Hi, Erica and I got to talk to Travis yesterday. It's been awhile since we've had much contact. He said that their shortest day since June 20th was 13.5 hours. And now the cannery is starting to work 24 hours, so they'll be going to the full two shifts much of the time. I believe that is 2 eight hours shifts a day.
It sounds like Amy has been working at the spot where they finish pulling the bones out of the fillets of salmon. She also has worked at putting stickers/ labels on the packages. That one was pretty boring.
For awhile now Travis has been working at the vacuum pack machine. It's a great big thing that seals 3 bags of fillets at a time. Travis lines up 3 packages while his work partner is using the vacuum, then the vacuum swings back over and Travis seals at his spot while the partner is lining up the next bags. Travis said that one day they, just Travis and his partner, packaged about 7000 salmon. No, wait, 7000 bags or fillets which would be 3500 salmon. He counted as he worked for 5 hours and then figured out the days' totals. It would be fun to watch their efficiency!
So, he hasn't been to the library lately to get much outside communication. They'd love letters if anyone wants to write.
Trident Seafoods
Travis Volz (or Amy Reavis)
Box 1040
Cordova, AK 99574
Brenda Volz
Friday, July 1, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
New Job
Travis called from Cordova, Alaska after a day of work. Travis and Amy checked in at the cannery about 6pm last night and they asked them if they were ready to start. So they worked until about 11:40 pm. Then they also worked today from 6:55am until about 5:30pm.
These first days they are sliming fish! It's only fair that they should have to do that at first. Right, all you cannery alumni?! He tried to explain to us the system. He worked part of the time pulling out the guts and another while cleaning the fish . . . using something like a spoon and a hose. At the end of the days they had some King Salmon to clean. I don't remember what kind the others were--it was red meat. We'll get more details later.
It's mostly cloudy and rainy. They did see the sun twice.
Have a good week everyone. Travis and Amy can check the internet when they get time to go to the library, so I'm sure they'll check comments here or wherever they usually get mail.
Travis' mom reporting.
These first days they are sliming fish! It's only fair that they should have to do that at first. Right, all you cannery alumni?! He tried to explain to us the system. He worked part of the time pulling out the guts and another while cleaning the fish . . . using something like a spoon and a hose. At the end of the days they had some King Salmon to clean. I don't remember what kind the others were--it was red meat. We'll get more details later.
It's mostly cloudy and rainy. They did see the sun twice.
Have a good week everyone. Travis and Amy can check the internet when they get time to go to the library, so I'm sure they'll check comments here or wherever they usually get mail.
Travis' mom reporting.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Coming home
Well, I'm actually already home, but I just thought that I would write a little bit about what I did before I came home. Mostly I studied a lot and took some tests, but besides that, I also did some fun things with Amy. So, on the weekend before I left, there was this thing put on by the Georgetown Program Board that was like a big party. Georgetown Program Board is basically an organization that puts on events that are supposed to be alcohol free and are pretty fun. The movies that we go to for free are part of this program, along with Alumni lounge that has the ping pong table, pool table, and TV.
At this party, we came for the skating, because that was what was advertised, but there were many more things that were really cool. Life Water had a booth and were giving out free life water. There was also a candy booth that was advertising for a new candy shop, that had free chocolate covered pretzels, gobstoppers, tootsie rolls, and these really cool candy that I think was carbonated on the inside and fizzed into your mouth when you started to suck on them. Then, Amy and I noticed a bubble dance thing that looked fun, so we said we were going to do it, but by the time we were going to, it was really cold, so we didn't. It was a big (about 15'x20') area that was confined by inflatable walls, like the bounce things. Amy originally thought that the floor was bouncy, which would have been awesome, but it would have been too slippery, we later realized. The entire area was filled with 3 to 5 feet of bubbles, and they had fans in one spot to blow the bubbles in the air, which looked sweet when the strobe light shined on them. They had loud music going, but we didn't go. We did, however wait in line for a caricature! It was really fun to see how well the lady could draw each person. They were free, and must have been sponsored by the program board, but I'm not sure how much the drawer would make per hour... I would imagine a lot, since usually they are 10-15 dollars a piece, and she did 7 or 8 per hour. We waited in like with Amy's friend Beth, and it was fun to talk to her too. Her caricature turned out really well also. After waiting in line for an hour and a half, we finally had a sweet caricature, and then "needed" some ice cream, because they also had a place to make your own banana splits, although I just had some chocolate sauce on it.
WOOPS! So, the day before I head to Alaska, I realized that I did not post this post and that it has just been sitting here being useless.
