california songs

California Gurls

2010-08-05T18:38:00.008-07:00

"California Gurls" by Katy Perry

I feel that Katy Perry is personally taunting me. This song has played non-stop since I've arrived in Pennsylvania. You can travel the world, but nothin' comes close to the golden coast... WHATEVER, Katy Perry. So, you're right. NOTHING comes close to the golden coast. But you don't have to remind me all of the time. So, needless to say, California has been on my mind a lot.

I am a rotten, no good blogger. You all know how I feel about catch up entries, too, so, it should be in my best interest to keep current! Alas, I have not.

So, the last time I blogged I had just arrived at Galer. Two full months have gone by since then! I'm a year older and slightly wiser, but more like...more aware of all I do not know. This acknowledgment is beneficial, of course, but not fantastically helpful.

I think I regret leaving California three times a day, at least. But in those same days, I learn and do things that I would have NEVER done in California. And I have to consider: career-wise, what was there for me in California? Close to nothing. Here I am in PA, not ideal, but, I'm doing what I have to.

So, instead of droning on, I'm going to give you a glimpse in the form of a list into life. Then I can hopefully blog away at a more regular interval. (Not likely....harvest.)

Here are my favorite things about living in Pennsylvania:

1. Proximity to friends and family-- I drive home for weddings. I drive to Gettysburg to fish. I can drive to DC to see my girlfriends. Joy.

2. Thunderstorms. Eastern thunderstorms are one of a kind. Beauty.

3. French Bread -- For whatever reason, the person in the house next to mine periodically baked beautiful loaves of french bread. She indicates that there is fresh bread for sale when she puts out a french flag. That's all. No cash register, all honor system. No advertising, no store front. It's just her side garage. And, this is SERIOUSLY the best bread I've ever had. And I walk to pick it up!

4. Fireflies -- Every night, the vineyard outside of my front door gets blanketed in thousands of fireflies. It always happens before dark but after dusk. It is one of my favorite things about living here.

5. My Commute and perks -- (Note: I HAVE A WASHER DRYER on site. I will never take this for granted again!) In the morning, I wake up, put on some winery clothes, brush my teeth, wash my face, go make some french pressed coffee, eat some breakfast and check my emails, make some phone calls, go work in the cellar for a few hours. Then I take off at mid day to run, then shower and resume working. I LOVE running in the middle of the day. I love walking across the way to my workplace.

Things I dislike about living in Pennsylvania:

1. Humidity. Hottest summer on record. 'Nuff Said.

2. Working from Home -- This appears in the above list as well as this one because it is a double edged sword. I never leave work. I feel like I'm on guard all of the time. I'm always answering emails. I'm on the phone. It's not ideal and will only get worse at harvest. It has certainly been an interesting learning experience.

3. Not being able to plan -- I NEVER know what a day holds at Galer. It's always different from what I plan. I'm always stepping over contractors (who make a mess, btw). I hate talking on the phone because I never know what the conversation will blow into my path. Adventure? I guess so. My style? Not just yet.

4. Being ALONE at work -- I spend most of the time hoping I don't fuck up. I'm smart, but I've never done about 65% of this stuff, and there's no one here on sight to help me. So, I spend my days doing my best and praying I don't fuck the hell up!

5. Philly area DRIVERS -- OMG. These people are nuts! I can't even describe. TOTALLY different environment then Gettysburg, and it is not that far away. Odd.

Here are some pictures of my winery, as I don't have many others to share with you.

The tank room is unfinished here. It is still unfinished, actually.

The round window is a new addition. So nice from the inside.

The furry looking thing, that's my assistant, Chance.

Alright, time for bed!

Love to all of my dear friends, near and far!

Cheers
Catrina

Day 6 to PA!

2010-05-31T20:58:00.004-07:00

Day 6 and Arrival in Kennett Square

Rocky Mt, NC, to BWI, to Frederick MD, then to Kennett Square, PA: about 465 miles

So, Ben and I left Rocky Mt. around 8:30 am to take on 95 N and have him to BWI for his flight by 1:30 pm. We made it. There was a great deal of DC traffic...which sucked, but, was expected.

Sitting in traffic in our nation's capital! Very sexy.

I dropped Ben off (sniff, sniff) and he was home in NY by dark.

I went on to meet up with my BFF and spend the night at her place in Frederick, MD. We had a nice dinner (sushi) and a few adult beverages. She even took me out for breakfast the next morning...knowing that I am broke! She took very good care of me. :-)

Onward, and anxious, I moved my way up to Kennett Square, PA. When I arrived, I noticed that the roses were in full bloom in front of my place! These roses are my favorite color...bright pink! Oh, amazing. Here's a snap.

That's my cabin! You can see my poor tired car in the background.

Here are some more shots of my joint:

This guy jumped up on my lap within moments of being there:

Here are some shots of my "view". Not exactly like my view in Cali....

That's our chardonnay block...they're also ripping out the cab in front and replacing it with chardonnay. Woot!

I've decided to keep you all in suspense re the winery...you can wait. ;-)

My first official day was today, I suppose, although I did work for 2.5 hours on Sunday. I tasted all of the barrels and cleaned up a bit, it is under construction! The consultant comes tomorrow to set me straight and in the right direction. Scary!! What an adventure. More to follow, sorry this is semi-lame.

Day 5, "None of Your Damn Business!"

2010-05-26T19:31:00.008-07:00

Day 5: Nashville, TN to Rocky Mount, NC via Asheville, NC: 619 miles

I am officially back in Eastern Standard time! But in true Catrina-PST fashion, my brain is switched on and LATE!

Ben and I slept in a bit this morning and took off from Nashville a bit late. I met an absolutely charming gentlemen (with very few teeth) who wanted to know all about San Francisco while coming out of breakfast, and he held up up a little longer.

We blew out of TN rather quickly. Knoxville was the "last stop" in TN. There must be a very strong pro-life presence in Knoxville, there were a number of (reasonably offensive) billboards along the highway. I snapped a picture of a G-rated one. Grrr. We also passed a church with a sign that said "Eternity: Heaven or Hell: You decide." WAY WAY too aggressive for me. I guess Knoxville is out for me!

We got to where we would have been catching 81 N to head north on the final stretch. We realized it was a short day, and Ben said he really liked Asheville, NC, which was only about 100 miles away. Why not, right? I knew we would get to drive through the Smoky Mountains NP, so, I was in. Instead of staying on 40 E, we took 70/25. 2 lanes only and very curvy...but TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL! We got to wind through little towns. It was a great drive and I will definitely be returning to this area.

I had a moment when I thought: You would NOT see this in California. Don't get me wrong, the west is stunning. But there are things to be said about this area. Full, lush, vigorous (aka well watered) vegetation in late May covering beautiful rolling hills. Welcome to the east! I snapped some photos as I was luck enough to be the passenger.

AMAZING. I'm going back. STAT.

Ben and I went to Asheville, NC for lunch to a restaurant called The Mellow Mushroom. We split a ten inch pizza and a local brew. I'm in a serious love affair with beer, so I am obviously totally willing and excited to try local brews. I had the St. Terese's Pale Ale from the Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, NC.

The beer was refreshing and amazing. AND THE FOOD! Awesome. The crush was perfect...thin with a chewy crust that was light and fluffy and obviously fresh baked. Oh, and, did I mention that it was from whole wheat flour? AMAZING. Ben is a pizza adventurer, so we tried a pizza with beef, provolone, feta, artichoke hearts, portobello, kalamata olives, mozz, and GARLIC. It was tasty. We then walked around downtown Asheville for a bit so we were good to drive (1 hour one beer) and hit the road. Asheville is a cool little liberal mecca, similar to Berkeley or Ithaca, only less smelly. :-)

Some snaps from the Mellow Mushroom, which I will be yelping later...

A reasonably amusing bumper sticker!

6 page alcoholic beverage menu. I dig it!

We had to revise our route a little, so now we are in Rocky Mount, NC. We have 5 hours of riding time to get Ben to BWI tomorrow to fly home. Then, I will do the rest of the journey solo. Ben and I are separated just enough in age that we were never in school together. While this trip hasn't been as much fun as a real live vacation, I'm glad we've had this time together to know one another much better. Who knew we both loved music so much? Good stuff!

I'm starting to get anxious thinking about what awaits...ooohhhh boy.

Back on the road tomorrow, time for this girl to hit the hay! Cheers, all!

Cannonball Run 2010: Day 4: "Get the fuck outta the left lane!"

2010-05-25T18:50:00.002-07:00

Day 4: Oklahoma City, OK to Nashville, TN: 677 miles

Today's route was also reasonably basic. 40 E the whooolllleee way.

Let me just start by saying, Ben and I got into Nashville tonight around 6:30 CST and we had the best god damned two beers of our lives!! I sent this to my mom:

The morning started early-ish in OK city with rain. Rain is double bad for this trip because my tires are gosh darn bald, but I'm gosh darn poor, so, here we have road trip on bald tires. Not my best idea, but, we can manage.

My customer service experiences in OK looked up. Ben and I stopped in a pretty darn shady gas station in eastern Oklahoma. The woman asked me where we were going and I told her from San Francisco to Philadelphia. She asked us how we were finding OK. I said hot and humid. She said "Oh, it wasn't always humid. The old timers say that it only got humid when they put in the lakes." I looked over in the corner, and there sat one of the "old timers", who nodded. I was perplexed, as I personally didn't know anyone who "put in" lakes, other then large glaciers. Hmmm. I'm in the process of researching, but, old timers are generally right, somehow.

Onto Arkansas. What a funny place! We didn't stop, except at a Walmart in Clarksville. I thought this was going to be especially climactic because Walmart originated in Arkansas. Not so much. Except for the occasional cowboy, it was much the same.

I knew we were nearing "the east" when the scenery started to look like this:

Lush green....everywhere! And lots of trucks.

I rode most of the day today while Ben drove, and I cannot appropriately capture the sunburn on my right arm. My college friends would call it "a lobster claw". Ouch.

Ben and I decided on the title for this entry due to the high number of fucking idiots who were driving slow in the left lane. At least some of them were moderately humorous...

I know I'm officially in the east now because we crossed the mighty Mississippi today.

Cool thought...I crossed the Mississip in Minnesota on the way out West and in TN on the way back. What a giant force this river is. No doubt!

We are, however, most definitely in the south. I'm having a hard time understanding people if they speak rapidly. The ratio of billboards that are Jesus related have increased 10 fold. If you're into Jesus, that's all cool, but, I'm not so much, and I don't appreciate the shouting! Thankfully, I don't live here.

I borrowed this one:

Heck yea he does! God loves all music, right? ;-)

Got a call from Wente today, I felt my heart sink a little. Just missin' y'all! And the California weather, even if it was raining. !!!

We're a bit ahead of schedule, so we'll be going to Lexington, VA tomorrow. Shortish day, followed by a shorter day so I can get Ben to BWI on time, and then get to Frederick to see my bestest! Then on to K Square the next day. I'm starting to have moderate anxiety about my increased responsibility level the closer I get to Philadelphia. Oh boy, what an adventure!

Time for bed. Beer is making me sleepy!

Back on the road tomorrow. For those of you who think this would be a nice vacation or that I am on vacation, don't. This is really hard work...driving and running around. For real! This is business, baby! I am making the best of it and seeing cool things (who wouldn't!), but I am traveling out of necessity for a job.

Anyway, signing off.

Day 3: Hauling Ass

2010-05-24T20:13:00.006-07:00

Day 3: Winslow, AZ to Oklahoma City, OK: 809 miles

The route was pretty darn basic today. But long. Ben and I did this route in about 13.5 hours with a lunch stop. And several Diet Coke breaks!

I didn't take many pictures because it appears I have friend my camera, in addition to the battery AND two fuses in my car. Thanks for that charger, Walmart, it was swell. Mmmmm, now accepting donations for a new digital camera.

The morning started out in AZ and it was COLD!! The debit function was out at the gas station in Winslow, so I had the pleasure of going in to the inside of the gas station and listening to an old cowboy recount his heroic tale of "saving some Yank" in the wind storm last evening. I was not the "Yank", btw.

We headed on 40 E toward Albuquerque, where I decided I could never live because I am unable to spell it without referencing something. It was nice to see all of the red mesas all the way across on 40 E, but I can tell you, the southwest is not for me. I was completely dried out.

And here's another reason the southwest is not for me....

Come on. I'm no Obama junkie, but...anyway.

After a lunch of burritos and homemade tortillas, we soldiered on. (I'm going to MISS good mexican food!)

We crossed the border into the Texas panhandle, which could have been messy. My favorite part about driving in Texas was this sign:

Other than that, it looked a lot like New Mexico and Arizona. About 50 miles in, it started to flatten out. And when it flattened out...this meant the wind picked up. I was pushing the gas pedal down with the intention of going 80 mph, but the car was only going 72 mph. And I was burning gas 33% faster. Thanks, wind. My mother was relieved though.

On to Oklahoma, where I've never been. I must have something on my face because I was seriously wrong about the southern hospitality coming to the plains here! The two interactions that I've had with the sales clerk and the hotel registration gentlemen were both very odd. They were both kinda mean! Maybe it's my turquoise shirt. Also, I'm feeling some pressure from the extremely frequent signage about Native crafts and clothing. Like, if I don't buy Cherokee jewelry, all will perish. Sheesh!

Another interesting note, 4o runs alongside route 66! Gettin' my kicks! J/k. I did drive on Route 66 very briefly today when I got off of the highway in search of petrol. It was narrow, and vaguely pink. I had guessed that they had used some of the surrounding soil, which was beautifully ferrous red!

Here's a pic of route 66 (from the blackberry, in motion=not ideal):

And here is a pic of that beautiful Oklahoma soil. Lucky I'm in soil science now, so hopefully I'll know all about it soon! :-) Passed a winery on the way through all of this soil, so...anything is possible!

Oh, and did I mention that as soon as we started to "flatten out" in Texas...it got FRIGGIN' HUMID. I was warned about humid. I grew up in humid. But I was not ready for humid. Yuck. I felt like I was swimming through the air. Awesome move, Catrina, moving to PA!

I was hit with a seriously bad case of cold feet/regret/I-miss-California today, but, I know I made the right decision. I'm way like cheesy right now, so, I had to think of this (probably bastardized) quote: “You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.” I'm going to a good place...I hope. Change is SCARY!

On a brighter note, we're clocking miles to Nashville tomorrow. I'm pumped! I've never been.

Catch you kids on the flipside!

Canonball Run 2010, Day 1 and 2

2010-05-23T21:18:00.012-07:00

Hey All!

As promised, I'm blogging from the road. The first night was a bit hectic, so, don't shoot me for not writing!

Day 1, Livermore, CA, to Yosemite NP, to Las Vegas, NV.

The plan: 580 E to 120 E through Yosemite NP, south to Vegas on 395.

So here's what ACTUALLY happened on day one:

Here's my sweet ride, all packed! Ben and I kicked off around 10:30 am.

So, we get to Yosemite after a beautiful drive, and they're like...oh yea, 120 E is closed because there is 5' feet of snow over the pass. And....so is every other road going through the park that way....annndddd it was snowing at the visitors center. And, there I am in my flip flops!

I'm not the best granola in all, I was just passing through after all!

So, we had to exit on route 140 and go back out to Merced, CA and down 99 S. Awesome. And 4 hours out of the way.

On a happy note, "Running Down Dream" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was playing on the stereo as I crossed the state line into Nevada. How appropriate!

Anyway, We didn't get in to Vegas until about 11:30, so it was not ideal, but we ended up walking around and staying out until four am anyhow. It's freakin' Vegas!

My comments on Vegas are this: I really dug the atmosphere and the attitude. Dude, they have buildings that they designed to lean because THEY COULD. They made Venice...BECAUSE THEY COULD. Vegas was populated by bootleggin' gangsters and it's held up today. It is one big NEW adult playground. I did NOT dig the slutty looking girls all around and the SMOKING. Everywhere. Cigarette smoke literally gives me a headache (sad, I know I'm a wimp), and this was just not good. Yuck. My camera took a poo (battery) when we got to Vegas, so I have 0 pictures. Boo.

Day 2. Las Vegas, NV to Winslow, AZ via the Hoover Dam

This day started off slowly because Ben and I were out until 4:30, hence, I said, let's aim to leave Vegas by noon.

Short Day, this day. The original plan was to loop up and see the Grand Canyon, but it was just not in the plan today!

We did drive by Lake Mead in NV/AZ, which actually ended up taking us an hour because of the traffic build up at the Hoover Dam security entrance.

Here's Lake Mead

Which was followed by the Hoover Dam. We just drove through and I narrowly escaped with reasonable blood pressure. I can't imagine having to drive that road all the way to work everyday with all of the "dam" tourists (Yes, HA!).

Security was tight at the entrance too. The guy made us pull off to the side so he could search my car because Ben and I look like we're actually the Griswald's. And he removed my tarp which I had worked very hard to get down and NOT be flapping in the wind, and he almost made me take my bike rack off the back (would have take like 20 min to get back on) to look inside the back hatch. Ben nicely asked him to look through the window, and he obliged. He was looking for firearms, so he said!

Ben and I tried to remedy my dead camera battery with a somewhat unsuitable charger and ended up blowing a fuse in my car. The fuse controls the cigarette lighter...so can you guess what other essential piece of equipment chews on this power supply? Yep! The GPS. Uh-oh. Thank GOD I have Ben with me...he was able to change out my fuse with relative ease. What a guy! And, he even got me prepared for driving through the desert.

I am SO thankful I am not driving alone.

So, beside the snow and the fuses, it was really ridiculously windy the whole way across AZ. Since I am driving an extra heavy car with a trillion things tied on top, this is challenging!

Ben and I decided to push through a ways tonight and go to Winslow, AZ. ("Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see...) Well, we cleared Flagstaff, AZ, and on our way out of the city we saw a sign that say "Road closed 34 miles ahead due to severe dust storm." We're New Yorkers and have lived through snow storms, so, soldier on we did.

Well, turns out they weren't kidding. Traffic was stopped for miles in both directions and we sat there among hundreds of semi-trucks for hours. NOT that fun, let me tell you! We were 36 miles from Winslow and saddle sore. Ben has developed a bit of a cold this week, and he needs his rest, so I was trying to get him there as fast as possible. No dice at 3 mph. the storm had "blown" over and we were moving, albeit slowly!

I will try to give you an idea of the magnitude of this stop. I saw the AZ State Police starting the line of traffic moving in the western direction (opposite of me) after the storm had passed through. I saw this start to happen about 34 miles from our exit in Winslow. When I exited at Winslow, I was still watching the line of dense traffic move along. Holy cow!

More tomorrow! On the road! Trying to put the gaping hole in my heart at ease at leaving everyone behind in California. It's a strange feeling to feel the earth going on spinning and the people you care about still all being together in one place, but you have to hope that they throw you a thought every once in a while and miss you a bit!

Miles to be covered tomorrow. Keep on rockin'! See you soon, Oklahoma!

My Favorite Things...

2010-05-19T22:41:00.028-07:00

I couldn't win a game of chance if I stacked the odds 100:1 in my favor. I will never win the lotto, I'll never gamble in Vegas and win big. But I have won big, and I am the luckiest girl.

How am I lucky, you ask? I'm lucky in the people that I manage to surround myself with. I'm lucky because I meet these generous, loving, beautiful people who fill my heart to the brim.

Where I'm from, well, it's amazing. My family starts there with the many wonderful people I've come from and come to know. Then, Gettysburg. My family continues with the people I'm priveldged to cherish from there. Onto my international family, and my Washington family, who are few, but strong.

Then, enter new cast. Enter biological family who care for me as no others and who are incredibly generous and who truly have allowed me to enjoy the lifestyle that I do enjoy in California today. People who had no obligation to take care of me, but did so without hesitation. Gratitude beyond measure.

My California family. How can I express what I'm feeling right now. I'm leaving. I'm leaving them all behind. I feel a mixed of excitement and the shredding of my heart muscle. A feeling a dread that I won't be able and see these people who I love so much on Monday or Friday or the next Monday, but I'll be headed elsewhere, into uncharted waters.

But I can't stop this overwhelming feeling that I am absolutely the luckiest woman in the world. The people I love are truly my wealth. And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Shortly before I wrote my last blog entry in March, I spoke with a gentlemen in Kennett Square PA who wanted me to come out and make his wine. Long story short, I'm leaving California on Saturday on a cross country road trip to terminate in Kennett Square, PA. More details to follow for you all, but, before I depart, all me to take you through my favorite things about California.

I'll have you know, California family, I have a philosophy. As well as taking you all with me in my heart, I take you with me in physical manifestation.

With the help of Jesse Tuesday in Ocean Beach, I'm taking you all with me in memento form as your state's flower, the California poppy. And yes, it is poppy orange, but my blackberry just doesn't do it justice!

This way, I can surely carry you with me everywhere and you can bet you'll never stray far from my heart.

Love to you all. All of the pieces of my heart. <3

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

2010-03-18T12:25:00.007-07:00

It'ssss peanut butter jelly time...

Hahaha, justttt kidding.

Anyway, this is a RANT. A rant about serving size, caloric density, and deceptive packaging. RANT. So, think what you wish.

I rarely go without having peanut butter 1-3 times per week. It is so delicious that I will willingly "trade-off" more food quantity for some PB, because PB is high fat and calorie. So, I traveled these past two weekend and part of this travel was a long-ish drive. I made some of Sarah's breakfast cookies and took them with me because...well, gas station snacks are less than ideal! As per her suggestion of adding a nut butter to the top, I went with it. To more easily transport peanut butter, I went after some single serving containers. I found these things called Jif to Go.

This homegirl is down with portable peanut butter. Holla (if only it came in crunchy?:-P)

So, I snapped a photo for you using my blackberry so you can see , next to my sharpie marker, exactly how big these cups are.

Looks reasonable, right? The packaging reads "6 single cups" as part of the hook. So, what would most normal people think? They give it to me in these cute little cups that are "great for dipping" (per the package), so I must be able to consume the entire cup and be cool with that! Pre-op, I would have been happily dipping my carrots away, consuming the whole cup, and saying pppssshhhhawww to the cookies I was passing on.

