill for some more cows. This time we had them in cow stocks and we learned how to look in their mouths, halter them, and pick up their feet. I think I was doing the mouth thing wrong at first because my cow started chewing on my boob; she left a great big drool spot on my waterproofs. The poor instructor walked up to see how we were doing just as I said "my boob was violated!" He turned bright red and became so flustered that he couldn't talk for a few minutes. Eventually he recovered and was able to show us how to do it properly. Since the cows were in stocks and we were mostly working with their front ends it was much easier to dodge the pee and poo.
Our last stop was back at OatC to play with the piggies. It did not smell nearly as bad as I thought it would until we had to go into the weaner house (and no, I did not see Myers there, hee hee). Then the smell of ammonia was so overwhelming we had to keep stepping outside for fresh air. Naturally, our favorite part was when we got to handle the babies. They were so cute! We had to shoo them into the front part of the sowing crate and trap them in their warm houses, then we reached in, grabbed one, held it, and gave it a vaccine. I was good at the picking them up part, but two times in a row I made a baby bleed with the vaccine so I just gave up on that. The instructor was not happy that I was making them bleed.
We then went into the weaner house to move a set of piggies from one room, into a weighing crate, and then into another room. It was so much fun since they kept smelling everything and licking invisible food off the floor. Once we got them through the weighing crate they were allowed to roam around for a bit while we got the rest through, and they were running around like little puppies. Then we put them in their new home and they started chewing on everything!
The last stop was the breeding shed were we met the breeding boars and the mama's to be. One of the boars could eat a smal
l dog whole he was so big!
I don't know if we have any more animal husbandry this semester, but I can't wait until the winter holiday so that I can work with cows and pigs again! And then in the Easter holiday I get to do two weeks of lambing!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Life of a Dick Vet
I've been in Edinburgh for all of 3 and a half weeks, but it feels as if I've been here ages. I spent the first week having a great time touring the city with my parents and meeting the other students in my program. The second week I started classes and it has been non-stop school and socializing since! It's lecture after lecture of anatomy with a few breaks for animal husbandry and veterinary public health. We did get to go out to Easter Bush and Langhill for our equine and milk practicals. It was so much fun! Who knew that getting pooped and peed on by a cow would be so cool?
We do make sure to get in lots of socializing time as well. The group that lives in Pollock Halls pretty much see each other all day long. We make plans to meet up for breakfast and dinner just so that we can pull together the tables and take up the entire width of the cafeteria. I think that we amuse the workers when we do that. They already recognize us when we walk in. One of the older lady even makes sure that my food doesn't have milk or cheese in it, since it tends to make me sick.
Speaking of food, Scottish food is great as long as you eat outside of the Halls. There is this little green sandwich shop at the corner of the school that makes the BEST baguette sandwiches ever. There is also this bakery called Greggs that makes good wraps and has tasty rolls and such. There is even an Elephants and Bagels close to school. For those of you that don't know, that is the sister deli to the one where J K Rowling wrote her Harry Potter books. They have great hummous.
This weekend I think I'm going to do a lot of studying with a short break to climb up Arthur's Seat on Sunday to watch the fireworks show in celebration of the end of the Festival. I'm actually happy that it's going to be over since that means all the weird people will be leaving town and things will quiet down. Well, for about two weeks until the uni semester starts and the city is flooded with students.
ps. even though anatomy is probably the worst subject ever, we try to make up for it by being as silly as possible during lab. = )
We do make sure to get in lots of socializing time as well. The group that lives in Pollock Halls pretty much see each other all day long. We make plans to meet up for breakfast and dinner just so that we can pull together the tables and take up the entire width of the cafeteria. I think that we amuse the workers when we do that. They already recognize us when we walk in. One of the older lady even makes sure that my food doesn't have milk or cheese in it, since it tends to make me sick.