My time in Montana has been fun, and I'm going to regret leaving a little bit, but I need some money to pay for college. The day I got home, I went to soccer practice and have been going every Monday Wednesday and Friday that I am available. It was really fun to play competitively again, although playing with Jeff was fun. The first weekend of games when I was home was not so great, because we played 2 teams that beat us badly. One of the teams was actually a league above us, but we held in there for the first 15 minutes or so. The next weekend in Havre was much more fun. We beat Havre, a team that had previously only lost to a Select team (we are "classic") and also beat Missoula in another close match. The games being in Havre just added to the greatness of the weekend as we went up the day before and stayed in a hotel with the team.
The rest of my time here was working and hanging out with my family, Amy, her family, and our friends. It has been a great time, but now, we're off to another adventure. I'm not sure if I'll have access to internet, but there will be cell phone service, so I'll call home, and my mom will update the blog several times. Good bye for now, loyal readers of this silly rambling blog of mine. Your support has been appreciated.
At this party, we came for the skating, because that was what was advertised, but there were many more things that were really cool. Life Water had a booth and were giving out free life water. There was also a candy booth that was advertising for a new candy shop, that had free chocolate covered pretzels, gobstoppers, tootsie rolls, and these really cool candy that I think was carbonated on the inside and fizzed into your mouth when you started to suck on them. Then, Amy and I noticed a bubble dance thing that looked fun, so we said we were going to do it, but by the time we were going to, it was really cold, so we didn't. It was a big (about 15'x20') area that was confined by inflatable walls, like the bounce things. Amy originally thought that the floor was bouncy, which would have been awesome, but it would have been too slippery, we later realized. The entire area was filled with 3 to 5 feet of bubbles, and they had fans in one spot to blow the bubbles in the air, which looked sweet when the strobe light shined on them. They had loud music going, but we didn't go. We did, however wait in line for a caricature! It was really fun to see how well the lady could draw each person. They were free, and must have been sponsored by the program board, but I'm not sure how much the drawer would make per hour... I would imagine a lot, since usually they are 10-15 dollars a piece, and she did 7 or 8 per hour. We waited in like with Amy's friend Beth, and it was fun to talk to her too. Her caricature turned out really well also. After waiting in line for an hour and a half, we finally had a sweet caricature, and then "needed" some ice cream, because they also had a place to make your own banana splits, although I just had some chocolate sauce on it.
WOOPS! So, the day before I head to Alaska, I realized that I did not post this post and that it has just been sitting here being useless.
My time in Montana has been fun, and I'm going to regret leaving a little bit, but I need some money to pay for college. The day I got home, I went to soccer practice and have been going every Monday Wednesday and Friday that I am available. It was really fun to play competitively again, although playing with Jeff was fun. The first weekend of games when I was home was not so great, because we played 2 teams that beat us badly. One of the teams was actually a league above us, but we held in there for the first 15 minutes or so. The next weekend in Havre was much more fun. We beat Havre, a team that had previously only lost to a Select team (we are "classic") and also beat Missoula in another close match. The games being in Havre just added to the greatness of the weekend as we went up the day before and stayed in a hotel with the team.
The rest of my time here was working and hanging out with my family, Amy, her family, and our friends. It has been a great time, but now, we're off to another adventure. I'm not sure if I'll have access to internet, but there will be cell phone service, so I'll call home, and my mom will update the blog several times. Good bye for now, loyal readers of this silly rambling blog of mine. Your support has been appreciated.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Family Trip here.
I have been fairly busy over the last several weeks, but one reason that I haven't posted anything is that I had asked my family to do some, since with my endless detail it would have taken me hours and hours to write about their trip to DC. I have also been working and studying for finals and I even went to a fun party at Georgetown with free caricatures and food and fun, anyway, I'm heading to my first of my final 2 finals, so I'll write more about everything later.
Good morning,
I look at Travis' blog, hoping to see more entries, but then I remember that some of us were going to write for him. Tues, May 3rd, is Travis' last two finals of the year, so he's been busy studying, as well as packing up to go home.
April 20th was the start of a fun family vacation. We flew to the Reagan airport and were met by Travis, Amy, Grandma, Grandpa and Josiah. Yay! Some of us had our first chance at the metro while we went into the city to get a rental car and the others headed out of town. We drove up towards Gettysburg and spent 2 nights with cousins (2nd cousins), Larry & Ruth Ann Wood. They have a beautiful and inviting home, and were so welcoming. They had even found enough mattresses for ALL of us. We had a great day touring Gettysburg on Thurs.