Now, I, of course, flipped the package over to look at the nutrition facts. There were two separate columns. Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I read the column for one serving (which I assumed based on the packaging was one whole cup) said 195 calories and 16g of fat (standard for a serving PB, this is why I was cautioned at its caloric density). The serving size was listed in ounces (who really thinks of peanut butter in anything other than tablespoons?!) and it was convolutedly referring to half of the cup. Why not just write 1/2 of "single cup"? I am envisioning consumer confusion and apathy abounding! I think this packaging leads people to believe that the cup is a serving...it seems really misleading there...even though the packaging doesn't say "single SERVING cup".

So, you go through and dip your carrots, pretzels, or apples in this whole peanut butter cup. You will have consumed 390 cal and 32g of fat. My eyes just about popped out of my skull. I'm not a calorie counter, but I AM very careful with things like nuts and cheeses...don't want to get too crazy! I myself could easily consume this amount of peanut butter (might make me uncomfortable...all of the fat) and I have a 6-8 oz. stomach. I can imagine busy moms and dads dropping these into their kids lunches as a "healthy" snack. How would the child know not to consume the whole creamy and delicious pack?

They say that low-fat diets aren't going to lead to any significant weight loss, which I agree with, but consuming 400 cal worth of peanut butter in one sitting...for an average person...is a bit much. If you're eating it with pretzels or an apple, tack on at least 100 additional cal, carrots 50. A "snack" at 500 cal? NOT ideal.

You had to be on your game and NOT a passive food consumer to notice this. That's what made me mad! Everyone around me is in such a hurry all of the time they may fail to notice that these are NOT single SERVING cups, rather a means to package 200% serving sizes into portable packages.

So, WTF, Jif? Why couldn't you just put it in a g*d d*mned single serving container and actually HELP the American public with our serving size issues instead of further exacerbating the problem on a particularly calorie laden food?

Party in The USA

2010-03-15T21:00:00.005-07:00

“Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus

I seem to excel at writing blog entries on my flights to and from Seattle, so here we go.

I have the BEST seatmate next to me on the airplane right now. I mean. He is superb. He’s not passing judgement on me, he’s friendly, he’s selfless, he’s a cuddly teddy bear…and he loves carrots. He has big feet. And he’s canine. He is a seeing eye dog. His name is Cooper and he looks a little like Deb and Ed’s dog Heidi, except he’s tri-colored. It is thoroughly outstanding that the only food I happen to have in my bag right now is carrots, which are his “treats”. We may be soul mates. ☺ The guy across the isle should take note, he’s pretty darn surly and has a staring problem!

Not his best pic, but I had to take it on my blackberry.

I was in Seattle/WA this past weekend for enology camp for my WSU learnin’. I was in Seattle/WA the weekend before for grape camp for my additional WSU learnin’. I’m tired of traveling, but have had a series of outstanding weekends. This past weekend I got to see a few of the people I really liked from the enology class and got to know a few more…wine people are (for the most part) hella cool. We’re winemakers, or wannabes, for a reason. Winemaking attracts an eclectic bunch, and that is very cool for me. Mostly passionate, confident, driven people. The week before was viticulture camp, and this is all an amazing fantastic world to me. I know comparatively little about viticulture, but I am certainly enjoying learning. Bring on the vineyards! I can’t envision being a winemaker and not knowing anything about farming. I equate not knowing viticulture to picking up a book halfway through and expecting to have a thorough understanding of what is going on. It just won’t happen. I like farmers, anyway.

I have been undergoing a bit of a….food revolution lately. A food revolution, you say? I underwent a food revolution last May in a big way (yes, I still miss big tasty ciabatta rolls and ice cream) but now I’m fine tuning things. I am reading a fine hunk o' book called “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. It is science dense and fantastic and I highly recommend it.

But, it has made me reconsider the foods that I eat where they come from. So, I’m setting off on a sort of quest to do my best at eating real food, grass fed meats, and un-processed as much as possible on a limited budget. I think that could be a blog in itself. I’m considering switching gears a bit here as this is consuming a considerable amount of my brain space and thinking time. Should I become a food blogger? Explore the world of being conscious about where my food comes from, how it is processed, and what that might mean for balance in many ways: environmental, nutritional, financial….balance. How can I try not to get bogged down in the buzzwords that are now corporate and government sponsored: “organic” or “sustainable”, etc? Do free range chickens REALLY free range? Can a woman like me wade through all of that crap…in addition to having limited financial means and no land to grow anything on and actually eat real food?

I don’t know. I’ll work on it. We’ll see. I’m working on a number of things at the moment…running a 5k next weekend (the 20th!). I’m pretty psyched. I will keep you all posted on how that goes.

Looks like we’ve started our descent into Oakland, so, I have to run!

Yes, I am listening to Miley Cyrus. I’m not too cool to admit it, I freakin’ love this song. “Got my hands up they’re playing my song, I know I’m gonna be okay…” Miley, you’re a little bit shady, but I sure do love this little pop-tart of a song! (And yes, I still have my Achy Breaky Heart CD, don’t hate.)

American Pie

2010-02-15T22:12:00.006-08:00

I rode BART this weekend (pictures to follow), so this means that I had a great deal of time to think. I meditated on some things in life, and I started thinking about how things enter into my consciousness and change my worldview forever. I consider a dynamic worldview to be a good thing, and music is always part of my changing scenery.

So, I put together a list of the 15 songs that have changed my musical life, for the better. I could talk about them for pages, but I'm going to try to keep it to a few sentences explanation. You don't have to read, but, if you're curious, here we go!

1. "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin-- I didn't know music could sound like this before I heard this song. I'll repeat this frequently, but, it is true. I'd heard "Stairway to Heaven" and hated it (still do), but I heard this and it threw open a door to a whole new level of music.

2. "Beat It" by Michael Jackson -- I jacked my parent's copy of "Thriller" on cassette and used to play it over and over with my friends. This song, which was my favorite, was my first memory of popular music.

3. "Waterfalls" by TLC -- I thought I had stolen the Hope Diamond when I managed to talk my mom into buying me the "Crazy, Sexy, Cool" album by TLC...it had swear words, and words that were spoken rapidly over beats that sounded nothing like the "old" music my parents had me listen to....and they talked about AIDS. And condoms. Enter popular music circa 1996 and beyond.

4. "American Pie" by Don McLean -- My Mom told me that this is the song DJs put on when they have to go to the toilet. I think they should chose "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", but I can see it. This song introduced me to the idea of a musical story. We used to sing this in the middle school locker room, not knowing any of the words other than the chorus. "Do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul?" Yes, yes it can.

5. "God Bless The Child" by Billie Holiday -- I have never, and I repeat NEVER heard anyone like Billie Holiday. I don't remember why I first heard this song, somewhere in early high school, but, once again, I didn't know music could sound like this. Rich, soulful, heartbreaking, and OLD. She, and this song, opened the door in my world to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Lena Horne, etc etc.

6. "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac Shakur -- My cousin Miranda is solely responsible for introducing me to Tupac, for better or for worse. (She also introduced me to the Steve Miller Band...thanks, girl.) I remember hearing the first few lines of this song not for their lyrical content, but for Tupac's voice. Still to this day I find it completely intoxicating. I am close to the whitest white person you'll meet, but those of you that have ever touched my iPod know I LOVE rap music. This song was likely the beginning of it all. Enter Kanye West, Notorious BIG, The Fugees, Jurassic 5, Jay Z, and a host of others that I found as a result of my first run in with Tupac.

7. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer -- The first time I put the blue album of Weezer's into my discman (yea, I'm cool) I listened to Buddy Holly thoroughly and promptly dismissed the rest of the album as "too hard". I was, 12, maybe? (I'd spent all of my Christmas money at FYE to buy the blue album and No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom") Then I listened to it again and again. I started to turn my radio dial to the alternative/modern rock station more frequently. I was never really into alternative as my primary mainstay, but I would have it ignored it for much longer. Regrettably, I gave away my copy of the Blue Album. Whoever I gave it to, I'd like it back now.

8. "Sympathique" by Pink Martini -- I never knew music could be this fun. In so many different languages. I've since seen Pink Martini live...they outdo themselves, really. Changed my life...for the better!

9. "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor -- My room mate in college was into James Taylor, I had never really been...turns out my mother doesn't like him. But the first time I heard "Fire and Rain" and to this day, I'm comforted by it. Whenever I have a bad day, it is quite likely that that song will play. "Won't you look down upon me Jesus, you gotta help me make a stand. You've just got to see me through another day. My body's aching and my time is at hand, I won't make it any other day." PS-- I love James Taylor. Sorry, Cath.

10. "Jupiter" from The Planets by Gustav Holst -- I'm a violinist and I wish I had learned to play the trumpet. There are many, many orchestral pieces that I love...but none as much as this one. It fills me with optimism and promise.

11. "Baby Love" by Diana Ross and the Supremes -- I remember laying in the back of my parents car on the way to Missouri to visit our relatives playing the only disk I had, "Motown's Greatest Hits". Well guess that, that same CD is still in my car. Motown is its own entity to me. It was all I knew of music for some time, and I was happy for it. I made a Motown station on our Pandora at work...I think I surprised the people who were around at that time that I even knew the music. Know and love!

12. "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers -- I stole my parents record of this song (and more!). It is eternally summer for me. It doesn't get much better for me. "Well, I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin'..."

13. "La Vie Boheme A" by the Original Cast of RENT -- RENT is probably the most changing set of musical works that I ever encountered. Enter...musical theatre. Enter concepts I'd never heard of....people I'd never have "met" otherwise...another CD still in my car. :-)

14. "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, remade by the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- If you've never heard these songs back to back, I recommend that you do so, Stevie first. I had the mistaken impression that all covers of songs were crap. I retain that most are, but, not this one! This song always succeeds in making me want to jump into a spontaneous dance party...either version.

15. "The Seeker" by The Who -- my love of this song is ENTIRELY because of a scene in film "American Beauty". Kevin Spacey is buff as hell and rocking it and the opening bars of The Seeker come on. Amazing. Whenever I'm trying to be buff as hell and rocking it, I crank this one. Works like a charm.

1-15. Boring for all of you, I'm sure. I love music and wouldn't survive without it. I hope you feel the same way. What are your favorites? What changed your life, musically or otherwise?

Cheers
Catrina

For the record, songs recorded before I was born: 10/15. Good Job Cath & Kev!

The Fabulous Adventures of...

2010-02-01T12:46:00.009-08:00

The Honda CRV. No song title this time. "Baby you can drive my car"?

It's red. It's a manual. It has a rusted undercarriage and is usually going over the speed limit. It has strict safety belt regulations. It's hauled many of you around. It drives in the snow fabulously. It is a beast. The driver's side window is broken. It has a very noisy exhaust system. It's usually messy. It's MINE! :-)

I feel now is the appropriate time to write an ode to my little red Honda CRV. It has carried me many, many miles. Countless trips back and forth to Gettysburg. My CRV and I met in 2003 before I knew how to drive a manual transmission. An all-holiday present from my parents, we continue to be in a long term relationship...and a happy one at that. We even made it through learning to drive manual...I'm sure that was tough on the CRV!

I recall going up the driveway to Fox Run (where I was about to start working) and stalling out. I spun tires and rocks that day! It's no wonder the CRV still loves me.

It overcame the incident pictured below...Anna driving it around the parking lot in Gburg, loaded to the gills with my favorite people.

It carried my mom and I cross country. It saw many things...including:

Kadoka, SD:

Mt rushmore, yellow stone, a tornado, a lot of cheese in wisconsin, the wild wild west...well, you get the picture. My Mom thought it was a sweet ride too.

It carried me from WA south, to my current home. Since being in California, the CRV gets moderately offended from time to time because I chose to walk over driving it, but to make up for my neglect, I take it on some pretty awesome adventures.

Like to Big Sur....

Part of my Honda's enduring identity (and mine) was that it had NY license plates.

Well, this weekend, I paid my dues to the state of California. Laying out $200+ dollars to declare my permanence. I had my car plated here. It was very sad.

The (grouchy) DMV person snatched those beauties right out of my hands (along with 2 months worth of grocery money) and I nearly cried. (Partly because of the remaining $0.93 in my bank account!)

I affixed my new plates and adjusted to them and told the CRV not to despair, we could still drive like New Yorkers. :-)

Here's to the journey of the next 130k miles, CRV! Thank you!

Cheers!

Another Christmas Song

2010-01-11T22:14:00.014-08:00

“Another Christmas Song” by Steven Colbert

Greetings all! I am tardy, as usual, but, what else is new? You all know my feelings on “catch up” entries, but it seems to be all I write! I’m actually processing this entry in word because I’m on a flight to Seattle with no wifi. Ahh, the luxuries we adjust to!

Needless to say, my time at home and in the DC were well spent and immensely enjoyed. The trip started out with my mildly amusing run through JFK and only got better. I left Syracuse that afternoon and Mom and I enjoyed our ride home in balmy 19 F weather. Needless to say, I was a popsicle. I snapped this with my blackberry on the ride home.

Balmy, no?
The days before Christmas were spent shopping, baking, cooking, layering my clothes, visiting, and being a PY barfly with some old friends. Owing to the time change from PST to EST, I was easily able to be a terrible night owl. I was alert until 2 am every night! This is both expected and humorously ironic considering that I literally have to prop my eyes open to stay up past 1030 pm! 4 am used to be a regular event for me, but evidently I’m becoming an old woman.

Christmas Eve…Mom and I spent the day prepping for Christmas day. In the evening, we went up to my cousin Miranda and Gavin’s house to visit for a while. My mom ended up teaching Miranda, and me, how to make a roux to make macaroni and cheese. I make MEAN mac and cheese, but I do so by layering! I don’t make mac and cheese too terribly often anymore, but I am now going to quest for great tasting roux based mac and cheese that is high protein, lower carb, and with a reasonable amount of fat. Watching my Mom cook was always one of my underground favorites, and I learned most of my basics from her, especially with regard to baking. Did you know the North family owned and ran a real bagel shop? I learned a great deal while making bagels with the family! After we left Miranda’s, we went to church with the Folts family at the Bluff Point Methodist Church, where my Mom and her siblings went as young children. I’m not methodist, maybe not even Christian, so, most of the service was lost on me, but it as nice to be with my mom and extended family at an event steeped in tradition and love. We ended up partying with the Folts clan for a while (we took short ribs…we North’s make MEAN shortribs, too! Which sadly, those of us that have been surgically altered (2/3) cannot enjoy!) and I returned home to wrapping and then sleeping…waiting for Santa! Here we are on Christmas eve, at Miranda’s!

Christmas day was very nice. My mom, dad, and I got up and ate our traditional breakfast….sausage gravy over English muffins. It is FREAKING AMAZING. We opened presents! Santa was good to me! He brought me a Wii and Wii fit, some gift cards to buy CLOTHES THAT FIT!, a heart rate monitor, some slippers, and a very cute and monogrammed purple suitcase. I seriously love my purple suitcase…it’s perfect! Do you think I could smuggle one of these dogs back to California in it? ☺ My mom's cat, Holly, loved me too! She would definitely fit in the suitcase!

I haven’t tried out the Wii, but I will let you all know it is! Christmas afternoon, the Spence family came over for abundant food and cheer. It is always nice to catch up with them, and due to geography, it doesn’t happen frequently enough! I snapped a photo of my beautiful dessert table, which was plentiful! Luckily, it was plentiful enough for me to share with the Robideau’s! ☺

Christmas was very nice. My paternal grandparents and uncle, who normally join us, were unable to join us, and their presence was definitely missed! We certainly had enough food to give them…but they were celebrating in Florida with my Dad’s sister. Christmas day menu did not include a sit down mean, only grazing. Mom and I made stuffed mushrooms, ribs, fruit breads, shrimp, ….I can’t even remember! I wasn’t feeling great on Christmas eve or Christmas day, so I did not do a whole lot of eating. And when I did eat, it was chocolate based! In any case, it was a day filled with fun, food, and alcohol (Fox Run 2007 Cab Franc-Lemberger, if you were wondering). At the end of the day, the dogs looked like this…and the humans weren’t too far behind!

In the days following the holiday, I went shopping with my cousin Miranda and met me Aunt Vick (her mom) and her brothers for breakfast. Aren’t we cute?

Miranda and I are good shoppers…and we got lots of bargains! I also did a little mini wine tour on Seneca Lake, which, as it happens, terminated in a great brew pub in Watkins Glen, (insert name), with Brett and Travis. I do like beer, and would like to make some of my own sometime. The night ended up in Lloyds, one of PYs watering holes, wth some additional friends and catching up. Here’s Trav keeping it classy….because Lloyds wouldn’t allow us to pay a cork charge and drink the 2007 Merlot from Fox Run. (Which was hands down one of the best wines I have had in a long time….this is especially funny if any of you know my usual feelings on merlot!)

On the 30th, I hopped on a plane to Washington, DC, to visit that area. I stayed in Frederick with my BFF Jen for most of the time, but satellite visits were abundant to visit other loved ones in the area. This entry is lengthy, so I’m going to quickly give you a few photo highlights:

Here is the Dom and Red Baron I cooked up:-) Happy New Year!

And here is my delayed flight board at Dulles. There were gale force winds that forced them to only run one runway. This resulted in my reasonable getting back to Livermore time of 1030pm being totally blown out of the water for the actual time of 0100. C’est la vie.

I’m hoping to get a few visits in this winter (San Diego, Seattle, maybe DC if someone sends me a flight deal), learning to ride my bike, run the Chinese New Year 5k, read more books for leisure, take classes at my gym (Zumba, Tai Chi, Yoga), do well at school, among assorted other things I cannot mention in a public forum! For those of you keeping tabs, I’m down 125 lbs. I’m charging forward!

Currently on a flight to Seattle to celebrate Anna Banana’s birthday, along with her havenese Pow and Oscar! So far the plan includes hot yoga, dinner at her favorite restaurant, and nothing else. I’m excited to try hot yoga…I might not make it.

Miss you guys! Happy New Year!

Cheers
Catrina

PS- I don’t know if any of you read about JR, but I saw she and her amazing family twice over my vacation and she is doing leaps better. She is a lucky girl. I am still thinking of her and praying for her, just she has a lot of people cheering for her, and she knows it. Her mom said she should be released next week, hopefully. Love you, JR!

California Girls

2009-12-18T11:12:00.004-08:00

"California Girls" by The Beach Boys

Shalom all, greetings!

Actually, right now, I'm sitting in my Mom's office while she has a meeting. Yes, I am in Syracuse, NY!! Rockin'! She won't let me go visit JR with her car *ahem*, so, I'm doing a bit of homework. See?

I look pretty sloppy, like I haven't slept in 24+ and she's introducing me to all of her coworkers. I'm sure that's a great first impression! ;-)

So, yep, took off from Oakland last night around 11:15 pm PST. Was originally going to spend a few days in NYC with Alison, but I decided just to come home direct from NY. the flight from OAK was delayed....so I ended up literally sprinting to JFK to get to my connecting flight with all of my luggage. I was late and overweight (what else is new lol) with my bag, so I had to pay the guy off in wine at the ticketing counter. It worked like a charm, my bag was first off in Syracuse. As far as plans while I am in Penn Yan? I PLAN ON SEEING ALL OF YOU! And trying to stay warm (it was 3 F this AM. THREE. That's all.)

A good friend of mine, JR (she's standing next to me in Gilroy), was in a pretty serious car wreck last week. I planned on seeing her anyway, but I will definitely be seeing her more than once now! For any of you on facebook, you can check this out. I have been thinking of JR and her family a lot this week, and praying! I'm pretty sure the lord is probably sick of hearing me say "Please help JR get better...ya gotta!" I think things are going fairly well (knock on wood), but I will continue to pray and try to get up to Roch to see JR ASAP! She's my girl and one of my favorites. She's one of those rare people that has so much joie de vive that it just spills over on you and makes you happy as well. She, and her family, are fantastic to be around!

Other than visiting JR and Christmas, I have no specific plans. So, get at me! I wanna do some drinking and some socializing...and I want to stay out of this cold!!! Maybe I am turning into a California girl after all...at least with respect to the weather!

Cheers!

Editorial Rant: The Holidays

2009-12-07T13:07:00.003-08:00

I'm considered, by some I know, to be a scrooge. I don't want to hear Christmas music before December 20th. I don't think decorating my apartment, where I won't spend the holiday, is needed. I don't have anything plastic and large and Santa or Rudolph looking. Christmas carols in November? Vomit. Walmarts holiday section? Looks like Santa's puke. I am just NOT into the shiny plastic parts of Christmas. If you are, I'm glad for you. If everyone in the world were like me, they would never play "Baby It's Cold Outside" on the radio or no one would decorate their houses.

But I am NOT a Scrooge. What I like to excel at is gift giving and trying to go out of my way to do nice things for people. I love picking out thoughtful and useful gifts for people. I like to make their lives richer and more pleasant or help them out by making things easier. As many of you know, I have many many people that I love and care about, and I try to tell them as frequently as possible, not just during the holidays. I try to be good to people and care about them and give love willing and often. That's what the season is all about, for me. It's an opportunity to cherish your loved ones and show them how much you care (and pay a TON for airline travel! woohoo!).

Part of "being good to people" is being good to ALL people. This is sometimes a challenge for me...I don't know many people who it is NOT a challenge for. But what bothers me most about the holidays...here it is...is how SURLY and MEAN people get. I was walking in Walmart yesterday and every other person I passed was scowling. A deep scowl. The CHRISTMAS scowl. It was the same way at the mall. And at Old Navy. Lots of Christmas scowling. I get it. There's extra stress. You have 10 million extra things to do. You have family around or coming that you may or may not care for. Sometimes the holidays SUCK.