Speaking of food, Scottish food is great as long as you eat outside of the Halls. There is this little green sandwich shop at the corner of the school that makes the BEST baguette sandwiches ever. There is also this bakery called Greggs that makes good wraps and has tasty rolls and such. There is even an Elephants and Bagels close to school. For those of you that don't know, that is the sister deli to the one where J K Rowling wrote her Harry Potter books. They have great hummous.This weekend I think I'm going to do a lot of studying with a short break to climb up Arthur's Seat on Sunday to watch the fireworks show in celebration of the end of the Festival. I'm actually happy that it's going to be over since that means all the weird people will be leaving town and things will quiet down. Well, for about two weeks until the uni semester starts and the city is flooded with students.
ps. even though anatomy is probably the worst subject ever, we try to make up for it by being as silly as possible during lab. = )
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Airport
We arrived at MIA with plenty of time to spare. I am glad that we went early since there was hardly any line at the security check. We sat at the gate people-watching, and I worked on my glove for a little while. The flight arrived on time and we had no problems getting on. We even sat together. It was a short flight and less than two hours later we arrived in Atlanta.
I thought MIA was a pretty large airport. Atlanta is HUGE! There is a little train that takes you back and forth between the terminals because you won't have enough time to walk from one to another if your connecting flights are scheduled to close together. Abuela Mercedes would not last long there though, since you have to take an escalator down to the train. They also have people movers, another foe of Mercedes.
We sat around waiting for our flight and intently watching the screen in hopes of seeing our name on the "Cleared" list (meaning we had seats assigned), but to no avail. Not only was the flight late, but it was also overbooked! Some poor guy have to give up his seat and wait for the next flight to NYC. Delta was nice to him though and gave him food vouchers and a $400 coupon for a flight within the next year.
My mom and dad called Rudy to find out when the next available flight was. Turns out that the 1:30 flight was canceled because it was too empty, and the next flight was not until four. However, since the early flight was canceled it looked like the 4:3o might fill up as well. We went to Chilis for lunch and to pass the time. Chilis has the absolute best margaritas in the world!
After going back and forth across the airport a few times trying to find the right gate (the gate was changed), we finally found the right one. After what felt like an eternity, the plane finally arrive half an hour late. Our hearts sank when we saw how many people were getting on the flight and how far down we were on the stand-by list. We stuck around just to see what would happen, and then on the screen it showed that there were no more seats available. Our hearts sank because that meant we would miss our flight to Edinburgh. My dad and I went to the counter to check when the next flight was, and all of a sudden a flight attendant called out "Chavez!" I said "which one?" To which he replied all three. We had to run into the plane and find an empty seat as quick as we could. I was soooo happy!!!
Catching our plane to Edinburgh was not nearly as stressful. The flight wasn't even full. We were lucky because they assigned to us the seats that the flight attendants use to sleep in during the flight, so we had business class seats in coach. That means we could recline and prop up our legs. It was comfy.
I watched Horton Hears a Who and part of Kung Fu Panda before falling asleep for a little while. Then they served "dinner", which came on little trays with little plates. I've seen kid meals which were bigger. The food wasn't all that bad though, considering that we were eating packaged food re-heated some 30k feet in the air. I went back to sleep when they collected the trash and didn't really wake up until it was "breakfast" time. After that I just stayed awake listening to Jimmy Buffet and ABBA. I know, I'm a dork.
We landed ok, and passed through immigration without a hitch. However.... when we went to collect our bags we quickly discovered that my red duffel bag was missing! My most important bag since it had most of my shirts and pens. I was not happy. Neither was my mom, so she went to file a missing bag report. Thus began the missing bag saga.... but that's a story for another post.
I thought MIA was a pretty large airport. Atlanta is HUGE! There is a little train that takes you back and forth between the terminals because you won't have enough time to walk from one to another if your connecting flights are scheduled to close together. Abuela Mercedes would not last long there though, since you have to take an escalator down to the train. They also have people movers, another foe of Mercedes.
We sat around waiting for our flight and intently watching the screen in hopes of seeing our name on the "Cleared" list (meaning we had seats assigned), but to no avail. Not only was the flight late, but it was also overbooked! Some poor guy have to give up his seat and wait for the next flight to NYC. Delta was nice to him though and gave him food vouchers and a $400 coupon for a flight within the next year.