Maybe I'll just list the things we did. Then hopefully each of us will write a paragraph or so describing some favorite things.
Thursday
Gettysburg Visitor's Center / lunch from the trunks of the cars / car tour of the beautiful countryside / bedtime desserts at Wood's
Friday
Darcy goes to an early class with Travis / leave cars at Comm of Christ / lunch in Travis' school cafeteria / Capital tour / Library of Congress / retrieve & return rental car / card games
Saturday
Museum of Natural History / Art Museum / Eastern Market / birthday dinner at the Match Box / Air & Space Museum / IceBerry
Sunday
Easter Sunrise service at Arlington / walked past National Cathedral / Worship service at Community of Christ / walk thru Georgetown / another walk... to National Mall...Lincoln Memorial, Korean, WW1, WW2, Washington...
Monday
toured Georgetown U / frisbie on lawn / lunch again at American U / went to T's dorm room / went up in the Old Post Office Tower / Holocaust Museum / kids went to the Vietnam Wall on their walk home (some of us got on the closest metro)
Tuesday
pack & visit / Darcy & Brenda visited the International Justice Mission offices / then "hit the road" and "the skies"
Okay, family. You can tell I left out a few details! So maybe each of us could write a little to Travis (email or facebook or blog comments) and he could add them to the blog about the trip. Just think of something funny that happened or your favorite place or tell a couple stories. Thank you. I love you! Thank you, Travis and Amy for the wonderful vacation.
Brenda
Good morning,
I look at Travis' blog, hoping to see more entries, but then I remember that some of us were going to write for him. Tues, May 3rd, is Travis' last two finals of the year, so he's been busy studying, as well as packing up to go home.
April 20th was the start of a fun family vacation. We flew to the Reagan airport and were met by Travis, Amy, Grandma, Grandpa and Josiah. Yay! Some of us had our first chance at the metro while we went into the city to get a rental car and the others headed out of town. We drove up towards Gettysburg and spent 2 nights with cousins (2nd cousins), Larry & Ruth Ann Wood. They have a beautiful and inviting home, and were so welcoming. They had even found enough mattresses for ALL of us. We had a great day touring Gettysburg on Thurs.
Maybe I'll just list the things we did. Then hopefully each of us will write a paragraph or so describing some favorite things.
Thursday
Gettysburg Visitor's Center / lunch from the trunks of the cars / car tour of the beautiful countryside / bedtime desserts at Wood's
Friday
Darcy goes to an early class with Travis / leave cars at Comm of Christ / lunch in Travis' school cafeteria / Capital tour / Library of Congress / retrieve & return rental car / card games
Saturday
Museum of Natural History / Art Museum / Eastern Market / birthday dinner at the Match Box / Air & Space Museum / IceBerry
Sunday
Easter Sunrise service at Arlington / walked past National Cathedral / Worship service at Community of Christ / walk thru Georgetown / another walk... to National Mall...Lincoln Memorial, Korean, WW1, WW2, Washington...
Monday
toured Georgetown U / frisbie on lawn / lunch again at American U / went to T's dorm room / went up in the Old Post Office Tower / Holocaust Museum / kids went to the Vietnam Wall on their walk home (some of us got on the closest metro)
Tuesday
pack & visit / Darcy & Brenda visited the International Justice Mission offices / then "hit the road" and "the skies"
Okay, family. You can tell I left out a few details! So maybe each of us could write a little to Travis (email or facebook or blog comments) and he could add them to the blog about the trip. Just think of something funny that happened or your favorite place or tell a couple stories. Thank you. I love you! Thank you, Travis and Amy for the wonderful vacation.
Brenda
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sue came to DC!
This week for the most part was a normal week, except during the week, I was buying more and more tickets for the Choir concert on Friday night, because more and more people kept wanting to come. The week consisted mostly of studying and the like, but on Friday, I went down to georgetown to meet Amy, and then we went to meet her mom at the Airport. The entire scooter ride down there, it was raining pretty hard, so I was completely drenched by the time I got there. I had noticed the large amounts of rain already, so I decided that it would be a good idea to bring some extra clothes to get out of the soon to be soaked ones. I brought some extra pants and changed when I got there.