But, is that any reason to take it out on those around you...specifically store clerks? For example, I went to the store the night before Thanksgiving Eve day to get fruit for the fruit salad. I was chilling in the canned foods isle, looking for canned pineapple. There was a man who worked for Safeway trying to help a woman. Their exchange went something like this:
Man: how can I help you?
Woman: I need some of that stuff. For dinner. You know? It comes in the turkey...you add water....don't you know what I'm talking about?
Man: What sort of stuff, ma'am? (She was a ma'am, trust me.)
Woman: You know, it has celery, and onions, and bread crumbs, and spices...
Man: Oh, stuffing. Well, if you want to make it, the onion and celery are over in produce, and right here--
Woman: *up in this dude's face* Did you not hear me? Are you stupid? I want the kind you add water too!
Man: *blank stare, possible tears*
Woman: Well, can't you help me? YOU'RE USELESS!!
Me: Ma'am, the bagged stuffing is right there on the end of the isle. (Literally, 5 feet away.)
Woman: God, these people are incompetent! I want to talk to your manager! *huff huff huff*

I honestly had no idea she meant bagged stuffing until the near end. The gentleman was NOT a native of the US, so his thanksgiving experiences were probably limited. But she tore into him like he had just stolen her last dollar! Dude! I wanted to like run in front of the guy and be like "Back up lady, or I will lay you out!" but, I resisted, she may have killed me.

This happens most frequently during the holidays and it REALLY bothers me. It totally misses the point of the holidays! Love, joy, comfort...none of the above when I see so much mean-ness going on out there!

To try to make up for the mean-ness, I'm going to try to be extra good to service folks. My cousin Miranda, when she was out here last October, taught me a very valuable lesson: be NICE, EXTRA NICE, to those that help you out with things you buy...you will be rewarded. And it is totally true! Not only are their monetary benefits, but I feel much better about myself when I make other people happy. Who doesn't?

So, that's what I'll try to do. Be good to people everywhere (regardless of how horrible they've been to me in the past!) and stay cool with service people, no matter how frustrating the situation.

The Thanksgiving Song

2009-11-29T16:10:00.007-08:00

"The Thanksgiving Song" by Adam Sandler

Hey all! Happy Thanksgiving. I know I know, the day has already passed, but, I know I'm still thankful for everything I was thankful for on the 26th!

After finishing a marathon week at work (too many ML ferments calling my name to watch them right now...like naughty children!), I happily lit off for Napa for some R and R. First, a quick story. So, we all know I'm in school, right? I'm doing two programs concurently, one in enology and one in viticulture. As you can imagine, this means two classes at once. I finished a big marathon when classes in both programs in late October (everything was due 31 October). Before I went to DC, I logged on a wrote down all of my upcoming due dates. We were in a short course for viticulture...Nematodes of Grapevines...which I knew close to little about. From what I wrote down on the 6th, my final paper was due on November 28th. I put it in my blackberry....all good, all ready. So, I sit down last weekend with the intent of getting ahead for the week because I was going to be able to put in 0 time during the week...only to discover....that my nematode final paper was due the 23rd. This was a 4 pm PST on the 22nd. AWESOME. But no worries kids, I rocked it. I was just up rockin' later than I wanted for the 0530 start monday morning! Reading comprehension is key. I'm a fool.

So, Napa for the holiday was GREAT. I arrived to a house full of dogs...big and small...white and dark...they were amazing! Here are some of them relaxing on the couch...Life at Wheeler Pet Sitting is really tough!

Looks tough, right? Anyway, we cooked and played Euchre (and drank...)the night before, and then awoke the next morning and continued cooking mania. My cousins, Mat and Jennifer, who live in Oakland and are from Missouri arrived later that morning, heritage turkey in hand. I don't have a photo of the special heritage turkey, but I can tell you it had very small breasts! LOL! No, really, it had much more rich dark meat and very limited breast meat...ahhh consumer driven animal selection.

Mat and Jennifer brought 3 friends from Oakland and we all had a very nice time! Good wine, good friends, good food...good times! We ate dinner on my aunt's collection of our family's china. A few generations ago on my Mom's side, our family owned a china mill in England called Hammersley and my Aunt Deb has made herself quite a collection over the years. Most of the women in our family possess pieces that they have accumulated over the years. Before the days of eBay, my mom and I used to go to antique shows and look for it...I clearly remember flipping over cups and saucers and reading the stamps...hoping it was Hammersley. It's our family heritage...in pretty painted cups!

Here's the table all decked out (all photos are Aunt Deb and Uncle Ed's! Thanks guys):

Dinner was fantastic, check out our spread:

A feast!!! Sweet potatoes, mashed white potatoes, turkey, apricot-grand marinier stuffing (complete with giblets), Gramma North's fruit salad, fresh baked rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, spinach salad, roasted veggies....I could go on and on!!

Unfortunately, I pulled a totally ROOKIE gastric bypass patient mistake and was able to eat about zippo of my meal (don't worry, I had left overs). So, our number one food rule is no drinking while eating. #2 is...protein first. If you have a plate full of food, you're supposed to eat your protein, then veggies, then if you have space left, carbs. Well, I'm an idiot and a carbohead. So, there were these amazing little rolls, homemade and warm and amazing, that we made in mini-muffin tins for dinner. So, I figured, I want that roll, so I'm eating it first, end of story. So, I buttered it, and ate it. Well, as you can imagine, once you wet carbohydrates like bread, they expand! (I will have to explain my now VERY complicated relationship with sandwiches at another time!) I ate that whole roll and BANGO, full pouch...sick Catrina...no more thanksgiving food or drink for ~1 hour. It's not the end of the world, but it does show me that I'm a moron!

Later in the evening, because I was hungry as hell, I got to eat some turkey and some roasted veggies. My cousins are professional veggie people, and Mat roasted these veggies...carrots, beets, other roots...they were amazing!!!! I took quite a few home with me.

Here is a photo for me to leave you with!

That's all she wrote about Thanksgiving! More soon! Sorry this is probably riddled with typos!

A bientot!!

All These Things I've Done

2009-11-17T21:57:00.004-08:00

"All These Things I've Done" by the Killers

I've got soul but I'm not a soldier...

Howdy Howdy from chilly Northern California. I know, all of you east coasters are rolling your eyes at me. I'm that person you see while traveling that is wearing the scarf in 60 degree sunshine. Yep. I'm there. Acclimation at its best, I suppose. One of my major "side effects" from surgery is that I am literally the coldest human in the universe. Even 113 lbs ago, I was freezing. (Clearly, I am defective.) Now it's WORSE. Picture this: right now, I'm sitting in my bed in the following situation: mattress warmers cranked up to high, which is the temperate equivalent of a low heat frying pan, long fleece pj pants, 3 shirts including a hooded sweatshirt with hood on, and 2 pairs of socks (trust me, the second pair makes a huge difference!) and count them....4 blankets. I'm a freak of nature. Somethings I will never understand. I spent most of the 100+ degree summer feeling cold to the bone. Like, New York February chilled. And I'm not anemic. Just a wierdo. :-)

Other than being freezing, things are going very well. Harvest is done... pretty much, we're pressing off the last of our reds on Thursday, they say. Now I can have weekends...whatever will I do? Homework? Learn guitar? Bike? Run? Empty out my DVR? (Don't worry, I've been on top of GLEE!) I have a fairly extensive bucket list lately...I've been feeling ambitious. Luckily I have the energy to match.

Oh, all of you should most definitely check out my pal Sarah's blog here. She's connected to me through a co-worker (Debbie, the one who took wonderful care of me after surgery and on my birthday and beyond) and she is a stylish and well-spoken chick! She blogs about food, fashion, wine, life! She and I share many of the same food philosophies, so I appreciate her ideas. She is responsible for my burgeoning Luna bar habit! She's a much more frequent blogger than me, too, so that's much more enjoyable for you all.

Traveled to DC this past weekend because, well, I could. I try to make it a habit to travel to see the people I miss (duh....) and that is exactly what I got to do. Good food, good wine, good people. All amazing. Here is a pic from dinner out in DC, my college room mates and some of my favorite people in the world.

Many good drinks were had. At this meal, which was at a restaurant called Momiji DC, I ordered a mixed drink that I could smell from the bar...it smelled so strongly of passionfruit, yet it contained none. Psssssychhhh. Not too sugary. And plenty alcoholic. It was fantastic to catch up with the girls...who seem, like me, to be adults. Frightening.

I'm currently reading the book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I resisted reading it for a long time, but I found it at a library book sale for 50c early in the fall and I thought...what the hell. The book is literally changing my life. Good books do change your life, right? They change your perspective by expanding it...introducing new.

It explores the pursuit of pleasure, spirituality, and balance. I struggle with all of those things. Mostly, I found her quest for spirituality and how it intertwines into her life most intriguing. Up to this point, I thought I was fairly alone in not finding an organized religion that I could really...you know...go all in for and get behind. I had always found myself wishing that I could bespiritually "cherry picking", a practice which seemed as though it should be unacceptable to me. I had some pretty regular "deal-breakers" with many organized religions: women's right to chose, all other religions go to hell, and well, I don't hate homosexuals in the least...love is love, it is all good with me....so I never felt at "home" with any of the organized religions that I know anything about. Sparing you any further spirituality talk, this book suggests that spiritual cherry picking is alright...as long as you aim to live your life in a loving and good manner. Now that I will have more idle time, I will have a little time to mediate on things like these!

Time for some sleep, I think. Thanksgiving soon! Hopefully I will give into my narcissism and blog more frequently, but nothing in life is certain!

Cheers all, see you soon!

Say Hey (I Love You)

2009-10-25T22:10:00.003-07:00

"Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti and Spearhead

The above is a happy-go-lucky tune I discovered at the beginning of harvest that I often bump in my ipod when I'm outside checking tanks at the winery. It matches my mood...most of the time.

I wouldn't have blogged this evening but I am just so damn excited because the YANKEES ARE GOING TO TO WORLD SERIES!!! The game didn't end until 9 pm my time, which is late in New York, but I'm all wound up because of it. :-) And I spent the night making chili...high protein, high fiber, yum yum!

Anyway, it has been harvest pretty much since I got back from New York. In September, I spent two weekends in a row in Washington State doing the required "camps" for my certificate programs. They were lots of fun! I have been kind of dragging my feet waiting for the pictures to appear...but to no avail. I learned a lot about viticulture in the viticulture weekend. The enology weekend was....a nice review. I do enology-type work fairly, um, regularly, so, it was mostly a .....review. My classmates were excellent. I was surprised at how different the enology class was when compared to the viticulture class. There were more women in the viticulture class, which I was somewhat surprised by. I got a harsh reminder in the wine industry of often an old boys club when I left for my first weekend, so it was refreshing to see the abundance of XX chromosomes in the viticulture certificate program.

The harvest at Wente has been different then any harvest I have experienced. It was a slow start...with a trickle just enough to keep us marginally busy, but easily distracted. The sugars were slow to rise in the vineyard samples that I saw come across my bench. Then suddenly, the chardonnay was ready and BAM! It has been mania ever since. Six days a week crazy crazy. Don't get me wrong, that is exactly how I like it, but, it does a girl in!

In other news, I love 100 lbs! 108, now, actually. That's like...an entire person. It is a strange place that I'm in right now, I can honestly say, I feel like I'm the same size as I was when I went into surgery....maybe larger. My rational brain knows that that is not the case, but every time I look into the mirror I see...fat. What a strange reversal in the way that I think. I can't figure it out, but I don't have too much time to dwell on it either. My clothes certainly fit "better"....if better is defined by ridiculously large. My jeans are especially annoying because I spend the entire day hiking them up! Oh well. I think my hair is done falling out....it had been falling out since June and ceased last week. I'm still freezing cold though. Interesting new life I'm leading.

I'm DC bound fairly soon for a little weekend away (208 $ plane ticket...non-stop). I am excited to be the heck out of California for a few days. I went to Napa to spend the night with Deb and Ed last weekend, and a few dogs, and it was incredibly therapeutic! I enjoyed being away and with people I love so much. I got back to Livermore and was actually disappointed when I returned home.

Quick update. Sorry there are no pics, but I'm having a hard time finding some that looks like I've lost 100 lbs. That's probably because I'm having trouble seeing it myself. I will find something suitable hopefully. Be patient!

Til next time.

Cheers
Catrina

'Til Summer Comes Around

2009-09-07T18:54:00.007-07:00

'Til Summer Comes Around, Keith Urban

Okay, so I just made a very very tasty meatloaf. Mushrooms, onions, 93% lean beef, fresh parsley, garlic, bread crumbs...very yum (24g protein per 3 oz serving, 220 cals). I got one broccoli floret and three bites of meatloaf in and BAM, no more. I think people think I'm nuts, but, this means that I'm having a "small pouch day". It always seems to happen when I have something delicious to eat! A small trade off for -90 lbs, but, occasionally frustrating.

Anyway, it has been about a month since I updated. I've been HOME since I last wrote. Being home was absolutely fabulous. Not only were the people from PY there, but my chicks from Gettysburg came too! I got to see beautiful Kate get married, and it was AWESOME! Here's a photo of the two of us:

She was a beautiful bride! :-)

The G-burg girls rented a boat, which was, of course, very much fun. Very therapeutic to spend time on my lake. Ahhhh. We had a good party at Casa North on Friday night. I hear the food was great, but I think the company was great. It was so fabulous to see you guys, enjoy the weather (hot and humid lol) and a few adult beverages! Being home is such a treat. I will be back at Christmas time! :-)

Anyway, then Kourteney came out for a visit, which was right at the beginning of HARVEST! Yay! How excited am I! Well, I'm excited to be making wine, but doubly excited to be making MONEY! Here's a photo of the first load of grapes (Chardonnay Cuvee) to hit the presses.

Upcoming, I go to WA for school! I'm excited, but not for all of the travel. I hate airports (think twice before you're rude to an obese person in the airport...we're not having fun either). I'll keep you posted on how my hands-on learning weekends go.

Sorry this is brief. Time to run back to Wine Chemistry. Boo.

Sympathique

2009-08-10T19:51:00.011-07:00

Sympathique, by Pink Martini

Sorry guys, long time no blog! No excuses, but I've been a busy girl. Two of my classes ended at the same time (Growing Grapes and Wine Production I) so I was hella swamped with those. Anyway.

Let's see, let me bring you quickly up to speed. Since the wedding, I've seen quite a few people. The first were Maelina and Ela, friends of mine from college, who were out visiting SF. Thankfully, I was able to spend an afternoon with them in the city. It was VERY nice to catch up with both of them. We ate lunch at a restaurant called the Stinking Rose, which is in North Beach, the Italian Neighborhood of SF. We then we off on a walking tour-ish of downtown...we saw Chinatown, did a tea tasting, and walked, basically. I attempted to take them to my favorite Chinatown stop, a bakery called the Golden Gate Bakery, which has Chinese pastries to die for. Unfortunately, the bakery was closed.

Chinatown is a favorite of mine in SF. It doesn't smell like NYC's Chinatown and it reminds me very much of Sydney. It's one of my happy places, and I go there as often as I can. If anyone wants to go...let me know!

Anyway, some photos:

Maelina and I posing in front of the Port of SF/Embarcadero...in cartoon motion!

Ela and I in front of the Bay Bridge

Thanks to she and Maelina, these are their photos!

Upon arrival home that evening, I had house guests! My friends from Fox Run, Mike and JR, came out from their new home in Healdsburg to visit so that we could make the trip to Gilroy for the mother of all Garlic Festivals. Also arriving that evening was Gianna, another Fox Run alum who is on temporary assignment in LA. Reunion! We drank some FL riesling (home it's home i'd like to be!) and ate some pizza. There is something very special about spending time with people who know where you come from.

The next day we were off to Gilroy for the less than awesome garlic fest. Numero uno: it was FREAKIN' HOT! Fox Run puts on a much more garlic centered festival! Gilroy's fest was over commercialized, and I was surprised at how little raw garlic there was there! One of my favorite memories of the Fox Run garlic fest was sneaking out from behind the tasting room bar and doing a "garlic tasting" of all of the different types of garlic. Nothing of the sort in Gilroy! Most everything was cooked garlic. And, don't get me wrong, I loved my garlic fries, but, totally missed Fox Run. First full weekend in August people, remember!

Took Gianna to the airport and JR and Mike to Wente for some barrel surfing. It was nice to see their reactions to the sheer size of Wente. I have adjusted, but it was a nice reminder of the wonder I once felt. Now I just need to work on restoring that sense of wonder!

Here we are with the Foster Farms chicken people, saying "No" to plumping....and YES to sunscreen!

And...the coolest thing in Gilroy...the Olympic torch of garlic...amazing.

The next weekend, my old friend Sara Marian visited! She is amazing! I hadn't seen her since I visited her in Boulder, CO. She's now in med school and kicking ass! She's pretty much my shopping soulmate...and it was so nice to see her! We did Wente, climb Mt Diablo (yes, I mean climbed...we took a wrong turn and took a very long and steep path up the mountain!), toured around in the city, and had ray-ban wayfarer and dress up day in Napa. She, of course, is one of the only people who can talk me into wearing a dress where jeans are perfectly appropriate. ;-)

The vista from the summit of Mt. Diablo. Yes, it was sunset. This resulted in some running back down said steep mountain.

Extra-circular dress wearing day.

And finally, this past weekend, we had a weekend outing just the Wente labbies! Chris has a cabin near Lake Alpine, CA. OMG! It was amazing. It reminded me of how much I missed green. I accomplished the first of my "skinny" goals: kayaking. Turns out, I freaking love it! Chris has promised before we left that he would teach me, so I held him to his word.

Ahhhh...Nirvana. I will be kayaking a lot more in the future.

It was a fantastic weekend. I admit I was a little anxious to go away someplace for an extended amount of time with my coworkers, but my anxiety was not grounded. I think we all agree we had a great time! On my first day at Wente, one of the winemakers said to me "Welcome to the Family", and he wasn't kidding. They are a big part of my Cali family. :-)

Speaking of family...I GET TO SEE MINE IN THREE DAYS! Family of the east coast variety, of course. I am so ridiculously excited. I haven't been to NY in 14 months...since Miranda's wedding! I could just about dance up and down I am so excited. I get to see my grandparents, cousins, friends, ahhhhh! So pumped!

For any of you in the PY metro, I expect you to stop by my house for a hot dog and a beer on Friday (the 14th) after 7 pm. Party up in 289 E. Lake Road. Come on now, put it in your GPS.

More pics on facebook from the last few weeks.

Cheers
Catrina

All Apologies, AKA Anna's Wedding

2009-07-26T22:55:00.012-07:00

All Apologies, Nirvana

I simply cannot write an entry that takes place in Seattle without giving a musical nod to Nirvana, who were the first rock group I ever listened to from the modern days and my first idea that Seattle existed...outside of PY.

So last weekend I went to Seattle for my dear friend Anna's wedding. I was even a bridesmaid! I tried to be a good bridesmaid and help where I could! I visited in January and participated in paper cutting (all of Anna's invitations, save the dates, place cards, etc were HAND MADE) and some bridesmaids dress picking. Before any of us knew it, July was here. I even had to give a toast! And the day of, I wound up transporting the rings to the site. Holy cow. What stress. Don't worry, they made it.

Anyway, the wedding was at Golden Gardens Bath House, which is run by the Seattle Park Service as a beach destination in Seattle. From what I can gather, it's quite popular in the sunny months!

Thanks Jess, I borrowed your image. :-)

Pretty great, right?

Well, the wedding began with a bachelorette party which I am not permitted to post any photos of, then onto the rehearsal dinner at a med restaurant on Alki Beach in Seattle called Pheonicia. It was delicious! The owner, Hussein, prints menus, but never really uses them. He is this cute little old man who doesn't appear to speak much english and when he approaches your table and says he'll "fix you something special", you kind of just have to trust him and run with it. I didn't take many pictures at the rehearsal dinner, but I will post one if it ever surfaces. It was a great time with a great group and great food! Anna and Jess' families were both outstanding! I met a lot of great people!

The big day was upon us on Saturday the 18th, and thanks to Anna's meticulous planning, there was very little stress that day. One little snafu with the park service resulted in everyone showing up (ie-caterers) and the venue not being open (thanks seattle park service) and us having to put Anna in her dress outside for pictures, but, it went amazingly well. The bridesmaid, Kathryn, Athena, Kassidy, and myself all got along very well. The groomsmen, two of Jess' brothers, then a cousin, and an old friend of his, showed a bit less solidarity, especially when it came time to decorate...errrr...vandalize the bride and grooms car. Big ups to Minh, the only groomsmen who helped out!

Bonus, I got to see my room mate from Wenatchee, who I hadn't seen since I left washington. And double bonus, I got to play beach volleyball in my dress. And drink lots of alcohol.

The whole wedding party, including the ring bearers Oscar and Pow Sticky! Minus the Flower Girl, though

Anna was beautiful! Here she is getting ready to walk down the aisle. Check out that train!

Tables with Seattle based Jones Soda favors, and recall: all hand made paper products, including menus, favor cards, etc etc.

One our way out to decorate vehicles...there are scissors in my shirt bc we were sneaking out, but had to stop for drinks from Gary on the way out.

Our handwork on Anna's car, which I, ironically, drove home with 4 other people in the car. It was hard to explain to people...I should also note that we attached a galloon milk jug to the bumper, and it made it all the way back to Anna's house in tact!

Craftsmanship on Jess' car, which they did drive home!

Sunset dance party with the MOTB and MOTG!

Pow Sticky tried climbing into my suitcase to come back and soak up some Cali sun...

So did Oscar!

I came back to SF exhausted, but having had a great weekend! I'm of the belief that Anna should be married every year so we can all get together and party on the beach! I will post more pics when the pro shots come out. SWEET!

Cheers!

Ain't It Good, Part II

2009-07-15T21:41:00.016-07:00

Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh Yea! Alcatraz. So, the national park service runs Alcatraz. It certainly shows its age and it is sad to think that it won't be there forever! So anyway, Alcatraz was first a military base, then a federal maximum security prison. It closed its doors in 1963, owing to the gigundo cost to run it...being off shore they had logistical issues with waste, supplies, etc etc.