My mom and dad called Rudy to find out when the next available flight was. Turns out that the 1:30 flight was canceled because it was too empty, and the next flight was not until four. However, since the early flight was canceled it looked like the 4:3o might fill up as well. We went to Chilis for lunch and to pass the time. Chilis has the absolute best margaritas in the world!
After going back and forth across the airport a few times trying to find the right gate (the gate was changed), we finally found the right one. After what felt like an eternity, the plane finally arrive half an hour late. Our hearts sank when we saw how many people were getting on the flight and how far down we were on the stand-by list. We stuck around just to see what would happen, and then on the screen it showed that there were no more seats available. Our hearts sank because that meant we would miss our flight to Edinburgh. My dad and I went to the counter to check when the next flight was, and all of a sudden a flight attendant called out "Chavez!" I said "which one?" To which he replied all three. We had to run into the plane and find an empty seat as quick as we could. I was soooo happy!!!
Catching our plane to Edinburgh was not nearly as stressful. The flight wasn't even full. We were lucky because they assigned to us the seats that the flight attendants use to sleep in during the flight, so we had business class seats in coach. That means we could recline and prop up our legs. It was comfy.
I watched Horton Hears a Who and part of Kung Fu Panda before falling asleep for a little while. Then they served "dinner", which came on little trays with little plates. I've seen kid meals which were bigger. The food wasn't all that bad though, considering that we were eating packaged food re-heated some 30k feet in the air. I went back to sleep when they collected the trash and didn't really wake up until it was "breakfast" time. After that I just stayed awake listening to Jimmy Buffet and ABBA. I know, I'm a dork.We landed ok, and passed through immigration without a hitch. However.... when we went to collect our bags we quickly discovered that my red duffel bag was missing! My most important bag since it had most of my shirts and pens. I was not happy. Neither was my mom, so she went to file a missing bag report. Thus began the missing bag saga.... but that's a story for another post.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Leaving
This past week has been so busy that I didn't even notice the time passing. It felt like every day there was some sort of gathering so that people could say goodbye to me.
Thursday I went lobstering with my uncle Toto, his brother and a friend of theirs. It was so much fun! The morning started off real slow, but thanks to the miracle of GPS we found a few spots that the previous owner had marked that were just crawling with lobster. Catching them was not as hard as I thought it would be. The tricky part was keeping them in the net. Most of the nets had holes in them and required minor surgery. Hurray zip-ties! After fixing the nets there was no stopping us. We worked as a team, with someone "tickling" the lobsters out of their hidy-hole and someone else chasing them down. We kept finding so many lobster that we lost track of time and headed back nearly two hours after we had planned! At the end of the day I took home 6 lobster and my day made a delicious "lobster in beer" with cilantro rice. Mmmm!
My BFFL Mari came over on Friday to chill with me for a little bit. It was nice seeing her one more time before leaving. She could only stay for a few hours since she had to take a microbiology final that afternoon. Mari called me yesterday to tell me that not only did she get a 100% on the test, but she didn't have to take it since she had an A in the class! lol. At least she can say that she ruined the curve for everyone.
Mari and I decided to go watch Mama Mia! since she hadn't seen it but was hearing really good things about it. We arrived at the Falls early so we to Johnny Rockets for our traditional pre-movie snack.
The movie of course was awesome.
I spent most of Sunday with my uncle Duly. Since we both worked so much this summer we didn't really have a chance to spend time together.
That morning we went to the cemetery to visit my grandfather and great-grandfather. It was been a really long since since I last went and I wanted to say goodbye before leaving. Even though Abuelito Papi died eleven years ago, we still get very emotional when we visit him. We all miss him very much. After the cemetery, we went to have breakfast at Delicias de Espana. They have the best hamm and patatas in the world there!
Later on that day my uncle called to let me know he was taking me and my cousin Julian out for dinner. We ended up going to RA Sushi. Wow, what a place. They have such interesting rolls there, most of them involving mango or avocado. Very non-traditional, but very tasty. If you go, I recommend the crazy monkey roll and the crispy spicy tuna roll. Go for dessert somewhere else though; theirs are tiny.