We took a GUTS bus over to the Rosslyn metro station and from there I bought a little McDonalds food, since I hadn't eaten much before that. After that though, we got on the Metro and rode the 5 stops to the airport. We got a doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts and it was delicious! Her mom came, and they were sooo happy to see each other! It was nice to see Sue for me too. We then made our way back on the metro to her hotel near the Key Bridge, where we met Moira, Amy's cousin. (The one whose parents live in Charlottesville) We then all rode the metro back up to Tenleytown and they ate a a Thai restaurant, but I had to go get ready for my concert, so I scootered back and got my fancy suit on! This time, however, I had a bow tie, rather than a normal tie. I filled out the course evaluation and then waited for 45 minutes until our concert. It was a fun concert, and I think most people enjoyed it! Everyone said good job, but that isn't really a good measure, because they could just tell me that and the concert may have been bad, but I think the concert itself was good also! After that, they walked me back to my room, and I showed them my dorm room, but Wynn was sleeping (imagine that) and everyone had to be quiet. They gave me the leftover Thai food, which I gladly ate, and then they left.
On Saturday, I woke up early and finished some of my Physics readings and then met my business group to work on the project. This time though, Lenny was willing to work on everything earlier, so we met at 9:30 and then were done by 12:30. I rode my scooter down to M street to meet Amy and Sue, because they were walking around there. We then did a little shopping/looking around, and went to Urban Outfitters (the same store where I got my french fry wallet). I got a nice light weight sweater that was on sale, and almost got an extra small on accident, but it was a little too small. We then walked east on M even further until we got to a Metro stop and came to American. We got some drinks from the coffee shop here and sat in the School of International Service (SIS) building and read/talked for a while while waiting for dinner. TDR opens at 5 on the weekends rather than being open the whole time, so we were ready to eat by the time it was finally open. I swiped everyone in, and we had a nice dinner, with some ice cream to polish it off! After dinner, they left to go watch the play that Amy had tried out for earlier in the spring, while I went to my last concert of the year. I messed up several times this concert though:( I pronounced New Orleans like that instead of pronouncing it New Orlins, so I stuck out a little bit. I was trying to be a hot shot and not look at my music, which works for the notes and words, but the little notes in the scores are useless if I don't look at them. I worked on some more homework then and went to bed.
On Sunday, I woke up at 8 instead of 7, and got ready to go down to meet Amy and her mom. I thought that I would leave American at 9 to get there at 10 when I planned, but I left at nine and ended up getting there at 9:30, which was a little too early, so texted Amy and waited for her and Sue to get ready. We then hung out in their room a while and then made our way to Dupont Circle to search for some breakfast. It was a little late though, so we were only able to find a place for lunch, which was good! We ate a Cosi, an interesting place where you order everything in different areas. I had a barbecue chicken pizza that was quite interesting, but delicious! We then made our way over to the Spy Museum. We signed up for this thing called Operation Spy, and it was really fun:) It was a simulated mission, where we had to attempt to get a nuclear detonator so we could save the country or something. Anyway, there were several parts, involving, searching, breaking into safes, decoding messages, using "security cameras" from a building, and riding in the back of a van. They had van noises, and then the thing moved like those simulators, so it felt like you were moving. THen we were compromised and had to run to the roof to be rescued by the helicopters. THe things that you did actually played on how the thing would end up. We got an overall score of 4/5, because we found the detonator, but just couldn't quite get it in time. After that, we toured through the actual museum part, which was also cool. We saw lots of hidden weapons, learned about the carrier pigeons, the progressively smaller size of listening bugs, and the arts of ninja. It was an interesting museum, but like most museums, we were getting tired and ready to leave by the time we had made it mostly through the exhibits. After that, we made our way over to the National Gallery of art to see a painting that they have in their house, except the original. It is one of a little girl holding a watering pail near some flowers. It is really cute, and it was neat to see one that I recognized. We then sat in there for about as long as we walked, because we were getting tired. After walking all around the gallery, we made our way to the metro and eventually found the one we needed to get back to the Hotel. The Subway has never felt so good, except for possibly after the "Rally to restore sanity," but it was definitely up there. We got out at the Rosslyn stop and walked a little more over to the hotel and then just sat in their room/read/relaxed, until dinner. We then walked across the Key bridge and then down along the river to this seafood place right by the river. We could look right over the Potomac for the sunset, and it was beautiful! We had some hot crab spread stuff for bread, and then I got some jumbo shrimp, Amy got stuffed shrimp, and Sue got a lobster. I tried some of each thing and everything was excellent! The stuffed shrimp had spinach and some creamy thing, possibly cream cheese, and also pieces of crab in it. We also had a show, because there was a family that had some youngish children that were playing on the boardwalk next to the dining place. The boy had on roller blades and also tried to use them on a scooter. It worked, but we were fearful for his safety, because that just seemed like too many wheels! He also tried sitting on it, and using the roller blades, so it was just an overall entertaining experience. After the wonderful dinner, we walked back to their hotel, and just chilled their for a while and watched America's best dance crew, then Amy had to go back to do some homework, so we had to say goodbye:( Then, Amy and I walked over to Georgetown and we sat outside and talked a little before I scootered home. It was cloudy all day, but a nice temperature, about 68 probably.