So, it is about a 20 minute boat ride across the (very windy and cold bay) to get there. See below:

Windy!

They call it "the rock" for a reason:

So, when you approach the island to dock, one of the first things you see is a large sign identifying the place, but someone has spray painted "Indians Welcome". I'm not 100% sure on the story, but Alcatraz was occupied by Native Americans for nearly two years, and the proposed to turn it into an ecology center, etc, but they were forced out, and it was during this period that many fires took place. Here is the wikipedia article should you want to read more about it!

Here is a photo:

You get off the boat and hike up a gently sloping hill that is supposedly about 13 stories when you get to the prison at the top, but didn't seem to bad to me, then you go in the main cell block area and start an audio tour. I have to say, I felt like a giant nerd walking around with that orange string around my neck with a player attached to it, but it did end up being cool. The park service went and found prisoners and guard from Alcatraz and interview them for the tour, and it was nice to hear some history first hand.

I'll walk you through a bit of it here.

First stop: in take showers. This is where the tour started. Not terribly private, hey?

Welcome to Alcatraz, here is your cell! (Very similar to my 1k per month apartment!)

Block of cells on C-D Street.

The inmates had plenty of time to knit!

Solitary Confinement was not a friendly place. This is where "The Bird Man" spent a great deal of his time.

Where inmates had visitors.

There's Jennie in front of the city skyline from Alcatraz. Could be worse for a federal penn, right? CHHHYEA!

Three inmates escaped from Alcatraz by burrowing holes from their cells air vents into the exhaust system and out. Somehow, they managed to make life like masks of themselves and place them in their beds, so the guards didn't notice that they were gone until long after they had left the island. No one knows if they made it to the city or the Angel Island (the "Ellis Island" of the west) to this day. They were never heard from again. They may have made it to safety, they also may have drown int the cold waters of the bay. It is up to your imagination as to what happened to them. I imagine that they made it to San Fran and got the hell out of dodge so fast no one could find them. The above photo is one of the dug-out air vents.

And finally, one of the things I found strangest about Alcatraz was that the menu board hung with the breakfast menu from the day they moved the prisoners. Granted, someone may have re-created it, but in my world it has remained intact, kind of like a snapshot in history. I found it fascinating that a detail like that would be left intact, even during the Native occupation and almost 50 years. Here's a photo:

There is your brief tour of Alcatraz. :-P I recommend the full one to anyone in the area!

The rest of the time, Jen and I took a tour of the city (sorry, not too many pics, too fast) and then we went back to Livermore for the 4th, watched some fireworks, drove around the valley a bit, and just laid low after several days of jamming.

The 5th came and I dropped her off at the airport, and was sad for a while, but, owing to my very generous mother, was able to go drown my sorrows in retail therapy. I needed new sneakers very badly, and I got them. Did you know you're supposed to switch out your sneakers every 300 miles? Well, I had long since bypassed that mark, but now I have a bright pair of brand new Nike's. I will be honest and say I had never been able to fit in Nike's before, but these are awesome. Thanks Mom!

Next, I was off to my coworker Debbie's place for dinner, but first she had agreed to take me to a movie. I love going to the movies, but I so rarely do it, so it was so very nice of Debbie to take me! We saw Public Enemies, which was a bit long, but still very bad ass. Then she had me over for dinner, and her oldest son Eric and his GF Sarah surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of lillies and peonies, which made my kitchen smell wonderful for a week. Sweet birthday, right? I had dinner at Debbie's, he SO, Ron, made kebabs of chicken and lamb. I had one bite of just about everything on the table...risotto, kebab, fresh tomatoes and cheese, yum yum! It was a birthday feast for sure. Debbie and her fam even got an angel food cake with lots of fresh fruit and sung to me! I didn't have much, but it was so delicious. I took a photo of my glowing cake (I know it's bright, 25 whole candles!). Here it is:

Aren't I lucky?

As if that wasn't enough, the party continued Monday! Plenty of well wishes from my coworkers. My Claude, the SLW winemaker, had myself and Monika and her family over for yet another amazing meal. We had venison...it went very good. Best I've had, probably. And bonus, I got to see Monika's adorable daughter! My supervisor, Chris, made me real buttermilk pancakes too, and he even made them tiny sized for me. Perfect. I will admit, I am spoiled. I had a FANTASTIC birthday. Thank you to everyone for making it so special!

PHEW. Lots of adventures. And the summer of fun continues: this weekend I am off to Seattle to be in Anna Sweet's wedding. Heck yes! I am psyched. Weddings are very exciting. I get to see my room mate Chris, from crush in WA, for the first time a while too. You all will hear about that soon!

PS-- Home in NY in just under a month! Can you say...excited?!!?!?

Cheers!

Ain't It Good?

2009-07-12T22:43:00.015-07:00

Song: Ain't It Good, Children of Eden, Original Cast Recording

Long time, no update. Call it an unfortunate case of a very long to-do list. My birthday has come and gone, and I can say with absolute certainty that I have gotten a lot accomplished in my 24th year. Surgery, school, working, keeping my head above water. I gave myself a nice pat on the back and a few of my favorite potato chips in celebration. Yes, sour cream and cheddar ruffles. Yes, they are unfortunately just as delicious post-op as they were pre. Drat. Since I can't have birthday cake really, they are my choice of stand-in. :-P

Anyway, for my birthday and the 4th, my best friend Jennie came out from Washington DC. Can you say AWESOME! Well, we got up to quite a few things while she was here. She had a series of requests for places to visit, most of which I had never visited, so I was happy to oblige.

Our first stop was to spend the night in Monterey, CA. Monterey is a beautiful coastal town about 40 miles south of Santa Cruz on the extremely scenic Route 1. We drove down on a Wednesday after a delicious break fast at Zorn's, my favorite breakfast place in the area, who makes killer avocado, tomato, bacon and cheddar omelettes. Jennie discovered the magic of traveling with a gastric bypass patient...we're cheap dates. One omelette, two cups of coffee, and two satisfied customers.

We were on our way, sponsored by my Aunt Deb who had picked up some free passes, to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. OH.MY.GOD. It was AMAZING. It narrowly beat out the Sydney Aquarium because they had so little space and did so much with it! I highly recommend it to all who visit the bay area. My favorite exhibit was the jellyfish, Jennie's was the otters, I think. They also had an entire exhibit dedicated to seahorses. Here are some photos:

Beautiful jellyfish.

Yes, ESers, those are Emerita. Not talpoida though. Could have fooled me!

Some sea anemones.

Jen's favorite, the very endearing otters

Entrance to the Aquarium

These jellyfish are currently the background on my computer. Aren't the colors awesome?

After spending the night and awaking to the sound of the ocean outside of our room, we headed out to drive south on Route 1 to Big Sur, which was quite a ways down the coast.

We did a portion of 17 mile drive, which is famed, evidently, but gave up before the end because it was boring. Ha! Sorry, but, you're better off to stay on Route 1 and skip the 9$ fee. But, we did get to see the lone Cypress, which is a very famed image of a single Cyprus tree rising up from a rock formation in the sea. Here is a photo.

On the way from Monterey to Big Sur, we stopped in Carmel, dictated by our empty stomachs. As luck would have it, Carmel is home to a historic mission! Jennie and I both love visiting missions. We're not altogether sure why, considering she and I are both not terribly religious, let alone history buffs or Catholic. But, as I mentioned in a previous entry, something about them really strikes me. So, we stopped, browsed the rosaries in the gift shop and went to check out the mission. We met a very nice padre there, he seemed very humble and kind, exactly what I like to think of when I picture holy men.

Beautiful day behind the bell tower, don't you think?

Inside the main sanctuary...don't worry, it's cool to take pics, I made sure.

Older graves marked out by rather large abalone shells.

Fountains and Gardens.

Bell Tower and Sanctuary Building

We drove southward until we reached Big Sur, then we turned around and came back up. It was beautiful. However, it was a very windy and frustrating drive, with lots of shifting and breaking, it was tough on my little CRV. But, I always make sure my CRV gets to see all of the sights. It deserves it, after all, carrying me around! Below is a photo of Jennie and my CRV enjoying the scenery near Big Sur.

See? The CRV needs love too!

And here are two shots of the scenery at the coast. It was breath taking, really.

The biker on the right side of this pic was REALLY GRUMPY!!!

Next stop was Santa Cruz for dinner...for the BEST fish tacos in the universe. I mean, they are amazing. Fresh, of course. Let's see if I can remember them all: scallop, snapper, shrimp...oh, I can't. But I will tell you, none of them are deep fried and they are all delicious. They are from a little taco bar in the back of the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasters called El Palomar. Just for all of you, I took some photos! I had one bite of each...yum!

PS- Don't be scared, one of the tacos pictured is asada (beef), for those who noticed.

Alright, I unfortunately need to go to bed. I have to work tomorrow, sheesh! I will finish vacation round two including Alcatraz and a San Fran city tour and my week long birthday mania tomorrow night!!

Stay Tuned!

Cheers Big Ears

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

2009-06-26T09:22:00.021-07:00

Song: Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Michael Jackson

I don't think any of us can believe Little Michael died yesterday. Despite his personal choices, the guy did make some rocking music. As evidence, I took a screen shot of my iTunes library sorted to his music (this excluded Janet, which is another lengthy collection!). Almost 200 MB! Thanks for the music, Michael.

Onward, I had quite an action packed weekend. I spent the day Friday studying, which was not so action packed, but necessary. Then Saturday I went scouting in San Francisco for some people's upcoming visits, and it got me out walking (uphill) in new scenery and away from the gym! I got off of BART at 16th Street, in the middle of the Mission District. Below is a photo of a beautiful mission there. Missions are quite frequent in California, and I find them so beautiful. In the future, I'd like to visit them more often.

The next stop was the Castro to see 1)where it was and 2) Harvey Milk's place at 575 Castro Street. (Castro Camera) It is obviously no longer Castro Camera, but Harvey is remembered herein. I stopped in, snapped a picture, paid my respects, gave my thanks, and continued around the neighborhood. There was a show at the Castro Theatre that afternoon and the place was a buzz. I encountered a few friendly people that pointed me in the right direction to my next destination. Nice place.

And where Harvey Milk lived:

My next destination was "The Haight"...AKA the home base during "The Summer of Love" in 1967. Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead resided in the area during what history writes as quite the summer! Anyway, I don't know if they intentionally scent the air to smell like sweet, sweet marijuana, but it appeared that they did. A nice place now, mostly owing to that smell, but mostly tourist-y now. I'm pretty sure that's not what Janis, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead had in mind...but, it is consumerism at its best.

Not bad for my little point and shoot, huh?

Building on the corner of Haight and Ashbury

The next stop was one for my cousin, Miranda. I was within a mile or so of the Painted Ladies, so I decided to go and "complete" Miranda's honeymoon photos, because we had been too late and it was too dark for her to get any good photos of them when they were out here. The Painted Ladies are a group of elaborately painted Victorian Houses in Alamo Square in SF. I thought they were the same houses as feature on 'Full House", and they are similar, but these are NOT where Danny Tanner lived. Here are some pics, be sure to notice the city's CBD in the background...they are up quite a hill!!

My next step was to get back to BART, as I was a few miles from it. So, I walked down into the CBD...through the Civic Center Area and City Hall. City Hall is very lavish!
From the outside, anyway. Didn't hang around too long here, I was chasing daylight.

On Sunday, I went to the Giants Game (interleague play, vs the Texas Rangers) with Debbie's significant other's, Ron, family. I had never been to Giants stadium, so I jumped at the opportunity. It is a beautiful stadium, it overlooks the Bay! Sometimes, if a homerun is hit hard enough, it will splash! It was a good game, the Giants won. I also got myself quite a nice sunburn, despite my frequent sunblock use.

Notice the Bay Bridge in the Background!

In other news, I had a great week and am about to start on my growing pile of homework.

I know a lot of you probably have questions Re: gastric bypass, I know I did! The most common question I've been getting is some variant of: Do what are you allowed to eat? I intially did this so my nutritionist could spy on me when I had questions, but I'm cool with it, so I will make it public. I track me food daily, mostly to keep an eye on my grams of protein (I'm supposed to be getting 80-100). So, here you go guys, have at it: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/cnorth84/

Maybe this will help disperse some of the thoughts that I eat nothing but yogurt and babyfood. :-P

More adventures coming soon!

Cheers

Long Time Coming

2009-06-18T19:08:00.005-07:00

Song: Long Time Coming, Lil Wayne

Hello All. I know it's 2009, half way through!, but for some reason I've been bitten by the blogging bug again. Unexplained...totally! I've been exercising, working, laying in bed...and blog entry ideas have been popping into my head. I kind of still hold the view that blogging is a bit narcissist, but, for those whom I know that are not on facebook, they have no means of knowing what I am up to. So, pictures, stories, the occasional rambling...we'll see how this goes.

You know I hate catch up entries, so this is going to be a quick brief so every one is on the same page in the life of me. Okay, so, I came to California one November day in 2007 with very clear objectives:

1) To get experience in the wine industry (in progress)
2) To go to school for a professional certificate program in both enology and viticulture (check, I will be finished at Washington State University by Christmas 2010)
3) To have gastric bypass (completed, May 7, 2009)

So, I had been pretty tight lipped about the whole gastric bypass thing, mostly because I didn't want to jinx it. I will leave it at it was a years worth of doctor visits and further shame and embarrassment that is now coming to a close. Why did I do it? Simple. My health. Quality of life. It is that simple. My lifestyle has completely changed since May 7th and I couldn't be happier, truly. I have a bit of a complicated relationship with food, as I am suddenly completely disinterested in consuming it, but, I am feeling great. Food has never been my friend, never will be. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I don't love good food...especially when shared with good friends!! So, you may occasionally get the ramblings of someone with a re-routed digestive system, but hopefully my weight isn't the most interesting thing about me. ;-)

School. School is tough! It is mostly online work, but I have to appear in Washington State 6 times (3 times for each program) before the close of the program. I am learning a heap, but it is expensive in both time and money. But worth it, I hope.

Otherwise, still working at Wente. I've been there 1.5 years!!! I love them though, they are my California family. My heart still feels the love when I think about all of the love I received after surgery. You Wente folks are awesome! :-D

Okay, so, the dreaded catch up entry is over. On to bigger and better things.

Cheers

Pablo!

2008-01-25T11:17:00.001-08:00

Wente has brought in a Chilean intern to work for the year. His name is Pablo, and he is very entertaining. I found out that he takes videos with his digital camera to show things going on in the states to his family, and then he posts them all on youTube. (good idea, no?) They're in Spanish (obviously), but I want to share this one with you all. He's in the winery standing over a fermenting bin of red wine. He is so funny!

Please also note the loud Mexican music that is blaring in the background of the video...and still blares everyday.

Cheers

Going to California

2008-01-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

Arhhhhhnold ;-)

You know what?? There are a lot of songs about California. Heaps of songs about the state. There are a few about New York, even fewer about Washington or Pennsylvania. And by some of my favorite artists. Tupac, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin.

It only makes sense that I would have to live there to see if all of the songs are true, right? Feel the "California Love"?

Okay, so it wasn't exactly for that reason, but I am taking my current living situation as a good excuse to listen to an obscene amount of Tupac and Led Zeppelin. (For those who are unaware of my musical tastes, I do have a preference for some pretty ridiculous rap music.)

Here's the annotated story. Vintage in WA finished in early November. I had been looking for a job anywhere, but had made up my mind that I would stay on the west coast if that meant that I got to working in the wine industry. That being said, most of my opportunities were bound to exist in California. I got a cal about a week after vintage finished for an interview in Napa. Being that I had a place to stay in Napa, with My Aunt Deb and Uncle Ed, I told the woman I could be there Monday. In true rockstar fashion, I threw all of my shit in my car, had my cable cut, called Chris (my room mate in Wenatchee), and drove to California.

I arrived in Napa and had not only a place to stay, but a kick ass place to stay! I got an opportunity to know a few people that I wouldn't have normally know and had a fantastic time. Plenty of gin and tonics (and wine!) were consumed and I, quite frankly, wish I could stay in the Napa area. Napa is the perfect sized place for me. ~75k people, nice weather, green, lots of dogs, plenty of stuff to do, and san fran within reach. And lots of wine! And wine people! Hell, the street names are wine related. Hello! Amazing! And, of course, if I was able to stay in Napa, I would have been much closer to the people who took care of me, that I have come to love dearly, and that I enjoy very much!

As fate and my luck would have it, I got a job in the wine industry, but not in the Napa Valley. I took a lab tech job in a small city called Livermore, which is down bay from Napa by about 1.25 hours (in no traffic, of course). After about 1.5 months of feeling broke, helpless, and hopeless, I interviewed at Wente Family Estates and bam, job offer, which I took. In a whurlwind, Deb and I went to Livermore and got me an apartment. A few days later, thanks mostly to the help of Deb and Ed, the majority of my stuff was moved in Livermore.

So, I haven't started work yet, but I start tomorrow. 4 days a week, 10 hour shifts. The salary is not quite what I had hoped, so I'll have to get a job or two to supplement my income, but that's nothing new for me.

Definitely going to be a new experience. A New Yorker in Cali, living alone, working at an 800k case/ year winery (!?). I'm looking forward to it.

If you're wondering about Australia, that dream will have to be deferred for a while. Mostly due to financial problems! No surprise there. I will, at the very least, go back to Australia for a vintage. After I get my ducks in a row and my shit straightened out.

So, that's the short version. Now I am caught up and can blog at will. I will try to do so regularly.

Cheers

I know I suck.

2007-10-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know I know, It's October first and I've left you hanging by a thread since the beginning of August. I really HATE writing review entries, and I knew my life was destined to be one big review blog entry when I left Australia on 3 August.

So, let's start there. I left Australia in a blur. Thanks to some good friends, I was able to enjoy my last night in Wagga and was felt a great deal of sorrow to see the place go. When I stepped on the train to go to Sydney, it all went wrong. The guy that I was assigned to sit next to me was a total douchebag, so I got no sleep from midnight until 730 am. I got to the airport and United that they had lost (or "deleted") my reservations, then they claimed I owed them money when I definitely did not. This made me swear out against United and hate all things around me. And probably cause more of a scene than I should have. (Lots of luggage makes me testy.) But, I didn't learn my lesson because I ended up getting an upgrade because they knew that they had fucked up. It was only an upgrade to their economy plus section, but you're not going to catch me being ungrateful.

I arrive home like 36 hours later, still on August the third. I came into DC and spent a few enjoyable days with Jen in Frederick, before braving another plane to get to Rochester. After having a good sleep, I realized that I looked, sounded, and felt like an alien in my own country. And, that feeling as stuck with me some of the way until now, but frankly, I'm just too exhausted to honor any feelings except tired these days.

I spent a therapeutic two or so weeks at home, seeing the family and friends that I had spent months longing to see...and for good reason! They're fantastic! My life blood!

All the while, I missed Australia. It's like a constant dull ache. Forgettable sometimes, but not usually. I've kept in contact with a few of my mates there pretty steadily, and I miss them dearly. I miss the whole bloody thing, and I didn't think I would!

Anyway, the next part of my journey was to drive across the country with my Mom. It was an amazing experience. Mom and I knew it was going to be ridiculous when we drove through a tornado on day one coming through Toledo. (Fuckin' Ohio, it figures!) The journey flew east of the Mississipi, but as soon as we crossed over, life slowed down a bit. We saw towns with a posted population of 10 (Emblem, WY) and stayed in towns where we ate our first buffalo roast and stood out as definite city slickers. (Are you freaking kidding me?) Yellowstone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Bighorn National Forest...that's a limited list of what we saw! I fear that the journey will never get proper ode in my blog because it has all ready past, but I will do my best to recount its tales as I can.

Our journey ended in Wenatchee, WA, my current place of residence. (Actually Seattle, where Mom flew out of.) So far the internship has been going well. I am beat. I am sore. I have never been so tired in my life. But, I'm making wine god damnit, and I couldn't dream of doing anything else.

The picture is the view from my place. Yes, that is the Columbia River. It also over looks a drive in. Cheers to free movies on the weekends, although I don't really remember what a weekend is, per se. :-P Pretty sweet, right?

Cheers

Personality

2007-08-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, I've got to talk shop for this one. Bear with me.

Okay, so, I don't know everything about wine, but I know a damn good bit more than most people on the street. Most "wine people" and I disagree on a few things, but, hear me out.

In order to impress me, a wine doesn't necessarily need to embody every single one of its token varietal characteristics. I want my subtle and silky Pinot Noirs as much as I want my bold and spicy Shirazes, but there is something to be said of wine with personality. There's something to be said of PEOPLE who actually have personality, likewise. If a wine doesn't have any glaring defects or faults, sometimes a bit of personality is a good thing. So, it may not be exactly what a wine judge wants to see, whether it be "too light" or "not true to variety"...if it can support it's own voice, it has a possibility for success with the open minded and flexible.

This is exactly why I LOVE the wine from the Finger Lakes. Never mind that I was born in the Finger Lakes, although I'm sure that that has something to do with it. :-P Finger Lakes wines are cool climate, and, for the most part, are unlike any wines I've seen here (obviously). They may not be, for example, true to form big, ridiculous tannic Cabernet Sauvignons, but they generally have flavor and form, and they have PERSONALITY, a certain uniqueness. They are regional and they tell the tale of the winery and those people who worked to prepare its outward characteristics. Many can call this personality "terrior", which is, essentially, a signature of where the wine comes from. But, it's actually a lot more. It's a story. And, due to the size of the region, most, if not all, Finger Lakes wines have a STORY. An interesting story, too! We're certainly not making a whole lot of wine relatively speaking, so livelihoods, blood, sweat, and tears go into making our wines. That special attention, combined with the cool climate characteristics and the varietal, give our wines our signature, their personality.