I have to go get ready now, we leaving soon for the airport. If I can I'll update and add pictures throughout the day. Wish me luck!
Thursday I went lobstering with my uncle Toto, his brother and a friend of theirs. It was so much fun! The morning started off real slow, but thanks to the miracle of GPS we found a few spots that the previous owner had marked that were just crawling with lobster. Catching them was not as hard as I thought it would be. The tricky part was keeping them in the net. Most of the nets had holes in them and required minor surgery. Hurray zip-ties! After fixing the nets there was no stopping us. We worked as a team, with someone "tickling" the lobsters out of their hidy-hole and someone else chasing them down. We kept finding so many lobster that we lost track of time and headed back nearly two hours after we had planned! At the end of the day I took home 6 lobster and my day made a delicious "lobster in beer" with cilantro rice. Mmmm!
My BFFL Mari came over on Friday to chill with me for a little bit. It was nice seeing her one more time before leaving. She could only stay for a few hours since she had to take a microbiology final that afternoon. Mari called me yesterday to tell me that not only did she get a 100% on the test, but she didn't have to take it since she had an A in the class! lol. At least she can say that she ruined the curve for everyone.
Mari and I decided to go watch Mama Mia! since she hadn't seen it but was hearing really good things about it. We arrived at the Falls early so we to Johnny Rockets for our traditional pre-movie snack.
The movie of course was awesome.I spent most of Sunday with my uncle Duly. Since we both worked so much this summer we didn't really have a chance to spend time together.
That morning we went to the cemetery to visit my grandfather and great-grandfather. It was been a really long since since I last went and I wanted to say goodbye before leaving. Even though Abuelito Papi died eleven years ago, we still get very emotional when we visit him. We all miss him very much. After the cemetery, we went to have breakfast at Delicias de Espana. They have the best hamm and patatas in the world there!
Later on that day my uncle called to let me know he was taking me and my cousin Julian out for dinner. We ended up going to RA Sushi. Wow, what a place. They have such interesting rolls there, most of them involving mango or avocado. Very non-traditional, but very tasty. If you go, I recommend the crazy monkey roll and the crispy spicy tuna roll. Go for dessert somewhere else though; theirs are tiny.
I have to go get ready now, we leaving soon for the airport. If I can I'll update and add pictures throughout the day. Wish me luck!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Family Reunion
Yesterday part of the family from both sides gathered at my house for a pool party/lunch/dinner shindig. It was loads of fun with good food, good peeps, and good music. Not to mention tons of pool time with my cousins. I was able to see family that had been MIA for some time. = )
Nat, Leanne and I listened to ABBA followed by some Saturday Night Fever. I was flabbergasted to learn that Nat did not know how to use a cassette player! Thankfully Leanne did know. I don't feel quite as old with her as I do when I'm with Nat.
The day slowly wound down into a quiet evening. My BFFL and I spent some quality time together and made plans to hang out on Wednesday/Thursday. Might go watch a movie or chill on the beach. I need all the sun and tan time that I can squeeze in while I can. Daily forecast in Scotland calls for clouds and/or light rain, with a sunset of 15:30 during the winter!Today was my last day of work. I'm going to miss being one of the Smoothie Queens. = (
Kristen is so sweet. She brought in a carrot cake that she stayed up extra late to make. It was a quiet morning, but then the next Smoothie Queen came in for some training. I think she has potential. Hopefully Kristen Classic can groom Kristen the New into the perfect Smoothie Queen before scooting back up to G'ville (GO GATORS!). I'm going to miss all my buds at SK. It was a great summer, even with all the crazies, and the rain forest, and no A/C that one time... lol. Not to mention free smoothies and lots of experimentations with fruit. YUM! I have found that I now prefer to eat blended food, and that chewing my fruit seems strange. lol.
There are still many things for me to do before d-day. Cross your fingers that it gets all done.
ps. for the non-computer savy, if you click on the purpley words it will open up a new page with pictures. enjoy! : D
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