Today, I did a lot of homework, attempting to get ahead so I can have more free time when my family is here, and then went down to visit Amy a little in the evening, because I needed a break and some exercise. I rode down there in 15 minutes and we sat and talked for a while and then I rode home, and it took me 25 minutes, for a total of only being gone 1:25. and I got to see Amy:) Now I finished this up and am going to bed.
We took a GUTS bus over to the Rosslyn metro station and from there I bought a little McDonalds food, since I hadn't eaten much before that. After that though, we got on the Metro and rode the 5 stops to the airport. We got a doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts and it was delicious! Her mom came, and they were sooo happy to see each other! It was nice to see Sue for me too. We then made our way back on the metro to her hotel near the Key Bridge, where we met Moira, Amy's cousin. (The one whose parents live in Charlottesville) We then all rode the metro back up to Tenleytown and they ate a a Thai restaurant, but I had to go get ready for my concert, so I scootered back and got my fancy suit on! This time, however, I had a bow tie, rather than a normal tie. I filled out the course evaluation and then waited for 45 minutes until our concert. It was a fun concert, and I think most people enjoyed it! Everyone said good job, but that isn't really a good measure, because they could just tell me that and the concert may have been bad, but I think the concert itself was good also! After that, they walked me back to my room, and I showed them my dorm room, but Wynn was sleeping (imagine that) and everyone had to be quiet. They gave me the leftover Thai food, which I gladly ate, and then they left.
On Saturday, I woke up early and finished some of my Physics readings and then met my business group to work on the project. This time though, Lenny was willing to work on everything earlier, so we met at 9:30 and then were done by 12:30. I rode my scooter down to M street to meet Amy and Sue, because they were walking around there. We then did a little shopping/looking around, and went to Urban Outfitters (the same store where I got my french fry wallet). I got a nice light weight sweater that was on sale, and almost got an extra small on accident, but it was a little too small. We then walked east on M even further until we got to a Metro stop and came to American. We got some drinks from the coffee shop here and sat in the School of International Service (SIS) building and read/talked for a while while waiting for dinner. TDR opens at 5 on the weekends rather than being open the whole time, so we were ready to eat by the time it was finally open. I swiped everyone in, and we had a nice dinner, with some ice cream to polish it off! After dinner, they left to go watch the play that Amy had tried out for earlier in the spring, while I went to my last concert of the year. I messed up several times this concert though:( I pronounced New Orleans like that instead of pronouncing it New Orlins, so I stuck out a little bit. I was trying to be a hot shot and not look at my music, which works for the notes and words, but the little notes in the scores are useless if I don't look at them. I worked on some more homework then and went to bed.
On Sunday, I woke up at 8 instead of 7, and got ready to go down to meet Amy and her mom. I thought that I would leave American at 9 to get there at 10 when I planned, but I left at nine and ended up getting there at 9:30, which was a little too early, so texted Amy and waited for her and Sue to get ready. We then hung out in their room a while and then made our way to Dupont Circle to search for some breakfast. It was a little late though, so we were only able to find a place for lunch, which was good! We ate a Cosi, an interesting place where you order everything in different areas. I had a barbecue chicken pizza that was quite interesting, but delicious! We then made our way over to the Spy Museum. We signed up for this thing called Operation Spy, and it was really fun:) It was a simulated mission, where we had to attempt to get a nuclear detonator so we could save the country or something. Anyway, there were several parts, involving, searching, breaking into safes, decoding messages, using "security cameras" from a building, and riding in the back of a van. They had van noises, and then the thing moved like those simulators, so it felt like you were moving. THen we were compromised and had to run to the roof to be rescued by the helicopters. THe things that you did actually played on how the thing would end up. We got an overall score of 4/5, because we found the detonator, but just couldn't quite get it in time. After that, we toured through the actual museum part, which was also cool. We saw lots of hidden weapons, learned about the carrier pigeons, the progressively smaller size of listening bugs, and the arts of ninja. It was an interesting museum, but like most museums, we were getting tired and ready to leave by the time we had made it mostly through the exhibits. After that, we made our way over to the National Gallery of art to see a painting that they have in their house, except the original. It is one of a little girl holding a watering pail near some flowers. It is really cute, and it was neat to see one that I recognized. We then sat in there for about as long as we walked, because we were getting tired. After