If straight, predictable varietal characters do it for you, then fair enough. But, if it doesn't; don't get hung up on what a Riesling or a cab is supposed to taste and smell like. It's a nice guide, but, firstly it varies from area to area, so try to look at the wine as a part of a whole, the end to a story. How does it show to you? And most importantly: do YOU like the story it has to tell you? Robert Parker (who is a bloody bullshitter, if you ask me) is doubtfully going to be drinking wine with you anytime soon, so be sure that you select a wine with a story that you want to be part of!

DISGUSTING?!

2007-07-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

Australians. Crack. Me. Up. They're known for being one of the most laid back countries, in fact, this reputation precedes them globally. They, in theory, shouldn't ever worry about anything. There motto is "No worries, mate."

But, the truth is, it's true, they don't freak out about the big stuff. You know, life decisions and the like...things that a person SHOULD freak out about, they have a very laxadazical (sp?) attitude about. But, about STUPID things, they freak out. Today, in my pinot seminar, the woman sitting next to me was being a real irritable kid all day. When one of the last speakers was speaking, the poor old guy didn't have his presentation loaded onto the screen. So, they had to go get one of the Conference Centre tech guys to load it. In the meantime, he started talking about what he had researched. This lady next to me started like chucking all of her stuff into her bag and start talking REALLY loudly about how "disgusting" this was. Disgusting!? DISGUSTING!? That's not exactly the word that I would use for it.

So, we Americans freak out about everything, but, probably not about the poor man loading his PPT presentation. Who's better off? I can tell you who's funnier, that's for sure!

Cheers

Opa!

2007-07-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago now, I went home with one of my favorite Australians, Marissa, to stay with her family for a few nights after our biochem final finished. The plan was to go "to the snow" so that she and her sister could do some skiing. I don't ski (obvi), but I went along really just to prove to myself that there was snow in Australia. (There is, really.)

In any case, it was nice to be with a family again. Twentysomethings make a nice temporary family, but there's something comforting about being around someone else's Mom and Dad, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents that makes you feel, in a strange way, closer to your own. Marissa's grandfather, whom they call Opa, so that is what I know him as, is quite possibly the cutest Australian I've seen! He's an older guy, and he lives in White Cliffs, NSW. White Cliffs is about as outback as it gets. As Marissa explained it to me, they don't actually have a hospital or doctors there, the doctors fly in once a week. (Strange concept for an industrialized nation, no?) What happens mostly in White Cliffs is opal mining. The above photo is a picture of the opal mines taken from the air. (I have a postcard if you want to see.) It gets up to 50 degrees C (well over 100 F) in here in the summer time, "in the shade!", according to Opa. Opa never wears anything on his feet but thongs, and he is wrinkly and sunburned all the time because of the heat. He's not fussed by the heat at all, he said, he reckons that it doesn't really matter to him how hot it is (!). In Albury, where I was, he was most uncomfortable because he had to wear a shirt, socks, and shoes on account of the cold. He had even fallen ill when he was in the cold, poor guy. He was born in Germany, but came to Australia over 50 yrs ago as a tradesmen, and now mines opals as a retirement project (?!). He had this special German liquor made from distilled hot peppers (don't remember what it was called), but he calls it his cold medicine. I had a bit of a cough at the time as well, so he suggested that I try it as well. It was good stuff, and it did take away my cough with just one shot! He was really remarkable. I got an invite to go up to White Cliffs and mine opals with him along with an opal to take home with me, and I fully intend on taking him up on it.

This may well be my last entry from Australia, but I hope it's not. I'm currently in Adelaide at the Australian Wine Industre Technical Conference enjoying my last week in Oz. I am essentially homeless, as I have vacated my room in Wagga and my bags are living at Marissa and Declan's place. Homeless! I am taking a night off from the pub tonight, I'll let my winery boys handle that tonight. Good conference so far...lots of wine dorks in one place. :-P

Anyway, I'm nearly out of internet credit, so I will be heading.

Cheers

Speaker used this quote today, really liked it:

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"

--Mary Oliver, the summer day

Old Man

2007-07-18T06:58:00.001-07:00

He's mad at me in this picture! Hehe!

I am VERY sorry that I haven't been in blog touch lately. I have been a bit busy with residential schools (they really SUCK, btw) and I just haven't felt like blogging lately. I know I'll kick myself for not blogging the past month as I am less than a month from leaving, but, I often kick myself for less.

For those of you who were unaware, my Casey, my old man and very best friend, died in late June. I got the call from Mom on a Saturday night here while I was in Sydney. It's been a rough few weeks for me, and it will be even rougher when I get home and realize that my bestest bud isn't there to greet me. My house and room and bed and sweater drawer will have an strange emptiness to them, I know it all ready. I'm sure he's happier, he's in better place where he can be young and vibrant, and it's assured that I wont dress him in my doll clothes, put him in my baby buggy, and wheel him up to grandmas. I can't believe he'll never look up at me again or rub his cold wet nose on my hand in search of a pet. I feel monsterously guilty for not being there with him, especially considering that he was there for me every time I cried for, oh, about 17 years, and I went off, knowing damn well that he'd need me in his darkest hour while I was away. I can't believe I wasn't there for him. Good thing Mom was. I hope he knew that I still loved him.

Other than that, life as been moving on at a pretty average pace. I had an outstanding birthday, made that way by a few people that I didn't know really cared! I really couldn't have asked for more, especially considering that I was expecting to spend the day alone.

Other than that, I've been doing res schools. The first was 6 days of straight tasting. Which sounds glamourous, but it's actually not as glam as you would think. This may sound completely ridiculous, but it reasonably difficult to taste that much wine in a day. Your senses just tire, and you get sick of it. I know I know, my life is clearly hard. I got to taste wine for 8 hrs a day for 6 days straight. Now, the fates are repaying me, and I'm doing 8 hr blocks of biochemistry labs. You cannot deny that THAT doesn't sound fun.

But, I return to the states in just over 2 weeks. I am having incredibly mixed emotions about it. I am excited to see the people that I miss and love, but I feel like I'm leaving something incredible behind. Didn't I just feel like this?!

Well, Alison, there you have it. I hope I have entertained you for a few moments. :-)

Cheers
Catrina

Bird Brain with Pics

2007-07-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Bird Mania:

Clearly, lots of birds.

It was this lady's idea!

Yes, Hello. Notice the crumbs on my shoulder. Very nice.

Christy is clearly scared. I gave her a scotch biscuit and she gave the whole damn thing to one lucky bird.

I was watching all of the others. Clearly I was disturbing this one's snack. Christy has the pictures of the ones hanging out on my back pocket. So, when she rattles her dags and sends those along, I will post them.

Cheers

Bird Brain

2007-06-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

Christy and I were rambling around Circular Quay and the Rocks today and on our way through the royal botanical garden, we stopped because we saw a big pack of Sulfur crested cockatoos.

Colorful tropical birds that you've only ever seen in pet shops are common place here. As a matter of fact, they commonly wake you up at 4 am with they're constant squaking. Cockatoos are fairly large birds, I'm sure you've seen them. They're parrot sized and then some! But, I commonly see them on the side of the road here. Along with colorful galahs, lorikeets, rosellas, magpies...I see them everyday and not in cages...FAR OUT.

Anyway, the detour to the botanical gardens ended amusingly. (Is that word?) I decided it would be a good idea to pull some of the biscuits that I had in my bag to convince these birds to come land on me for a photo op. (When am I going to be able to so easily convince a non-caged cockatoo to sit on my shoulder, really?) So, I pull out a scotch biscuit (mmmmm, arnotts) and suddenly, I had a very good friend on my shoulder. Not many pieces of scotch biscuit later, I had several friends. I had friends on my shoulders, back, and even one trying to eat my hair. And, I even had one hanging on for dear like to my back pocket...effectively executing a sort of ass grab of sorts. It was really quite the experience. And I do have pictures, but no means to upload them at the moment. Soon enough...check back!

So, if you're ever wondering...yes, sulfur crested cockatoos like scotch biscuits. If you don't want company hanging onto your ass, don't let them know you have food in your bag!

Cheers

Busy Business

2007-06-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

All right, as promised, I'll now give a little bit of a summary of what has come to pass in the last two months or so.

As soon as I got back from Tasmania, I started hunting for a job. Every single person in Wagga Wagga NSW has my resume. I spent weeks chasing people down, using all of my phone minutes on local calls, begging people to hire me with no avail. What the problem was...I suspect I will never know. All I knew was that I didn't have enough money to stay here and pay for next semester, let alone the following years. I knew I had to figure something out...and pretty fucking fast.

So, one day, during a tasting class for wine and grape science (it was red wines...with the Pinot Noir that tasted like Shiraz! G'Damned Australians!), I was walking to the toilet and nearly killed myself slipping on a piece of paper. I picked it up in a huff and took a look at it. It was a job ad for an internship in Oregon. I remember immediately thinking "Holy shit, I can go home. And work in a winery. And best yet, I'll be PAID!" On a whim, expecting no results, I applied for the internship. On a whim, also expecting no results, I surfed winejobs.com to see if there were other vintage internships available. Turns out...they're everywhere! I applied only for west coast internships: if I was going back to the states, I was doing so no where near my home. This adventure has to continue.

The next hurdle to clear was with CSU. I wanted to know if I could study by distance (DE) even though I wouldn't be able to do residential schools in September. I need to stay in school for health insurance reasons and because if I don't, I know I will struggle to ever go back again. So, I chatted with my pal Chris and he told me that I could most likely continue to take subjects by distance ed (DE) and do things onshore in the States.

So I waited. Was I going to get anything? An internship? Within two weeks, I had three offers on the table, each of them better than the other in some respects, but each worse than the other in some respects. I ended up choosing an internship in a place called Quincy, WA. Near Seattle! I need to be there in the beginning of September, and it looks as though Mom and I will be driving the CRV cross country. Woop woop!

I don't know if it's the right decision, but I know I am poor as all hell. Who knows! I'm just ramblin', tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can! (Points if you can name the song and artist!) I plan to come back to Australia after the 1st of 2008. When I'm at home, I'm going to begin applying for other jobs here and getting my visa switched to a working visa (much more complicated than it sounds!). I'll be back!

So, yea, a month and some change left under the southern cross, then onward!

That is the very annotated and short version of what has been going on. Now you are up to speed!

I LOVE SARA MARIAN

2007-06-20T02:11:00.000-07:00

The woman pictured with me above is my personal hero. Not only did she send me Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but she is also helping me keep my teeth clean....BECAUSE SHE SENT ME TOOTHPASTE!!! :-D Fantastic. SMS, as the Aussies put it, You're a LEGEND!

Thank you! :-D

And yes, I am wearing pink saran wrap and she is dressed as playboy bunny. We're THAT special. :-)

Cheers Big Ears

American Idiot

2007-06-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was over at a friends house for dinner a couple of Sundays ago. We were all sitting around the table, eating, enjoying, sipping some wine. My mate's girlfriend joined us for dinner, and I think we got off on a bad foot right away. If you know me, you know how horrible I am with names. I had met this girl before, I know I did, I recognized her face. I couldn't for the life of me remember her name. Well, she remembered me and remembered that I had not remembered her name the last time we met, so she basically started hating me right away. (Greeeatttt.)

We were chatting at dinner, and we got into a conversation that resulted in her asking if anyone knew of a city called Columbo. I said not, that was US television show, the only city I knew that vaguely Colombus, OH. She looked at me and said, "I'll bet there's a world city named Columbo. You see, there's this thing about Americans. They have a reputation for being self centered and know absolutely nothing about world geography and history. I see you're not exception."

I'm sure I turned red straight away. I was quick on my feet and said, "Well, we don't need to look any further than home, we've got all we need to be great." I followed this up with a laugh to show that I was half kidding, and I got a group laugh from the Aussies. I was more seriously then I could have let on in that moment.

I know we have that reputation world wide. But, it's not like anyone else in that situation was volunteering any examples of this chicks' magic city. I agree with this statement in some ways, a lot of Americans don't look further than home and we come across as stupid in the world view. They have a program here called the "Chasers War on Everything", which is what the next comes from. I do love it, you should watch the episode where they run up to Johnny Howard with various objects. Anyway, here's a good Australian view of Americans:

With that, I'll bet I could find an equal number of retarded Australians. This is essentially propaganda. Funny, but, it could be repeated in any country. Entertaining.

But, lately, I've been chatting with my flatmates and history has been coming up quite a bit. Here's the example I'll cite. One of my flatmates was trying to explain that her family name had been altered because it began as Boleyn. After Anne Boleyn was killed, they had had to change their surname to avoid persecution. Someone asked why Boleyn had been killed. Not a single Australian in the room could recall, so I finally broke down and told the story. The "stupid American" was telling the colonial commonwealth country dwelling people a story that took place in their "mother country".

This happened again, and again. Major wars, major events, ancient and modern...all with my resident Australians having no idea what went on. I never expected them all to know anything about US History, but I did expect them to know European History like the rest of us. Especially England, given that they are in the commonwealth and technically still under Elizabeth II.

I'm not a history buff, I haven't had global history since 10th grade with Mrs. Darrow! (Maybe I'm proof of how fucking rockin' Mrs. Darrow is!) But, I still evidentially have a much wider working knowledge of past world events, and, as I've found, a much larger working knowledge of current world events.

Australia loves to hate Americans. I think the real case is that Australia loves to envy Americans and the States...we took the chances, made a name for ourselves. We have opinions, we make them heard. Love us or hate us, you know our name and there is some degree of success in that.

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black!

Hey Australia, watch who you're calling stupid. We're not all dumbasses.

Cheers Big Ears

Oh, and Colombo is a city in Sri Lanka. Columbo is a TV detective. But don't worry, the smartass Australians didn't know that either. :-)

"What The Fuck Are Those?"

2007-06-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

Since I've been here, I've noticed my own tendency to assume that anything I see: animals, plant, rock, must be foreign. I've looked stupid on a number of occasions because I say things like "What's that?" and someone will say, "Catrina, that's a cow."

But, a lot of the time I'm right...it's a creature or plant that I've never seen before. Chances are I'm seeing it outside of my window at 4 am, and if that is the case, then I know it has never been above the equator. So, I take a couple of dumb ones for the team, but I do usually learn a good bit about this excellent example of island biogeography.

My mate Pete (AKA Yakimus) and I were coming back from a wine tasting the other day (wine faults...ACK!) and we drove by one of the fields I commonly walk by on my long walk up the hill to the winery. Out the car window, I saw these awkward looking off white colored animals that just looked horribly unhealthy and, well, cold. I looked over at him and said, "What the fuck are those?" He pulled the car over (love this kid), put it in neutral, pulled his sunnies off his nose and up onto his head, and said, "Catrina, those are sheep. They've just been sheared." I retorted with, "Well, I didn't recognize them because they looked cold!" He threw the car back in gear and laugh at me, "You Yanks. I can't believe you sometimes."

If you go overseas, don't automatically assume that everything is not what you know. Unless you want to provide the locals with free entertainment.

I've been busy lately with end of term garbage, assignments, revision, tests. Lovely. I took the above picture in a heinous session of paper writing about sensory thresholds. It was obvious mania.

Cheers kids

The Grumpiest Man I Know (GMIK)

2007-05-29T05:33:00.001-07:00

Every weekday, some one comes around to all of the cottages at CSU and collects all of the full rubbish bags. For the longest time, I didn't know who did this, I figured it was some sort of magical rubbish fairy because I had never seen a full bag being removed.

One sunny day in April, I was walking down to the laundry to swap in my sheets for a fresh set. On my way down, this golf cart nearly hits me. The golf cart, seating a large old man, goes into the laundry area and basically blocks off the entrance way to where I was going. I squinted at him and realized that he was sitting there, staring at me, and shaking his head 'no' with an absolute scowl on his face.

I wish I could snap a picture of him so you could see, but my words will have to suffice. Picture this: Guy in his 60s, about 6 feet high, white hair with PLENTY of facial stubble. I'd give him about 325-350 pounds, constantly wearing a red wine colored CSU polo shirt (always dirty of course), frowning, and driving around on this horribly run down golf cart (ratty seats, dirty EVERYTHING, the WORKS).

So, I'm walking down toward the laundry and this scowling man is blocking my path and shaking his head. Turns out, he was shaking his head because the laundry was closed . I knew this, but luckily, I'm in like flint with the laundry chicas, so I knew that they would switch my sheets. As I got closer to him, challenging him, I thought he may run me over. When I walked passed him, he squeaked out in a very bushmen accent "They're CLOSED!" in a really angry voice. (Think Crocodile Dundee!) When I defied him and got my sheets, I smiled at him and did my best Australian "G'Day!"

As I walked away, I remember thinking, "Wow, that was the grumpiest man I've ever met."

Oh, but the story isn't over.

I keep seeing him now, every day. Scowling, picking up rubbish on his golf cart. In the same shirt. When chatting with a mate about him, I reckoned that he must have been the grumpiest man I'd ever met. Nathan replied to that: "You'd be grumpy as well if you had to pick up rubbish all day." Au contrare mon ami, I would be thrilled to be driving that hot golf cart!

Last part, I promise. Last thursday, I was down in the coin laundry doing my washing. Imagine my surprise when I find Nathan there, and I have someone to chat with. We're sitting on washers, chatting, and in walks CSUs washer repair man. We chat with him for a bit until, lo and behold, GMIK barrels in and says, "What have they GOD DAMNED DONE NOW?!" I glanced over at Nathan, whose eyes were the size od saucers, and then looked at GMIK and said "Oh! Hello!"

He cold stared me in the face, took two steps toward me, and shook his head "no". I stared right back. I was acutely aware that my lips turned up in a grin while I was staring at him. When he saw that, he got disgusted, went "BUH!" at me and waved his arm, then turned his attention to washer repair man.

I walked out of the laundry with Nathan in tow, both smiling. What a grumpy fuck! Honestly.

Every time I've seen him since and will continue to see him, I will smile. And I will get a head shake. And I will laugh, continuously.

See, not all of the grumpy people live in the States. Australia, look no further then your own country backyard. :-)

Did I ever mention that Reese's Peanut Butter cups are not available in Oz? These people clearly have no idea what they are missing!

Cheers Big Ears

Jobless Money Bags

2007-05-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

I just realized that a week has passed with no entry from me. Soon Alison will IM me and tell me to write about something else so she can read it at work. :-P

I guess I'm....busy. I've had assignments and tests and tastings and whatnot due this past week, and it keeps coming! This is my punishment for not doing any work last term. :-) As if wine tasting were harsh punishment. ;-)

On a side note, things have gotten complicated quickly because I cannot seem to find gainful employment here. If you all remember, me coming here was hinging on me being able to find a job. Well, I have applied for every stinking job that has come my way with NO AVAIL. I'm taking a course next week that will certify me to serve alcohol, then I will try to get a job at the cellar door (tasting room) here on campus. I've talked to the head of my school and told him that I need a job or I will be headed home, and he's told me he'll see what he can do.

So, in a moment of panic, I brainstormed that it would be a good idea for me to come stateside after my july res schools, work a vintage on the west coast (some conditions applying, obviously), bank some money, then go back to Oz after Christmas. I've got a phone interview with a winery in OR and one in WA. So, that could be promising. Obviously, this little plan is not without it's glitches and complications, so I have to decided.

So, yea, I hate being poor and apparently unemployable. So, if anyone wants to send some money to pay tuition or some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Crest Toothpaste, I would like that. Hehe.

That is all, I must go unlock the mysteries of the human sense organs now.

Cheerio

Animal Planet

2007-05-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

I swear to God. It's a freakin' wonder I get any sleep in this country. So, I'm a stickler for sleeping with the window open. Not wide open these days, because it's getting to be chilly. But still, open.

When I first got here and managed to get over the shock of the kangaroos, I noticed these gray birds with bright red undersides hanging around. Every bird around here looks like it should be in a pet shop because it is brightly colored and vocal. It's not uncommon to see the birds that we're used to seeing behind bars roaming free here. But, these red breasted birds were numerous and they were loud. After asking several times, I finally learned that they were called galahs. (Guh-Laa-s) I knew I had heard that word before, but I didn't know where. Well, it turns out that it's a common stupidity insult to call someone a galah or a group of someones a "pack of galahs". I wondered why they would designate a mean slur after these gorgeous birds!

As with most pretty things, galahs are extremely dumb. They don't move when you're coming by, they just stare at you. They don't ever shut up, and they let the tiniest movement spook them. They are also EXTREMELY noisy. I mean, ridiculously and constantly noisy. My first few nights here I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on, I kept hearing "chiiiii chiiiiii" outside my window. 4 pm or 4 am, the galahs sound the same. Chiiiii Chiiiiiiii. Ahhhhhhh.

I adapted to the galahs eventually, I daresay I even missed them when I was in Adelaide! :-O

Recently,however, a new problem has arisen. It must be mating season or something for the native possums here. I was peacefully resting the other night (under my open window) and suddenly I was awoken to a terrible cawing and growling noise. I thought for sure that there were small black bears outside of my window. I shut the window and fell back asleep, vaguely wondering what the hell the problem was. The following night, the same thing happened. And the following night. I finally inquired as to what the ridiculous sounding mammal was. "Oh, those are the possums.", Michelle informed me, matter-of-factly, "They'll do that for a while." Oh great!

The first time I saw one of these curious looking Australia creatures was at the school of wine and food sciences bbq. We were under the covered pavillon behind an academic building eating and chatting, and all of a sudden this god damned possum dropped out of the tree right next to me into the trash can. I jumped back quickly and said something to the effect of "Kill it Kill it! It must be rabid!" All of the people standing around me gave me the most puzzled looks, and I was dumbfounded. No rabies here, of course. I think that incident is what started the perception around the school that I am a little bit nutter, and it doesn't help that I always run into people because I walk on the wrong side of the hallway/sidewalk. Haha.

This pic is from National Geographic, I hope it lets me hot link it because I think it's a funny picture of the little buggers.

Fucking Wildlife.

Cheers Big Ears, and Watch your step, those galahs don't move!

What Kind Of Freaks

2007-05-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

See that gorgeous American Flag behind me? FANTASTIC!

What Kind of Freaks....

*don't have peanut butter M&Ms?
*don't have mozz sticks?
*don't have dollar bills?
*make their two dollar coins irritatingly small?
*put prawns on their pizzas, with the EYES still on them?
*store normal OTC meds behind the counter so you have to talk to the pharmacist to get anything that's not herbal? Maybe I don't want to talk to the pharmacist about my hemorrhoids!!! (Yes, I just had to google the spelling of hemorrhoid. Who gave me a college degree?)
*pick on a country that really doesn't care about them?
*drive on the wrong side of the road and car, but keep the pedals in the same order?!
*can possibly drink themselves silly and be at work bright eyed and chipper at 7:30 the next morning? (We pre-game like they party, these people get drunk easily because of the heat, I think)
*carry their young in pouches?
*don't keep their milk in coolers?
*don't keep their eggs in coolers?! Hello salmonella! (Looked that one up too!)
*conduct education via distance learning models when people don't sign up for that?
*don't wear shoes when running errands? Come on now.
*charge you some sort of fee for every last little thing?
*refuse to pass you on a walking path if you're going slower than them, they just follow really really closely?
*mix navy blue and black...come on Aussie chicks, you're hotter then that!?
*have post codes with 4 digits in them? It's like stopping mid-cough...who does that?

Okay, I think I am through. :-)

Come on now. Who really want to talk to the pharmacist about their life?

Cheers Big Ears

Things I Like About Australia

2007-05-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I need to make lists to remind myself of things. Tonight, I need to make a list of the things I like here so I can convince myself it's worth staying. :-)

Things I Like About Australia (Explained):

1. Tim Tams. Delightful little chocolate cookies at 2 dollars a pack. Delish.
2. Kangaroos.
3. The lack of pennies-- no pennies in the coin system. Amazing!
4. Havianas -- The flip flop brand here...unlike any other I've experienced...and I love flip flops.
5. Tasmanian Feta Cheese -- Amazing. Enough said.
6. Wine Science Second Years -- delightful group of people.
7. Wine tasting as part of my curriculum. Ahhh, fantastic.
8. Selected Slang Words/Phrases: Good On Ya (Nice Job!), You're a legend (You rock!), Bugger! (Shit!)
9. Sunshine
10. Bundaberg Rum-- mmmmm tasty!
11. Cooper's Pale Ale -- I will hurt for this beer when I move away from here.
12. Steph, Jer Bear, Nathan, Megan, Melissa, MJ, Marissa, Jacob, Michelle, Declan, Rob -- I would say that those people make up my favorite people
13. Knowing what happens on all of the TV shows because they are 4 months behind and hanging it above their heads....very fun.
14. Telling Australians that their education system is funny. Who sets "passing" as 50% and actually let's people graduate with it? Come on now. Would you want your doctors and nurses to only know 50%? I don't think so, so I love picking on them.
15. NO autodrip coffee. Only espresso. Fantastic.

That is all.

:-)

Cheers

The American Dream

2007-05-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

I think I figured out the problem. I think there is just a basic disagreement about working going on here. We, as Americans, all think the same way. We don't know it, but we do. We're all questing after the American Dream. We believe that with hard work, courage, and determination we can achieve success and prosperity. I believe this, and I believe that the harder a person works with good intentions toward success, the more they essentially deserve this success. Nothing feels better to me than knowing that I was successful because I worked hard at it.

Australians have this motto that they call "Fair Dinkum". I've never actually heard a single Australian mutter those words, but, now that I know what it is, I see that they all live their lives by this motto. It's about being honest and good to your word, and it assures that everyone has a fair crack at whatever. (I've looked this up on wikipedia and consulted my panels of experts in family 385). So, it's a little bit like the anti-American Dream. This concept in essence, suggests that everyone should get a fair crack at success and prosperity regardless of how little or how much they've put into achieving that success.

When I realized this disparity, a lot of things became clear. I think Australians are in general lazy with regard to a lot of really important things, and they think I'm on a speed freak rush trip and freak out about too many things. I'm working because I think that I'm the only person who can make or break my success in life. They work, but they also build intricate social webs that appear to help them climb to success.

But, we have intricate webs as well. The wine industry, for example, seems extremely well connected amongst themselves, that's one of the things I love about it. And, it's not to say that Australians don't work hard because they do!

So, one model is not entirely autonomous, obviously, but you can see where the differences in opinion might emerge. It's really quite funny, realizing that your way of doing things isn't the only way that things are done.

I still believe that hard work, determination, and perserverance will lend themselves to success. I generally don't rely on others to do the things that I need to do because I find them, on a whole, unreliable when it comes to me being picky about the way I want things done. Self-preservation, I guess.

As Janis Joplin said, sorry Australia, "In the end, you're all you've got." I guess it will be my way for me!

Cheers

Metric MORON

2007-04-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, I've been trying to be a good little girl lately. I've been trying to go to the gym at a relatively regular frequency. I do 45 minutes of cardio (kill me) and then I work my upper body. The upper body part was a recent after thought, but noble all the same.

So, yesterday, I finished my cardio and went into the weight room. This is a big step for me because there are a ton of silly boys always on the floor doing stupid things. So, little female me goes up to the deltoid pull down machine, adjusts it, sets it to 20 lbs and starts lifting. 3 sets of 10. I get halfway through the 1st set, and I think: "Wow, 20 pounds feels a lot different then I remember! I must be a weakling!" I finished my rep and was still astonished at how heavy 20 lbs felt.

On my way home that night, when I was unable to lift my arms, I thought of something. It went kind of like this: "Catrina. You're a fucking moron. Those weight markings were in KILOGRAMS, not POUNDS. METRIC." I shook my head and quickly did the conversion in my head: 20*2.2=44 lbs. Niiiiiiceee. So, I was lifting about 2 times what I had intended to be lifting because I am a moron.

Be careful, you never know when the metric system is going to bite you in the ass.

Cheers Big Ears

Hairy, Scary Monsters

2007-04-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember that episode of Full House? Where Steve was telling the girls the story about the hairy, scary monster to get them to go to bed at summer camp? Maybe that's just me, but I remember every episode of full house, because, well, I was obsessed!

Anyway, when I came back from travel around the nutbush, one of the first things on my to do list was washing my clothes. When Nathan and Megan picked me up from the train station, they told me to do the best to keep my screen doors shut at the cottages due to these extremely large moths. I was like...uhhh, okay, roger that. The next day, I went to the washing room and on my way in I nearly stepped on this HUGE FREAKIN' MOTH. I was thinking huge like, monarch butterflies are pretty huge. WRONG. These things were huge and really angry brown looking slow things. I put my pen down next to one to get an idea of how big it really was, and it was about three quarters the length of the pen. GROSS. I believe that all God's creatures are beautiful and yadda yadda, but, these things are just disgusting. I was literally afraid to walk over them, thinking that they would spontaneously fly up and chew my leg off.

So, I finally work up the balls to go into the washroom and set my clothing basket down. They are ALL OVER. I had to step around them to get anywhere. So, there I am, on the verge of vom, but I've finally made it to the washer. I open the washer up, and there are like friggin' 8 of them inside the washer! I'd be damned if I was going to reach in and shoo them out, so I had to do more torturous walking around to find washers free of these fuckin' beasts.

I'm not even kidding, guys. They're nasty. You've never seen anything like them. To ensure that I am not lying, I've taken a few photos. These were residing on my screen door to my cottage, and I would say that they are on the low average side in terms of size. Not even kidding. Look!!

Not a friend, clearly.

Three of them. Yes, some were on the inside...don't worry, the door was shut.

And did I mention that a little gecko looking thing wandered into my living room with me the other day? I'm on animal planet world's weirdest, I swear!

Cheers

Younger Than Springtime

2007-04-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have this tugging feeling that it just should be spring. I want it to be spring. Although, I've always said that spring was my least favorite season, it's still a new chance, a clean slate, re-birth. Sometimes I need re-birth, sometimes I am feeling just fine. But, I feel over-due for spring. Fall is my favorite season, but not in the Southern Hemisphere. No leaves changing, no good. These people are losing out on this gloriousness that is fall. Poor bastards.

But, I still feel like I'm due for springtime. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Cheers

Travis

2007-04-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

There's someone that I've been meaning to give ode to for quite sometime. Travis Willson. I think he just might be my biggest fan. He's the reason why this exists, he talks to me regularily and asks about my new life and helps me look for airplane tickets! Not to mention, he cleans bathrooms and is one of the only true respectful, delightful, intelligent, and lovely true gentlemen I've met. Travis and I go way back, further back then most of the people I call my best friends at present.

Waaaaay back in the day: IE- 4th grade for me, 2nd for Trav (I think?), I remember sitting on the swings at our babysitter's house, Judy's, and listening to Ace of Base on my diskman. Diskman's were rare at the time. He would take one headphone, I would take the other and we would spend however long we friggin' felt like listening to Ace of Base, or until the batteries ran out. Life got the best of us, and we moved in seperate directions: I left for middle school, Travis was younger and stayed behind. I saw him in middle school and high school sporadically, but we never really hung out. (All of that wasted time, Trav!)

I had just finished my junior year of college and I remember waking up, hung over, and calling Fox Run to let them know when I was coming back through and asking to be scheduled. Suz answered the phone and said "Oh, Catrina, we've got some people here that know you and are just starting." I couldn't begin to guess who and I finally made her tell me, "Do you know Travis Willson and Britney Stanton?" I remember jumping up off of the couch and yelling into the phone, "Are you seious?! That's awesome!!!" I drove back home that next day with the thought in my head that the coming summer was going to be an awesome one, and I was right. Very very right. That summer, mostly due to Travis and Brett, oh and my 21st birthday, was my favorite to date. I will probably try and re-create it from now on, but will most likely fail. Travis and I spent the days we had off together going out wine tasting. My favorite activity! It was the summer that I learned to listen to my senses, trust myself! Undoubtedly due partly to these trips with Travis! Trav seemed just as excited as me about wine, and that was good to find, especially in a boy. I needed someone to outlet my excitement to, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime! Cheers to that FABULOUS summer. :-)

Trav and I have remained pretty close friends since then. I'm grateful to have him. He's fresh perspective, but a lovely one. He sent me an email/letter the morning before I left for Oz that made me feel very good in a moment where I was very uncertain. I'm lucky!

I was telling him that when he left for Germany this year and met a fabulous German girl, all of us girls at Fox Run would be very sad. Very sad because we wouldn't get to marry him! And girls, I know you'd have my back on this one, it's TRUE.

Good people deserve ode, especially good guys, as they are increasingly rare. :-)

Keep on being Trav, Trav. :-)

PS-- Thanks to the SPECIAL people who sent me American flags. They're gorgeous. I just need to figure out how to hang them. :-)

Crest

2007-04-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

Australia. A nation without Crest toothpaste. The British are known for their bad oral hygeine, and the Australians follow suit. It's because Crest is not sold here.

To prevent my teeth from rotting out. Could someone please send me a tube of Crest Pro-Health? It's blue. I'd like it in the Cinnamon flavor. It's my favorite. Thanks, my teeth will thank you. I know it's a bit pricey, but I will repay you in whatever Australian fair that you deem equal repayment.

Thank you, friends and family.

:-)

Cheers

Foster's

2007-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Newsflash: No one in Australia drinks Foster's Ale. Foster's in the large corp. that owns much of the beverage industry. But, it is not Australian for beer. Their beer is much, much better.

Travel tip: Don't come here and ask for a Foster's because the bar won't have it, and you just subjected yourself to endless taunting.

Cheers

Every Which Way

2007-04-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, Tasmanians. They are nice. Not quite as cheery as most of the mainlanders, I think that has something to do with the cooler weather, but none the less, relatively pleasant. I have enjoyed my time in their state. It's been a fun exploration and learning experience.

For any of you that know anything about my sense of direction, you know that it is almost non-existent. So, city blocks and directions are sometimes challenging for me. If I don't know my way around via landmarks in a city, I'm pretty much sunk. And sunk I have been for just under a week.

Every Tasmanian that I have asked for directions in the past week has sent me in exactly the opposite direction that I need to be going in. After they told me what to do, I would always take my hand and point it in the direction that they had indicated. I always asked them, "so, I'm headed of that way, right?" I always got the same answer: "Yes!" I would always head off in that direction and find out in short order that I was walking in the exact opposite direction that I needed to be going in.

Thanks, guys. I've been lost about 25% of my time in Tasmania. Life is a highway, hey? Even if you are walking in the wrong direction. :-)

Cheers

Beer! I Love Beer!

2007-04-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

I don't really have any profound observations about my travels in Tasmania. It all looks a lot like home, a lot more green and cooler. I had a bad feeling as I got on the ferry to come here, like, I just really shouldn't do it. Rightfully so, the first full 24 hours here were pretty close to the worst in my life. Overbooked hotels, stupid Tasmanians, mixed up reservations, stupid cab drivers. But, I'm over it all now, hopefully.

Launceston made up for Devonport's misfortunes. My second favorite brewery in Oz is in Launceston, it's called James Boag & Sons. They gave the best booze tour I've ever been on! And I liked all of the free beer and cheese they gave me. I made some friends, 3 boys from Queensland, that know their beer!

At the moment, I'm sitting in a hostel called the Pickled Frog in Hobart, TAS, enjoying the free internet and the random company walking by. Just loaned a Belgian 50 cents, and met a German who loved to talk about riesling, almost as much as I do. Tomorrow I'll tour the Cadbury factory, and maybe the Cascade brewery (3rd favorite beer in Oz). The following day, I'm going to try to go to Port Arthur and see me some Tassie Devils! They're being threatened by this weird cancer and wiped out quickly. It seems they've isolate a resistant population, but it's unknown as to whether or not they will win this one.

But, I think I will post my favorite Australian beer list here. Undoubtly, the beer is MUCH better down under. I will say, I think I tasted just about as much beer this first term as wine! What a learning curve! Favorites, little exported to the US, too bad, looks like I'll have to enjoy them for you:

1) Cooper's Original Pale Ale (fermented in bottle...rocking!)
2) James Boag's Premium Lager
3) Cooper's Sparkling Ale
4) Boag's St. George
5) James Boag's Premium Light Lager
6) James Squire Original Amber Ale
7) Boag's Draught

All very good.

I've updated my photos to current, finally. They are here: http://www.webshots.com/user/cnorth84

Enjoy!

Cheers

Girls are Talking

2007-04-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, Peter warned me that winemaking was a boy’s game. He said he didn’t “really agree” with the way things were, but that was just how it is. He told me that in like, 2003, and I still remember it to this day. I remember just thinking, “Ha-ha, well, tough shit. This ought to be fun!”

The Finger Lakes are kind of a bad sampling with regard to this phenomenon. Wineries there usually have WOMEN in them. At least one or two as cellar hands or something else. So, there’s always at least a double XX in the room to even things out.

Such is NOT the case in Australia. I walked into the winery at CSU for the first time and I saw 5 cellar staff. Can you guess how many of them were female? Yep. ZERO. Mel is the ONLY girl that works at her winery that doesn’t wear heels to work everyday. Many many wineries here are testosterone party sessions.

There are very few women in the internal Wine Science program at CSU. Two in one year, two in the other year. Not many compared to the number of men. We make up maybe ten percent? We’re an awesome bunch too. One girl, Shell, came back to study internally after completing her vintage early. She is a very well dressed, stylish girl…very feminine. A lovely girl. When I first met her, I had trouble imagining her in boots at a winery. Then she extended her hand and I saw what is currently marring my hands: her fingernails were stained with red wine. If not dipped in the correct chemicals, these stains can hang on for a quite a bit. It struck me as cool that she could live in this dichotomy, essentially. Girly and lovely by night and living in a male dominated world all day. Mel does the same thing…she looks lovely anytime she’s out of the winery, but can hold her own with pumps and hoses, presses and crushers.

So, I’ll undoubtedly living in this dichotomy. But, that’s what we do: we’re women. We wear many hats, and all at the same time….oh, and, we wear them well! Friend, mother, sister, mentor, wife. We do it all.

Winemaking is all about multitasking and time management. Maybe, just maybe, we’re way better at it then the boys, but we’re just beginning to be discovered.

Cheers

12 April

2007-04-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, to put things in perspective, people look backward. A year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. What was I doing then? How am I going now? Today’s date hit me like a ton of bricks while I was pumping over red wine at Mel’s winery today (WEEEEEEEE, Love it!). Today is April 12th.

On April 12th, 2006, I woke up, grumpy as all fuck because I had a physics exam that day. My normal routine included waking, rolling over, grabbing my computer, and checking my email. I decided to check my gmail that morning, something I rarely did. That week, I had been having horrible nightmares about these orange wallabies nipping at my feet because I had not heard whether or not I could go to Australia or not. I had job interviews line up for that weekend (Easter), and I was preparing for the worst. I opened my gmail and lo and behold, there was an email from Charles Sturt : Congratulations, Catrina, we’re pleased to offer you admission to the Bac Applied Sci Wine Science/Viticulture…I remember reading it twice then checking my pants to see if I’d wet myself. I did a little hop around my room, then went to pounce on Jen and whispered to her: “I’m going to Australia.” The occupants of Creekside 23 boozed in the greatest glory that night, consuming champagne and Australian wine (Pictured above). One of my favorite days ever. And, I flunked that physics test…who really gives a shit? ☺

And today. April 12, 2007. I woke up in David Wynn’s old place. Not kidding. I was staying with Mel on the property at Mountadam winery, because I’d been working there for the past few days. Mountadam is in the Eden Valley, basically a sub area of the greater Barossa Valley. I woke up early this morning, drank espresso, pumped over fermenting shiraz, cab sauv, merlot, etc. I even spilled about 20 litres of $80+/btl wine all over me. Yes, I now understand the concept of siphon expensively and intimately! I hurt all over, but I’ve had a fabulous three days. With all of the disappointment that came with CSU, I need reminders of why I am on this island, why I am here. A few days of a vintage work and I remember that the winery is home. Soaking wet floors, treacherous metal staircases, squeegees, smelly ferments, bentonite. I wouldn’t give it up for the world, even if it is a dirty job.

Gettysburg. Adelaide. Slightly different. Only one year! It’s all possible people!

The date on this entry will be off because it is April 12th now, but I have no internet! Yes, I am suffering as much as you.

Cheers

Sprinklers

2007-04-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today, classes ended for the first term of my study in Australia. 7 weeks. That doesn't sound like a whole lot of time, now does it? That's not long enough to make any real change. Not long enough to come a long way.

I was struck with a sudden thought tonight when I was sitting in the lounge with the remaining few of us 385ers who haven't gone home yet. In 7 weeks, I've come a long way. The plane ride was just the beginning of the journey.

I remembered the few tears I shed when I felt the plane flying out of San Francisco leave the ground. I remember thinking, holy shit, I don't really like America, but I am extremely sad to see it go! Most of my tears were shed because of the people I left behind and to the uncertainties I was travelling to.

I then remembered my first day here at CSU. The kangaroo popping it's head out of the bush, my RA swooping in and saving me with a phone card so I could call home. Finally being able to unpack my stuff and realizing that I didn't have any hangers or drawers. And the sprinklers.

CSU works very hard to keep SOME green grass on campus by running sprinklers with used water in them. (Australia is in the middle of huge drought, so, it's NOT fresh water.) The sprinklers are rigged with an underground pipe system, the only visible part is the little black part that sticks up about 3 inches. (Yes, I have fallen ASS OVER TEAKETTLE because of them!) Well, they seemed to ignore the fact that they spray up against the sides of all of the cottages. My first night here, I was alone, and didn't know much about the surrounding area except for the pack of kangaroos that I could hear bouncing by. I had my windows open because it was fucking hot and I tried to go to sleep. Well, the SPRINKLERS were due to come on at some point that evening, and me, not knowing what they were noticed that they sounded a WHOLE LOT like rattlesnakes. So, I figured that there were snakes outside of my window, looking in on me. I barely slept that night. Yea, that was my first night in Wagga. My flatmates really like that story.

But today, as I was saying goodbye to people as they left one by one with hugs and whatnot, I was in awe. How far I'd come at putting my roots here in a few short weeks. I still have my bad days. Sometimes, I can't stand these American hating fuckers, but, they're still my Australian family, living in our Australian home away from home. A place where we make the boys watch Grey's Anatomy with us (I know you love it, Jer Bear) every Sunday, where we drink beers at noon time (Australian beer far out competes American beer, for the record), where we land after a night out and switch off whose job it is to make toasted sandwiches. We yell at one another about dishes. Bitch about flies. Gossip about who screwed ("rooted") who last night. It's remarkable, really. And then there's the wine science people, who I feel like I'm finally in with. Dennis, who thinks I'm the plant sen sai of his classes or Chris, who loves to quiz me on biochemistry. Three months ago, I had an entirely different cast of life characters. Now, I've met all of these people that are making me me, and it's been tough, but I'm not complaining.

...til they start bashing my sea to shining sea. Don't hate us 'cause we're fabulous, Australia. And yes, I still require an American flag for over my bed.

Off to Adelaide to see my favorite Australian (MEL!) for the Easter holiday, then off on some misc Tassie adventures! Can we say...I'm pumped! Three cheers for getting out and seeing the world!

Cheers

AMERICA: FUCK YEA

2007-04-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

I need to have a quick little American moment before I run off to grape and wine science. Okay, so, you know how we all search for someone to blame when we're under stress and not happy with ourselves? It's that time of year here at CSU. The term ends Thursday and all of the grumpy procrastinators are out in full pissy force.

Well, I've discovered this week that's common Australian sport to just sit around and rip on everything American when they're all stressed out and freaked that their lazy than thou attitude caught up to them. I have made it clear that they were all fairly free to rip on the US, but just don't do it when a) I'm around or b) when they're not well researched because, well, I usually lay any one's shit out flat about things. Most people in the 50 nifty don't know what's going on in Oz, and most people in Oz don't really know what's going on the States, they actually know very little, they just think the know everything and can thereby comment on it and criticize it.