walking all around the gallery, we made our way to the metro and eventually found the one we needed to get back to the Hotel. The Subway has never felt so good, except for possibly after the "Rally to restore sanity," but it was definitely up there. We got out at the Rosslyn stop and walked a little more over to the hotel and then just sat in their room/read/relaxed, until dinner. We then walked across the Key bridge and then down along the river to this seafood place right by the river. We could look right over the Potomac for the sunset, and it was beautiful! We had some hot crab spread stuff for bread, and then I got some jumbo shrimp, Amy got stuffed shrimp, and Sue got a lobster. I tried some of each thing and everything was excellent! The stuffed shrimp had spinach and some creamy thing, possibly cream cheese, and also pieces of crab in it. We also had a show, because there was a family that had some youngish children that were playing on the boardwalk next to the dining place. The boy had on roller blades and also tried to use them on a scooter. It worked, but we were fearful for his safety, because that just seemed like too many wheels! He also tried sitting on it, and using the roller blades, so it was just an overall entertaining experience. After the wonderful dinner, we walked back to their hotel, and just chilled their for a while and watched America's best dance crew, then Amy had to go back to do some homework, so we had to say goodbye:( Then, Amy and I walked over to Georgetown and we sat outside and talked a little before I scootered home. It was cloudy all day, but a nice temperature, about 68 probably.
Today, I did a lot of homework, attempting to get ahead so I can have more free time when my family is here, and then went down to visit Amy a little in the evening, because I needed a break and some exercise. I rode down there in 15 minutes and we sat and talked for a while and then I rode home, and it took me 25 minutes, for a total of only being gone 1:25. and I got to see Amy:) Now I finished this up and am going to bed.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Cherry Blossom Festival... : 0
This past week has been a good and productive week, and I have completed most of the assignments for this coming up week already, with a few exceptions, but overall, the homework has been good:) In history, we have to read Candide, which is by Voltaire, and it is really sarcastic and funny, sometimes mocking other Enlightenment thinkers, but sometimes supporting them. It was one of the first really entertaining books that I have read in the European history class. The other books were also good, but I liked Candide the best. In Calculus, we are determining whether or not series are divergent (have a finite sum), and have been using various tests to do that. In Physics, we are now dealing with electricity and circuits and are just starting magnetism, which is also fun. The main thing in business, is now not so much the class, but more so just working on the project each weekend. I had my part done already, but we had to type it as a group so that it would sound consistent, so we met on Saturday morning at 10:30, because that is as early as one of the members wanted to get up, when personally I wanted to get going as fast as possible, so I could go see the Cherry blossoms with Amy and her friends.
Woops, I missed Friday. On Friday, Amy and I just worked at our own Universities for most of the afternoon, so we would have more time with less stress for the Cherry blossoms, and would be able to have more free time! Anyway, she did, however come up to American after 8, and she brought some Chinese takeout food from Kitchen No. 1. It only has takeout, so it is cheaper than other Chinese food restaurants, and it is super greasy and delicious. The fried rice has lots of meat in it (pork, chicken, shrimp, and possibly beef) and it is really good. Amy also got General Tso's chicken which was also excellent! We ate the food and listened to music and looked up music videos/facebook news and relaxed. Then, she went home, so she could hopefully get a lot of sleep, because she was lacking over the course of the week.
On Saturday, We met at 10:30 as I already described. Then it took a long long time to get typing at a good rate. It was very frustrating, but we eventually got 1 page done by 12:30 (single spaced) and then had some lunch, and finished the paper (2 more pages) in only 3 hours more. It should be pretty good, I think, but you never really know with this professor:S We will see when we meet with him to discuss it sometime this week. After that was finally over, I just rode my scooter down to Georgetown, because since it was raining and not nice outside, Amy and her friends didn't stay there very long. We then did some homework and then went to an Acapella concert! It had 3 different groups from Georgetown, one from American, one from Yale, "Baker's Dozen," and one from University of Rochester. They were all pretty good, except we couldn't hear the AU guys very well, since the lead singer used the center mic, which wasn't working. The Yale guys were amazing though. The Yale guys dedn't even really use the mics except for the soloist, they just lined up like in this video. There were only 13 there though, this must have had all the alternates too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhmzUQNpXQ
Anyway, we then did some more homework and then I went home.