I can take criticism and bitching. That's what America was built on. It's what we do. I can even take being blamed for things. For example, apparently, the obesity epidemic is all the USs fault. No one else can be held responsible. It's apparently because we put hormones in our meat. Firstly, those two things are almost entirely unrelated. Secondly, Australians don't EAT our meat. Everything here is stamped "Proudly AUSTRALIAN". So, who's fault is it? The obesity epidemic is caused by a single point in a persons body...their ELBOW. It's what brings food to their mouths. The people in my house eat at McDonald's more than I ever had at home, and they want to blame us, me in particular, they seem to like to talk to ME about how HORRIBLE we are for making the world fat. Now, if these people were equipped with any kind of social filters, they may realize that that topic might be a TISCH sensitive for me and they may not constantly yell about it. I never bound and gag them and force them to go to McDonald's with me. Social fucking filter, people. Generalizations never simplify things for anyone else but you, 9 times out of 10, they're hurtful and they will cause other people to not like you so much! But, I can take that. I can roll it off of my shoulders, it's not really a huge deal. :-)

What I can't take is when they started criticizing my customs and culture. I was telling someone about a s'more (they don't have them!), and the fat ranter was like "Well, that's stupid. I'm glad we don't have that or we'd be fatter like all of you Americans." I nearly popped a vein. It's not like I go around BASHING their vegemite, kangaroos, and stupid speech phrases. I saw a bit of red. I can take criticism, but knock it off at customs and traditions. Leave those be and RESPECT. That's one thing I don't tolerate well: DISRESPECT. Fat ranter has lost all of my respect, probably never to regain it again. And I'm still a little sore about that comment.

Another theory. My flatmates think that without the US, the world would be much better off. Do you agree? I mean, really think about that. I'm sure you all can think of a million reasons why and why not. Regardless, I would NEVER come right out and say that to an Australian. I would never be like "Oh, well, I think the world be so much peaceful without Australia." GET real. Come on.

Another one I liked was that Americans were "selfish and stupid". On youtube, there is a video (just query "stupid Americans") of an Australian reporter asking people random simple questions on the streets of the US. The flatmates were most shocked when the people couldn't ID Australia on a map. So, in their eyes, that makes everyone stupid. I mean, everyone. Including me, because, I obviously am unable to locate Australia on a map. And the selfish thing. Don't even get me started. Before all of this had happened, I had been noticing just how selfish most Australians. It's not a selfish thing like in a negative way, they're just all very Aussie-centered. I can't blame them, this is a great place! It's probably due to this that they don't see themselves in the mirror. Self reflect, look at your own habits, then make another judgment. But don't include me in your generalization of "selfish" America.

To finish it off, I got told that when one of my flat mates first met me, I was "lucky" that she didn't "judge me" because I was an American. (And a FAT American...she's the fat ranter.) Her father is an American, yet, she carries this uncommon hatred for us. WTF, mate? Cool it. I responded by saying, "Yea, you are lucky you didn't treat me poorly, because, I'm not the kind of girl you want on your bad side." I thought Australians were supposed to be cool! Whatever happened to "No Worries!" Again, proof that generalizations, whether positive or negative, aren't always true.

But this is true: There are TURDS wherever you. If anyone finds a turd free location, please let me know.

In the mean time, could some please send me an American flag to put up in my bedroom?

Rant Concluded.

Cheers

Wagga Wagga Werewolves

2007-03-28T04:37:00.000-07:00

I urge you all to go crack open your copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and reference that part where Gilderoy Lockhart claims to have defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. It brought a smile to my face!

Cheers

I'm 12 Years Old: Longest Survey of My Life

2007-03-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

(Peeling Gum Tree on the Way to the winery. Love the smell of these after rain!)

105 (or less) Facts About You

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING? NO,keep my fingers clear, thanks.

2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP? A few months? No ring, hence

3. LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED? A package from my Mom full of goodies, most importantly, Dioritos

4. EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE? Touch wood: NO.

5. WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT? Yesterday.

6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON? Tuition, Housing, Travel, Clothes, Booze, Food (notice which is first there)

7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE? A Tim Tam and cuppa Hot Milo (Yes, there was a Tim Tam slam performed)
8. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Smile

9. ONE FAVORITE SONG? Changes Constantly. I think it might be "Ain't Too Proud to Bed" by the Temptations right now. Makes me want to dance around and bask in all of my American-ness.
10. WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Wagga Wagga, NSW, AUS

11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED: PYA. With the "hores".

12. CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER? Telstra, Cingular

13. FAVORITE MALL STORE? States: Borders, Oz: Roxy

14. LONGEST JOB YOU HAD? Fox Run Vineyards...LOVE LOVE LOVE

15. DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE? Yes, I'm in a war with some boys from Bathurst.

17. LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED? Wow. Angie?

18. FIRST PERSON YOU'D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY? JENNIE!

19. LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND? Feb :-( And I want to see her RIGHT NOW.

20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT? Wendy's.

21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD? I don't know?

22 . FAVORITE PIE? Peach

23. WHERE'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS? In house, after cooking and drinking all day!

24. CAN YOU COOK? I'm going to be a wine maker...that's like a requirement
25. Went AWOL? No?

26. BEST KISSER? This will remain secret. They know who they are

27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I cry about once a week. I think it's required.
28. MOST DISLIKED FOODS? BUTTER MENTHOLS. MUSKS. AUSTRALIA YOU SUCK AT HARD CANDY.

29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF? Probably my musical collection

30. THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm pigheaded and can't see outside of the box most times

32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB? A couple of extra hours at Ferro, making it 14-15 hrs. Some days at Fox Run were really long, too.

33. FAVORITE MOVIE? Mean Girls.

34. CAN YOU SING? Loudly and proudly, and often!

35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls?
36. LAST KISS? Summertime

37. LAST MOVIE RENTED? BORAT. :-D

38. ONE THING YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT? My ipod. Duh.

39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT? AUSTRALIA.

40. FAVORITE DISNEY ANIMATED MOVIE? Nemo, The Little Mermaid

41. PLAY INSTRUMENTS? Violin
43. LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER? Laptop. Mac. :-)

44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN? Dane Cook, by a landslide

45. DO YOU SMOKE? HELL NO

46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES? Depending on level of intoxication...right Creekside 23?

47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT? Mr. Hippo :-)

48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK? Not easily

49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE? Ummm, my Mom is going to read this....

50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST? Chocolate Chip pancakes A LA Vern

51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE? LOVE.
52 HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? Over hard, or scrambled

53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? Get my horoscope everyday

54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jennie :-)

55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST? Mike

56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECIEVED? Salami, lol
57. FAVORITE DINOSAUR? Not the Mama!

58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS? Two

59. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? AZ tee, black pants

60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC?

Turn up the radio
Blast your stereo
Right now
This joint is fizzling
It's sizzling
Riggggght

does that song make anyone else want to watch Pulp Fiction?

61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J? Strawberry
62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL? I like to think I can

63. CAN YOU SWIM? I do often
64. FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Cake Batter

65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS? Yes::shudders:: No thanks to Rud
68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY? Several. Anything But Clothes= THE BOMB

69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Autumn:-)

70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID? About 5 min ago

i deleted 71 through 74

75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET? Bob North, homies, he's the man
76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED? I have no hate for the pirates
77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? Too far away. Studying and working my ass off

78. BIRTHDATE? July 5th, 1984. Best day of everyone's lives.

79. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? A winemaker, sillies

85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP? Sure am, lovin me my mac

87. ARE YOU SMILING? Sure am. It's all the sunlight here

89. DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW? Anyone located on the East Coast of the US.

90. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Maryland!

92. ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL? Negative
93. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? Yes

94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PETS NAME? Casey Jr North. He's my #2 man, after Kev.

95. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT? What do you think? PINK

97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH? I've been on vacation for a month or so now.

98. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE? No.

99. DO YOU HAVE A SISTER? Several

100. ARE YOU UPSTAIRS? Up a hill.

101. ARE YOU IN LOVE? Always

102. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL? Several times

103. DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW? Jennie!

104. WHAT JEWELRY ARE YOU WEARING? Rings, earrings, necklace. I hear jewelry.

105. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS SURVEY? continue studying.

Back to Photosynthesis.

Happy Little Vegemites

2007-03-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Proof that I really am in a nutbush:

Picture that as a commercial, filled with jars of vegemite and happy children. They can't put the advert on here because it's copyrighted, I guess.

and one that's a little more true:

And I just heard that Vegemite was banned in the US because of folate. Haha, good, because it kinda tastes like crappy fermentation. Anyone know if this is actually true?

I have tried Vegemite, it was okay. Salty. Enough to raise your blood pressure. But, you should try it if you can, just for the experience. I'll bring a jar home, get at me if you want some the next time I'm home. :-)

Cheers

Where are Nicole and Keith?

2007-03-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

I helped crush Shiraz today. I pulled shiraz skins out of my hair when I got home and got in the shower. Only in an Australian winery.

Which reminds me. I've been in Australia for more than a month now and I have not:

1) Met Keith Urban
2) Met Nicole Kidman
3) remembered that Keith was in rehab until right now
4) seen a real live wild wombat
5) held a koala
6) managed to get any color on my legs
7) Met Keith Urban

But, I helped crush Shiraz. And it rocked.

Cheers

Chardonnay=POO

2007-03-21T05:16:00.000-07:00

Since this is my blog, and I think about wine a lot, I'm going to share with all of you some of my recent thoughts regarding white wine. Lucky, lucky people.

If you know me and have tasted with me, it should be no secret to you that I strongly DISLIKE the vast majority of chardonnays. I don't like them aged in stainless steel, and I also don't like them with too much oak or malolactic fermentation. If I wanted to chew on a barrel or lick the floor of a milking parlor, I would do so. Chardonnay is going to be impossible to avoid in my future, and I hope I can approach it with dignity and poise like my pal Peter Bell. He makes tasty, food friendly chardonnay. The cool climate thing helps a lot, but, there's only one chard I will drink, and that's his. I hope mine come out something like that someday!

My room mate Jer Bear and I were talking about Semillon, and he suggested that it was often just a stand in for Chardonnay. I confessed to him that big, fatty, oil, over-oaked wines were NOT my thing. Wines that taste like crappy Thai duck from DC are NOT my thing(worse, greasiest duck of my life!!!). He looked at me and said, "We're Australia. That's what we do."

My initial reaction was "Oh no!" because I stink very much at tasting these wines. Later, I thought more about it. I'm in a warm climate, which, I probably won't work in if I can avoid it, the wines are GOING to be different. It's a good thing. I'm in classes full of Australians, who are used to drinking this wine. I offer a different perspective, I like my white wines light, jazzy, aromatic, and *gasp* maybe even a little bit fruity! (...Well, comparatively...) So, if I just start using my senses, I'll expand my horizons!

That's the whole reason I'm here, right?! Time to step up and taste the area! Bring it on, warm climate grape growing crazies!

Time to go write some letters to the fabulous people who have been writing me :-D :-D

Cheers

Grey Day Australia

2007-03-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the greyest day I've seen in Australia. I snapped this picture off of my porch. It was rainy and yuck. The sun didn't peak through a single time. It was a grey day, I was feeling off and not happy. Grey days happen. Even in Oz.

Then, at the close of the day, things can turn around. Our fire alarm tripped and the 385 family, who had gone to bed, immerged from their rooms to figure out what had tripped the alarm. Niel, my favorite security guard, came up and turned off the alarm, and then we were relieved, but all VERY awake. A toasted sandwich maker, several slices of cheese and bread, and a good lot of butter later, we were all hanging out in the common room talking over some important social issues.

By some chance of fate and a few toasted sandwiches, we were thrown together and got to know one another a little bit better. And I got taught the Nutbush dance. :-)

Some days are grey, some days get greyer, but some days get lighter when you least expect it.

Cheers

Nutbush City Limits

2007-03-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, I grabbed a ride into town with my flatmate Steph and her mate. We were tooling along, picking on GWB, and this song came on. I didn't recognize the song, but I knew it was Tina Turner. The next few moments went something like this:

Me: Guys, what is this song?
Steph: You don't know this song? You're from Turner-land.
Me: Yea, I know it's Tina Turner, but what's it called?
Steph: You're not kidding. You don't know this song.
Me: Nope, never heard it.
Steph: It's Nutbush. Every Australian knows this song. It's what we dance to while we're pissed at the bar. Spastically.
Me: Why?
Steph: They teach it to us in primary school.

Then she and her mate promptly hopped out of the ute (AKA truck) and started doing the Nutbush dance that they learned ages ago. In the parking lot. Of the Sturt Mall.

And I thought to myself, I'm in the middle of a nutbush.

But seriously, check out the lyrics to "Nutbush City Limits" and tell me if you think they're a good idea for small children. Here they are.

Anyway, I found this video a while ago on youtube, but when I just re-viewed it, I got a twinge of Australian lovingness. So, I'll post it here instead of my daily picture. Enjoy this QANTAS commercial. :-)

Cheers

There is Life on This Planet!

2007-03-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

Today is my one month anniversary in Australia. I've been here a calendar month. Can you all believe that? I know I can't. I just have to keep saying to myself "You've come a long way, baby!"

Anywho--

One of my favorite things about wine is the way that it brings people together and opens up the lines of communication. As I've said before, if you like wine or hate wine, you have an opinion about it and you're likely to share it if given the opportunity. Wine is social and has remained social, hence holding it's place as a cornerstone of societies, modern and pre-historical. Things fade from history and people's minds; wine is NOT one of those eliminated items.

So, tonight was the most anticipated first meeting of the CSU wine tasting club. (I know, triple tier tastings every fortnight of different wines from different regions...be very jealous.) Tonight was Semillon from the Hunter Valley (N of Sydney), and I will say, Semillon is a good wine general, it's cheaper versions (that I tasted) are relatively food friendly. The more expensive tiers were excellent stand alone wines, as most expensive wines are. It's not Riesling, my love love love!, but, it will do over a Chardonnay.

So, anyway, I discovered tonight just how much I loved talking wine with people. I should say, RE-discovered. I've noticed that whenever I'm in a Wine Science Lecture, I really don't think about anything else. For those 4 hours every week, I think about nothing but wine and grapevines and pests and flavors and senses and fruit. I'll emerge from the lecture hall and realize that time has passed and that my pages are filled with notes and handwriting. All the while, I'm not worrying, I'm not missing anyone, I'm not having evil jealous thoughts come into my head, and I'm not remembering that I'm in a foreign country a BAZILLION miles from home with no friends. It's a welcome change and relief.

But, tonight at wine club, I got to talk to some of the people in my program, relax with them, find out about them, and I discovered that there was life on this planet! I know Aussies are nice and polite and helpful, but, they can be friends. Maybe I'm not so foreign after all. Mel put it well this fall, she said: "In Australia, you're friend until proven otherwise." I countered with, "In the States, you're otherwise until proven friend." I think I'll put Mel's theory to the test.

Well, this is a little bit of babble because I'm a bit "boozed", as Meghan (the South African-turned-Kiwi-room mate) puts it. Ha.

Cheers!

PS- Pick stolen from University of Adelaide Oenology program website! :-D

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem

2007-03-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, I spent Saturday poking around Wagga. I got sunburned (BIG surprise) and found Wagga Beach and other assorted sites. But, there was something that I noticed that I am dying to share with all of you. Here goes.

Last year, during one of the many marathon nights in the GIS lab, Sammie Linton was recalling Australia, as she studied abroad here, and she said that she was shocked that people actually went into the supermarket, among other stores, with no shoes or shirts on. I remembered this when I got here, and when I arrived in Wagga, I remember thinking, "Well, it must be only crazy Queenslanders that do that sort of thing." I had never remembered Mel going sans shoes into Wegmans and the people in NSW all seemed to be donning footwear in public places.

Well, I made the mistake of going into town on the week days. On the weekend, all bets are off. People are hitting the beach, the shops, the streets. I was walking down Baylis Street minding my own, and BAM. There went my first gentlemen sans footwear. I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me and said something totally kodak: "G'Day!" I walked away with a smile on my face. Not 30 seconds later, there was a whole family without shoes. So, this was on the street. I wondered if these people just magically produced thongs to go into the grocery store with. The answer to that query is: NO. I saw Mr. G'Day later that day at Woolworth's, and he stopped me and chatted as if we were old friends...all without his shoes.

The sign that hangs on the door of every American business is "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service". In contrast to that, Sammie was right. These people are crazy and don't wear shoes to go grocery shopping. I'm not going to be jumping on that bandwagon anytime soon, but, I will say this: I love it. It's relaxed, it's carefree. It's an excellent reflection of the attitude of the continent, as I've observed it so far. They're your feet, do with them as you wish. No one should be picking anything up off of the floor and selling it in a food store anyway. Who cares? As Kenny Chesney said, "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!" No worries, mate!

In related news, this explorer and her ipod are going to Tasmania over the Easter holidays. This decision was influenced and finally made thanks to a panel of experts and my keen decision making skills (ha!). So, more details on that are forthcoming, I'm planning and scheming like a maniac! Loving it!

And I just realized this weekend that I, Catrina Nicole North, packed all of my shit in three bags, took off to AUSTRALIA and am now living here, studying to pursue a dream. How fucking cool is that! I typically wouldn't say this, but: I fucking rock! Who does that?! Geez, life has changed in the last month!

Cheers

Mozzarella Sticks

2007-03-08T03:53:00.000-08:00

These people do NOT have mozzarella sticks. What am I going to do!? Three years without Mozz sticks? I'll go batty. That's the real fat kid talking, here!

Anyway, Mom sent me a package with my work shoes and prescriptions in it, and there were a bunch of food stuffs in it. Cut right down on my shopping. She sent normal stuff, pop tarts, Doritos, home baked choco chip cookies. She did include a box of wheat thins, as well. Well, after I came back from a swim, I decided to pop open the Wheat thins and offer them to the room mates and myself as a snack. One or two of them took my offer, and I discovered something odd. None of them had ever had wheat thins. Nor a mozzarella stick. Where the hell am I, Mars? No Wheat thins? For some reason, I just couldn't get over this. I still can't.

Well, I'm out of ideas. And tired. All of this culture shock in one day. No mozz sticks.

Lamingtons

2007-03-07T04:02:00.000-08:00

Mel, my room mate: I have a surprise for you guys tonight.
Me: I hate surprises.
Mel: I'm not telling you, you'll have to wait.

Well, my surprise was a cool one. Do any of you US'ers know what a Lamington is? Well, neither did I. It's basically a sponge cake covered in dark chocolate and coconut flakes. Yes, it is as heavenly as it sounds. Mel and I had gone to the food market about a week early, and as usual, she had had a good laugh at my stupidity regarding Lamingtons, among many other foreign food items. (They have these huge tubes, like tubes of out Bob Evans sausage, only larger, of dog and cat meat. I'm talking friggin' HUGE tubes. Who does that?)

Well, Mel had gotten the whole 8 of us a package of Lamingtons. We were all hanging out in the "family room", as we call it, and she appeared with dessert. Jer-Bear, my fellow wine science-er, came up with some ice cream. We dished it up. Distributed it, and all sat and watched TV. I looked around the room while everyone was sitting there, mostly in awe. A month ago, I was just leaving my home. Since then, I've covered a few miles, shed a few tears, and seen a lot of things. And there I was, surrounded by people who I already consider friends and care for, but never envisioned. I felt very fortunate.

It's remarkable how quickly things move sometimes. Sometimes it takes a quiet night of TV, a foriegn dessert, and some perspective to realize just how lucky you are.

Oh, side note. Wine people. Did you know that Phylloxera originated from North America? They think it probably rode over on a boat and then did some major damage in Europe. This funny vision of a note going something like this popped into my head:

Dear World,

We're writing to apologize for the phylloxera thing. We didn't mean to cause any sobriety. We hope you still love us.

Yours,

North America

I couldn't help but think that all of the Australians in the room were looking at me as if I were the vessel that brought them to Australian vineyards. :-P

Cheers

"How Important Are We to the Americans?"

2007-03-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

My friend Stan, the bus driver, asked me how important I thought the Australians as a people were to the Americans. He asked if we thought as much about them as they do about us.

I grimaced and shifted in my seat uncomfortably, not wanting to ruin my friendship with my new friend, and said, "No, Americans don't think of anyone but themselves. Maybe, we'll think of Europe or the Middle East, but not Australia."

He looked at me excitedly and said, "Well, I've told all of my friends that, but they never believe me. Now I know. "

I laughed. He smiled, it was all good.

So, I needed some empirical evidence. Just how important was the David Hicks case in the States. David Hicks was suspected of terrorism and is being held at Guantanamo Bay, and he's been there since he was captured in 2002. He's on the Australian news EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I mean, he's usually in between stories about weather or grapes, right up there at the front. He's were GWB would be in our news reels. It's completely WILD.

I found my empirical evidence when I pulled a Bill Bryson (Author of "A Walk in The Woods" or "In a Sun-Burned Country") and searched the NY Times for the last 5 years. About 140 articles came up, 50 of which were unrelated to Oz's David Hicks.

I then searched "The Australian", a major newspaper over here. It only let's me search for a week, but just in the past 7 days, there had been 7 articles on him. 7! One per day! So, let's look at the math. Say they published for 50 weeks a year, for five years, at one article per day. That's 1750 articles! Another news site returned 238 articles in the past 30 days. Compared to our 90 or so. Suck on that!

So, Stan, I think you are right. But rest assured, Australia means a lot to some Americans, and they're the ones you really need to worry about. Who cares about GWB? I'm cool, and I'm at your end of the globe, so, no worries.

Cheers

When I Grow Up

2007-03-04T05:22:00.000-08:00

It's settled, then. I'm going to be just like the little dude in the picture above when I grow up. No stress, no worries. I would only have to be awake about 4 hours a day. Good times. I took that pic at the Sydney Wildlife Zoo, and these koalas were considered "active". They were trying to get them to eat. I can't blame them for being lazy...it was too hot! :-)

Now that I'm over being pissed and disappointed, I have serious consideration ahead. Studying by distance isn't really an option for a variety of reasons, the biggest of which being $. I would technically be only half time, so I would have to start paying my student loans off. So, that's probably not going to happen. I've decided it wouldn't be the worst idea to go to Adelaide, but I'm not going to make an decisions until I see the place in April. And, if I like it and deem it's something I can do WITHOUT a car (or "ute", in Australian), then I'll consider it. I don't want to leave this program without giving it a fighting chance or for the wrong reasons.