On Sunday, I got up fairly early and read a bit and then met Amy down at Georgetown to walk/scooter with to church (depending on the incline). The service was pretty short, and we had potluck afterwards that was really good, but as soon as choir practice after lunch was over, we went all the way down town to the CHerry blossom festival. It was pretty crowded since it was a nice day and its the peak of Cherry blossom time, so we had to walk after we got into the crowds enough. We were following a path next to the river, but we realized that we couldn't get to the right place that way, so after we had passed the Lincoln memorial, we had to go all the way back up around it and then down towards the Jefferson memorial where the trees are. We got there saw them. It was pretty cool to see so many trees flowering at once, but the really cool part for me was the smell of the millions of flowers. We walked around the very very crowded tidal basin and then made our way across the national mall and over to the National gallery of art. On our way, we passed this man playing buckets and barrels as a way to try to get some money. It was really cool. There always seems to be something like that going on down there. Amy is doing one of her term papers for history about how some artists in the 1800s were in reaction to the industrial revolution, and since the paintings were here in DC, we decided to take a look at them. We checked in our scooters, grabbed a map, and then found the right room. We found some pictures that would work, and then tried to interpret as much as we could from each of them. They are available online, but it is just more clear and large to see the actual ones that are probably 5 feet tall or so, and it is much cooler to see them in person. After that, we started our long scooter ride home. It is the same cross street as the Lady Gaga concert, way over in the middle of town, but it was a good scooter ride. We started at 7th NW and had to get to 37th NW. We were on E and had to eventually get up to M, but once on M, everything was familiar, because it is pretty close to Georgetown. Anyway, it was a really long ride, and we were very glad for the chairs when we got back to Georgetown! We ate some of the candy that Amy had picked up at a party thing the night before, and ever tried a monster energy drink. I think it has too much energy in it to be good for you, but anyway, that's that we did.
I then went home and worked on an outline for the essay I was doing for my History class.
For those that didn't see my facebook status, or don't use one, all in all, I scootered/walked 17.9 miles or 1,120,000 inches:)
Today, I have just been doing my homework, but think I will go sit outside for a while now, because it is 82 out there:) Spring is finally here, but I'm not sure how long it will stay this warm, because tomorrow it is supposed to be in the mid 50s again.
Thank you for reading.
Travis
Woops, I missed Friday. On Friday, Amy and I just worked at our own Universities for most of the afternoon, so we would have more time with less stress for the Cherry blossoms, and would be able to have more free time! Anyway, she did, however come up to American after 8, and she brought some Chinese takeout food from Kitchen No. 1. It only has takeout, so it is cheaper than other Chinese food restaurants, and it is super greasy and delicious. The fried rice has lots of meat in it (pork, chicken, shrimp, and possibly beef) and it is really good. Amy also got General Tso's chicken which was also excellent! We ate the food and listened to music and looked up music videos/facebook news and relaxed. Then, she went home, so she could hopefully get a lot of sleep, because she was lacking over the course of the week.
On Saturday, We met at 10:30 as I already described. Then it took a long long time to get typing at a good rate. It was very frustrating, but we eventually got 1 page done by 12:30 (single spaced) and then had some lunch, and finished the paper (2 more pages) in only 3 hours more. It should be pretty good, I think, but you never really know with this professor:S We will see when we meet with him to discuss it sometime this week. After that was finally over, I just rode my scooter down to Georgetown, because since it was raining and not nice outside, Amy and her friends didn't stay there very long. We then did some homework and then went to an Acapella concert! It had 3 different groups from Georgetown, one from American, one from Yale, "Baker's Dozen," and one from University of Rochester. They were all pretty good, except we couldn't hear the AU guys very well, since the lead singer used the center mic, which wasn't working. The Yale guys were amazing though. The Yale guys dedn't even really use the mics except for the soloist, they just lined up like in this video. There were only 13 there though, this must have had all the alternates too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhmzUQNpXQ
Anyway, we then did some more homework and then I went home.