I came here with pure intentions, and I want to leave only for the right reasons.

Now continues the exercise in patience.

Cheers

When It All Falls Apart

2007-03-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

I really like surprises. But, I'm a conditional surprise lover. I like surprises if they're good surprises. Aren't we all that way? Well, as you can probably surmise from my last post, I was frustrated by the fact that two of my classes were via tutorial mode. Teaching myself Biochem and Sensory Science...yea, I'm still totally pumped. NOT.

Anyway, this got me thinking. Are my future classes going to be like this? Is this a common thing, or is it just this year. Australians describe themselves as in a "wine glut", so enrollment in their wine science and viticulture has seen a decrease. I wondered...is this temporary, or will my course at CSU continue in the pattern of "tutorial" learning. Good question, right? Should I continue paying all of this money to teach myself things? Or, is someone professional going to head my studies?

I'm sure this method of self-education works for some people, but I am not one of them. Now, I am going to try it this semester, and we'll see how it goes, but, I'm having a sneaking suspicion that it will not go well. But, I'm trying really hard not to have a bad attitude about it.

Anyway, my room mate, Jeremy, is a third year wine science student. So, I was chatting with him. He is currently taking 8 subjects(!) and 7 (!) of them are via "tutorial", AKA distance only internally, mode. He said to me, "The higher up you get, the worse it gets." Oh AWEEEEESOME. Then, I stopped in to talk to my course coordinator and he said that the majority of third year courses were offered in tutorial mode. You can imagine, that's exactly what I didn't want to hear.

So, I wondered...why hadn't I noticed this? Did I skip this page on the glossy book they sent me? I don't really recall ever knowing anything of this. So, from what I understand, this phenomena is relatively new at CSU, and it's occurring because the majority of students are studying at CSU via distance education. They are already working in the wine industry and getting their degrees online. They come to Sturt twice a year for "residential schools", which is where they perform all practical exercises that come with the course.

So, now I have to decide. Even though very few of my courses are going to involve actual lectures and traditional schooling, do I want to stay here and finish the degree I've just begun? Or do I want to look at other options. Do I want to look into the University of Adelaide? Do I want to come back to the states and go someplace in CA or WA?

My major malfunction is that I don't really know what I want to do just yet, nor do I feel like I've been here long enough to make a call on anything. However, I don't really have much time to waste. I need to make a decision relatively soon.

Geez, everything looked all set, and then it all goes and falls apart. So, yea, there's a little look at my past week.

Cheers

PS- I did have a copy of a pic of the opera house to use, but, I friggin' hate easyshare and it's inability to relate to macs. So, I had to borrow this one. Thanks, dude. :-)

WTF, mate?

2007-02-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

So, my first day of classes was today. It was fun! I got to eat grapes in one of my pracs. Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Cab Franc, Sultana and many more...it was cool. So I have two classes on campus, and 2 that are entirely conducted online, with the exception of a "residential school" in July when we do a marathon lab schedule.

I could pretend that I was thrilled that classes were being conducted online. I, however, am NOT. I'm NOT at ALL thrilled. I moved all the way to fucking Australia to teach myself Biochemistry?! I DON'T think so. And as I've investigated, a lot of the subjects here at CSU are "tutorial", which means...teach yourself for a ton of money.

And, my July is shot because of "residential schools". I really wanted to go home in July, because, well, it's July. Will it be as good to go home in April? I want to go home, or I won't be home until Christmas, and well, that's just too damn long. Boo. I'm pissed all to hell. This is NOT what I signed up for.

Dick Cheney

2007-02-23T03:25:00.000-08:00

I hate Dick Cheney. I think he is the dirtiest bastard out there. Well, guess what. He's here. Or at least, he was. He caused some mighty ugly protesting and police retaliation in Sydney, too. I told my room mates and my friend Stan the bus driver that I was not-so-secretly hoping that he got stung by some sort of poisonous fish in Sydney Harbor. I don't think I got my wish. Oh well, it's better not to wish ill on people, right? Even if they are evil, rich, dirty oil tycoons.

O-week is drawing to a close here at CSU, and I'm excited. I wanna be a winemaker. I wanna learn out to make wine. That doesn't involve a week of lame activities. I am here to study, after all. My skin is officially peeling from my extreme sunburn in Sydney, and my days activities only proved to burn the freshly revealed skin. I'm evening trying to be a good kid and wear sunscreen, but, it all seems to be in vain.

Since my last entry, I've seen the winery! It's a little bit off campus. In fact, it's going to be a hell of a walk. We met the winemaker and he said to just stop by whenever we wanted to work, and then he may bring us on for casual employment. (At 19$ an hour!!) So, I'm just gonna go over with work boots on, I'm sure they'll find something for me to do. They do take on a trainee every year. The trainee works full time at the winery and then studies via distance...sounds great, eh? I am not able apply for that, though. The conditions of my visa do not allow me to switch over to distance learning. Very sad, huh? C'est la vie.

Okay, I'm beat. Time for bed. Cottages 385 is official full of all 8 people...I hear there's even another wine science person here, whom I haven't met. It's certainly a lot busier around here.

...and we're all glad Dick Cheney is gone....dodgy bastard.

Cheers!

Fucking Kangaroos

2007-02-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

Those fucking kangaroos are right outside my house. That's right. Those tall ass things are right near where I sleep. Don't worry, they're all cute and cuddly during the daylight hours, but at night, they're just creepy. Cool point though, if you look closely, one of them has a little joey in her pouch!

Unfortunately, life has started moving quite quickly away from me and Seattle and Sydney are not going to get proper blog odes. Seattle was fabulous. We did all of the tourist-y things like the sound tour and the space needle. I got to see a few Grey's Anatomy hot spots (!) and go to the open market. It was enjoyable to see Anna and see where she lives. I could honestly see myself moving back to the Washington area to make wine, I liked it that much!

After I departed Seattle, my next stop was Sydney. The plane ride was not nearly as torturous and horrible as I thought. Met a few chatty Americans and not so chatty Tasmanians. I wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience, but I wouldn't call it painful. I wouldn't want to do it often, but, I survived.

When I got off the plane the first person to greet me was a little short blond flight attendant and she said "Welcome to sunny Sydney!" Well, she wasn't kidding. I walked up to the window to exchange my currency after I had gathered all of my luggage, and I got my first look out of the door to the outside world. I saw a group of plants that were totally unfamiliar to me, and when the doors swung open and I went through, I smelled, felt, and saw an entirely new world. I can't begin to describe it. The area was hot and humid, and had this spicy, meaty, but green smell to it. (I've come to learn that smell belongs to the gum trees!) My cab ride to my hotel was funny, it turns out that cab drivers in Sydney are just as angry as they are in the States, but only when provoked. Otherwise they are talkative and helpful.

I arrive at the hotel and went out to find some food in an attempt to fight off sleep. I came back with TimTams and a kabob. I fell asleep around 5:30 that night, and I am continually fighting of the urge to still do that. Mel arrived the following day and we did a whirlwind, sun-burning tour of Sydney. We went to major beaches...like Manly and Bondi, and also went to a huge shopping mall. Cell phone fiascos and sunburn aside, it was a very enjoyable day. ( I am still crispy from that day.)

I then took what I'm calling "The Hogwart's Express" from Sydney to Wagga Wagga, my final destination. I spent most of the ride 1) thinking about those I missed back home or 2) thinking that I was motherfucking nuts. (Olivia was right!) As we got further from the city, green got scarce and soil got red. We were being carried further and further into terrain I had never seen.

I arrive in Wagga, finally, and met some students sent to round up international students. On my way into my flat with my suitcases, the three of us travelling together heard something in the bushes right next to my flat. I reckoned that it was a big bird, as did the other two ladies. No moments later did a full sized kangaroo pop his head out of a tiny hole. I had never seen one and didn't have my camera, so that moment will have to live in my head forever! It was un-fucking believable.

Now we're into orientation and I'm trying to have a better attitude about it. I'm settled and I've hung all of my pictures of all of you around, so now you're all here with me. I was briefly homesick yesterday, but, it's so damn hot, I can't pretend to think straight enough to maintain coherent thought.

It's late, I need a rest. More later!

Cheers

Pearls Only: Two Days in The Cowgirl Bunkhouse

2007-02-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

On from NYC, I spent two days in Boulder with SMS. I always loooove seeing SMS because there are many things that she just gets. "Should I buy this bag? Hmm, maybe..." Colorado was awesome...I saw some excellent mountains. Like I've told so many people, all of the mountains looked fake. They're so large, they looked fake. Thanks to glaciers, our precious old Appalachian mountains have been worn away to nice rounded slopes.

Colorado was in the mid 30s the entire time I was there. SMS came and got me at the airport, then we went to her (gorgeous!) apartment and then went out to dinner at the Boulder Teahouse. It was absolutely fabulous! The tea menu was at least 5 times longer than the food menu and the building was apparently brought to Boulder from Tajikistan. It was beautifully painted and carved inside the building, it was absolutely fabulous!

The following day, I had the most relaxing morning complete with SMSs home baked bread. We had lunch at Wild Oats Market and I bopped around downtown Boulder for the day. I got a wonderful new water bottle. Everyone there is physically fit and and granola-crunchy, so there are many many outdoor shops. The altitude got to me a little bit in the form of headaches, but, I definitely enjoyed the area.

I'm struggling a little with the time zone thing. I'm in Seattle, and I've been waking up around 5 am and getting extremely tired by like 9 pm. I just can't fathom how awesome it's going to be once I get to Oz.

...Which I will be flying out for tomorrow....ummmm....oh boy!

Now I gave everyone the address for this blog, so, it will be visited a little more often I think.

Time to head out! More on Seattle tomorrow.

Cheers,
C

We'll Open Up A Restaurant In Santa Fe and Forget this Cold Bohemian Hell

2007-02-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

No one is sailing in the NY harbor right now. Because it is so f'ing cold I can't stand it! I woke up yesterday morning with a ridiculous head cold. Grrrrreat! I think that my body finally caught up with me and said "fuck you! we're slowing down for a while." So, I'm low energy and reasonably intolerant of uncomfortable situations, such as extreme cold. I am warm and happy right now though waiting in Laguardia for my flight to Denver.

While in NYC, Brittany came down and we both stayed the night with Alison. I arrived around 1:30 after an enjoyable JetBlue flight with Alison's parents. Then, Britty and I bopped around the city. We ate some delicious thai food then headed up town to go to the Museum of Sex. Verrry interesting, look for pictures soon! We then bopped around times square for a while then went to Tom's restaurant, up by Columbia. If you know what I'm referring to you either know that it's the place of reference to Susan Vega's hit "Tom's Diner" or that it's where the Seinfeld cast regularily dines. Brittany fought the urge to order a "big salad". :-) It looks very different inside then where they were, but it was, none the less, enjoyable.

I've decided, after one night, that I don't really like being a nomad! I would have much preferred to have reached my final destination, but, I will get to see some pretty awesome stuff, so, I'll just deal!

Well, I guess we'll be boarding soon. Have I ever mentioned that I really don't like flying? Okay, just so you all know... :-)

Cheers,
C

"On the verge of Vom..."

2007-02-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

When the Alpha Sigma Sigma's reunited in DC this past January, Anna was kind enough to get me stuck on saying "vom" instead of it's full name, "vomit".

So, I finished up work at Ferro friday. It was sad, I can't seem to bring myself to think that I may never see some of those people ever again. It all felt uncomfortably final. I'm going to keep in touch, though. Then, Jen arrived and we went to the Wagner for the going away party...Fox Run style. VERY enjoyable. I thank everyone, again. But, at that time, I didn't feel like I was going to vomit.

By saturday, I was pretty sure I was going to die. I've been feeling like I am going to either a) cry or b) vomit since that morning. I've had some tough goodbyes since then, and it's not getting any better. I'm constantly "on the verge of vom"...

Will it?

At the family gathering on Saturday, I asked the daughter of a family friend (Olivia, 7, fabulously cute) if she wanted to see where I was going. She did, so I showed her a world map and where I was headed. She looked me square in the face and said, "You're crazy." I promptly asked her if she really thought I was that crazy, and she gave me a toothy grin and a nod and affirmed: "YES!"

Maybe she's right.

Cheers,
C

Morning Flapjacks

2007-02-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I was late. As usual. I was arriving at about 6:30 am (due in at 6) because I had been jamming out and enjoying myself with some cereal a half an hour earlier. Well, I get to work, I notice that both of my boys had been calling me. I didn't return the calls because I was on my way. I walked into an empty lab and promptly went to the break room to put my lunch in the fridge.

Sean intercepted me and said, "Listen. Vern and Johnny J are looking for you, you better go over." He promptly grabbed my lunch from my hands and I sighed. I thought I was in trouble because he told me it had "something to do with pack data".

So, I begrudgingly went back to the SFM R&D lab, and I smelled something fabulous on the way back. There was Vern, sitting at his desk with a griddle in front of him, making chocolate chip pancakes. He looked at me and told me that it was my last day so he thought he'd make pancakes. I understand that this is some sort of tradition for the early morning crew, but I was absolutely honored to be involved. We got to sit there and chat, I learned about trout and New Zealand, and heard a few great Ferro stories that I do so love.

Some days, you get surprises. Some days, people surprise you. Those are good days, and good surprises.

Back to Grey's Anatomy...and commercial time packing.

Here's to good surprises,
Catrina

Down to The Wire

2007-01-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

So, my visa came through last week. Today, I shipped my boxes to Mel filled with shoes (to the tune of $150!) and as far as I see it, I can't turn back now. Half of my most stylish shoes are well on their way to Australia, and I intend on retrieving them. In person.

So, I've got to get on that plane and go. I've also been assigned residence at Charles Sturt, which is a load off my ass. Now, I just need to pay for housing. My accommodation is all the way across campus from where I will be taking class. But, that's okay, more exercise for me!

So, on my flight from Rochester to NYC, (JetBlue Flight #27), I am with the Mitchell's! Alison's parents! Rock on, I love them. I am so super pumped. What luck! :-)

But, my nerves are shot. Scott told me just to "put some panties in a bag and go". If only it were that simple.

Beginning of my last week at Ferro tomorrow. Oh those boys...how I adore them and will miss them so.

Fox Run going away party Friday night at the Wagner. I think it may have started out as a secret, but the cat didn't stay in the bag for very long.

My cup really does runeth over. I get choked up when I think about leaving. This will be tough. Good thing email is cheap!

The above picture is of the occupants of Creekside 23 on the night I found out I got into Charles Sturt. April 12th, 2006. That night was interesting for more than one reason. Jennie is holding the bottle of champagne that caused the worst hangover of my life.

Cheers!

Fist Pump

2007-01-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

MY VISA WENT THROUGH! And I just booked my Sydney hotel reservations and my train ticket from Sydney to Wagga.

Now I can actually start putting things in my suitcases. :-)

Casey

2007-01-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

(case helping me with my crappy 460)

Things are getting close to go-time. Since I last wrote, I've resigned from my job at Ferro. Things went well, I think. It's nice to finally be able to share what makes me most joyful with all of those people. People are eager to talk about wine anyway, and they're even more eager if they know you know about wine. It's kind of a cool thing about wine...it makes people talk. Love or hate, you talk.

My boss knew what I was doing the instant I walked into his office. I was a wreck and I didn't even have to say anything to him. He made things a lot easier for me. He said: "You have an envelope. Oh. Give it to me...I wanna see where your going!" He read where I was off to and seemed as excited as I am! I then told some of my favorite R&D scientists, and was greeted with ecstatic screams. Everyone is super pumped for me, I think, which makes it more difficult to leave them all. I will miss them all, and I don't like the idea that I may never see them again. I don't like that idea at all.

The going away party is apparently in the works at Fox Run, Feb 2 at the Wagner. If you read this, don't believe Mary, you REALLY do not have to bring a gift. I am all good. You guys, honestly, are all gifts in yourselves. This is cliche, but true, I am lucky to have all of you and you bring me gifts everyday. Very true.

I am also feeling very anxious. For example, I am extremely worried that the number one man in my life, my cat Casey (17 yrs), will die while I am gone. And I am terribly afraid that he will die alone. I help him as a kitten, I feel like I should be there with him during his senescence. I worry about my favorite man :-( My poor kitty, I am sorry that I am going to leave you. Huh, I am such a worrier.

Anyway, I am tired!

Best,
Catrina

Surprise!

2007-01-09T15:04:00.000-08:00

So, my physical and x-ray for my visa are completed as of this morning. Presently, a film picture of my chest innards and my entire medical history are on their way to Washington, DC to be evaluated by an embassy staffer to see if I am fit to enter their country. Scary thought, huh? I was in Washington this weekend, I should have stopped in to light a fire under some people's butts!

I was just watching President Bush on ABC and I still think he's a giant shit brick. I'll look forward to being on a different continent than him and so help me god, if he visits Australia, I might go to wherever he is and spit at him. Dude needs to clean it up and start listening to his people, the mass of which are finally wising up.

Anyway, I was just cruising the CSU page because someone finally sent me my log on, and it turns out...I have classes! I don't know when they meet, but I have them! Here there are:

BCM206	Structural Biochemistry	TUT	W	8
PSC214	Plant Physiology	INT	W	8
WSC111	Grape and Wine Science	INT	W	8
WSC210	Sensory Science	TUT	W	8

I'm pumped! 4 lab sciences! Too bad I don't have anywhere to live. I'll be living in the lab anyway!

They're cooking Watermelon Gnocchi on Top Chef. Those crazy gourmets.

Cheers,
C

That Is a Sweet Earth

2007-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Mel flew off to oz yesterday and it is officially 2007. I started sorting clothing into piles today and staring at my bank account nervously, wondering if there was enough money.

I forgot how funny The End of the World was. Watch and enjoy.

Fucking kangaroos.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

2006-12-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

So Christmas has come and gone. I feel like I haven't sat down for about two weeks now. I haven't really had much of an opportunity to rest, let alone worry about my visa and all other things I really should be worrying about. My wake up call came in the form of a five piece lugguage set left for me by Santa, and I suddenly remembered that I was shipping off in not too long.

So, I've started a to-do list of sorts for my travel to and within Australia. I've decided that the thing I would most like to do at my first stop (NYC) is go to Tiffany's. Will I buy anything? Probably not. Will I enjoy myself? Most definitely. I've also decided the I would like to see the original Starbucks in Seattle, but I don't know of much else in Seattle. I know of nothing in Boulder, but I'm sure SMS will have PLENTY to show me.

With regard to Sydney, I'm allowing my favorite Mel to take me where she pleases. We've gotten plenty of recs from Peter and his wife lately, and all of their talk has me incredibly excited! I'd like to see the Opera House from the Harbor at night. I would like to go through ridiculous amounts of film. :-)

Any suggestions for my travels? Do let me know...I love seeing new things!

Cheers!

Morning Quick Cross

2006-12-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Look! Future Me!

Heard from my favorite fair-haired Australian wine maker today, Mel. She's in Seattle, just coming back from Vancouver. She has successfully seen more of my own country than I have. I'm excited to have her back in the Finger Lakes for Christmas...soon I'll visit her on her own shores! Scary!

I got a bit sad today at Ferro. Wednesdays are HORRENDOUS, but, they're made better by the people I work with. I've finally gotten used to all of the turds I work with and now I have to leave them. What's a thursday morning without seeing Bills? Or the morning quick cross? A visit from Barry at 6:15 am? 7 am coffee? I do hope I get to remember them fondly.

Cheers!

United Flight 863

2006-12-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

Today I booked my flight with United!

Sidenote: The title comes from a Tom Cochrane song, "Life is a Highway". And I have said already I am extremely opposed to blogging, it's merely an effective way to keep everyone informed.

Anyway, here is my flight itinerary. I've decided this is a hell of an oppurtunity to see some friends all across the US, so I've built in a few side trips.

*7 Feb Depart PY, NY for ROCH to fly to JFK in NYC (flight not booked on Jetblue just yet)

* I will spend that night with my dearest ALISON in her new habitat...Chinatown

* Depart NYC Laguardia @1:55pm on 8 Feb

* Arrive 4:15 pm in Denver, CO to spend some QT with SMS

* Depart Denver, CO @11:15am on 10 Feb

* Arrive in Seattle, WA @ 1:02pm for three days with my oldest friend in the universe, Anna, my video game guru!

* Depart Seattle on 13 Feb @7:20 pm

* Arrive San Fran, CA @9:23 pm

* Depart for Sydney, AUS at 10:18pm on 13 Feb

* Arrive in Sydney, AUS on 15 Feb @ 7:50am

* Spend 15 Feb- 18 Feb bopping around Sydney with Mel before finally taking my 5-6 hour train ride to arrive in Wagga Wagga on the evening of the 18th to begin International Student Orientation on 19 Feb.

This is all if my student visa goes through.

And yes, there will be no valentine's day for me in 2007. Sorry Erin, I skipped your birthday.

Cheers!

PS- I've decided to post a pic with every post. Today's will be the plane that I am leaving the US in! Enjoy, it's up top. And yes, the plane has two floors!

Formalities

2006-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, so, I was intially really opposed to blogging. Then I started the easyjournal, and I wasn't so opposed. I went back to being opposed when I thought of blogging all of my time down under. After recieving several requests and reassurances, I decided I would blog for your reading pleasure, and more importantly, communication with you.

First, here's a link to my poor and old easy journal. It is reasonably entertaining and chronicles some life and times at Gettysburg College.

Right now, I am headed out to go Christmas shopping. I'm in the process of putting together travel plans, Visas, etc. Overall, I'm pumped, but completely and ridiculously frightened!

Cheers,
C