On Sunday, I got up fairly early and read a bit and then met Amy down at Georgetown to walk/scooter with to church (depending on the incline). The service was pretty short, and we had potluck afterwards that was really good, but as soon as choir practice after lunch was over, we went all the way down town to the CHerry blossom festival. It was pretty crowded since it was a nice day and its the peak of Cherry blossom time, so we had to walk after we got into the crowds enough. We were following a path next to the river, but we realized that we couldn't get to the right place that way, so after we had passed the Lincoln memorial, we had to go all the way back up around it and then down towards the Jefferson memorial where the trees are. We got there saw them. It was pretty cool to see so many trees flowering at once, but the really cool part for me was the smell of the millions of flowers. We walked around the very very crowded tidal basin and then made our way across the national mall and over to the National gallery of art. On our way, we passed this man playing buckets and barrels as a way to try to get some money. It was really cool. There always seems to be something like that going on down there. Amy is doing one of her term papers for history about how some artists in the 1800s were in reaction to the industrial revolution, and since the paintings were here in DC, we decided to take a look at them. We checked in our scooters, grabbed a map, and then found the right room. We found some pictures that would work, and then tried to interpret as much as we could from each of them. They are available online, but it is just more clear and large to see the actual ones that are probably 5 feet tall or so, and it is much cooler to see them in person. After that, we started our long scooter ride home. It is the same cross street as the Lady Gaga concert, way over in the middle of town, but it was a good scooter ride. We started at 7th NW and had to get to 37th NW. We were on E and had to eventually get up to M, but once on M, everything was familiar, because it is pretty close to Georgetown. Anyway, it was a really long ride, and we were very glad for the chairs when we got back to Georgetown! We ate some of the candy that Amy had picked up at a party thing the night before, and ever tried a monster energy drink. I think it has too much energy in it to be good for you, but anyway, that's that we did.
I then went home and worked on an outline for the essay I was doing for my History class.
For those that didn't see my facebook status, or don't use one, all in all, I scootered/walked 17.9 miles or 1,120,000 inches:)
Today, I have just been doing my homework, but think I will go sit outside for a while now, because it is 82 out there:) Spring is finally here, but I'm not sure how long it will stay this warm, because tomorrow it is supposed to be in the mid 50s again.
Thank you for reading.
Travis
Monday, March 28, 2011
Jeff's Birthday party/ intense student Travis (and Amy)...
So, on Saturday, Jeff was having a birthday party, starting at 2. He said, "meet to play soccer at to, and dinner at 7," so for some reason I thought that it was going to be the entire time from 2 til after dinner... Anyway, because of that, and the lack of homework Amy and I did on Friday, we studied quite a bit in the morning on Saturday. Amy had even more homework than I did, plus, she has classes Monday, so she was going to come up to American a little later, after she had gone to one of the Cupcake places in Georgetown, to get him one. They are a really popular thing out here. Georgetown Cupcake is the most popular, and they even have a TV show about them, so the lines are always super long there! Like a block or two long! Anyway, there is another one that just opened called Sprinkles, and a little older one that is even further from Georgetown called Baked and Wired (because they serve coffee too). Anyway, in anticipating the long day of hanging out with Jeffs friends, got a grab and go box from the lunch room and filled it with baked goods, so everyone could have some food before dinner. Jeff had mentioned something about hanging out in the Katzen Arts center after people were tired of playing soccer. At 2, I brought his soccer ball that is in my room, over to the Library to meet him. There were 4 other people there when I arrived, and we headed down to the Soccer field to see if anyone was there. There were people practicing, and technically it is only for Varsity sports, but Jeff still tries to go there. Anyway, we then walked over a ways down Massachusetts Avenue and went to this other field, but it was also being used. We then went to the Quad and found a rectangular patch of grass. Some more people met us there, and we had 3 on 4 most of the time. It was really fun, and I wished that I could play more, but I didn't even have my soccer shoes on. Eventually everyone got tired and left, except for Jeff and I, so we just kicked it around a bit. After that, my feet were sufficiently tired so I had to stop. I then met Amy not long after, just after everyone had left... She had a cupcake, and a little of her homework and was wearing her cowboy boots that she got from her Aunt. She looked mighty-fine, for all of you that care, but the boots had given her rub spots, since she didn't have long enough socks. We ate some cookies and scones in Ward, and then headed over to the library. I then went back to my room, grabbed some homework and socks, and dropped off the Catch Phrase that she had brought to play in Katzen with everyone. We studied for 2 hours, which seemed to fly by, and then got waited for the shuttle to go to dinner.
I saw several of the people I recognized from soccer, and two more of Jeff's friends that are girls on the shuttle. We rode to Tenleytown and met up with everyone else. There were 10 of us in total, I think, and we all walked up Wisconsin Ave to a Japanese restaurant. There was a sushi happy hour, with sushi for only 1 dollar per piece, so many of them stocked up... I didn't however, and scavenged through the menu trying to find something that involved cooked meat. Amy and I shared some beef teriyaki, which was very excellent, but it seemed smaller that what everyone else had ordered... At least it was cooked! Anyway, our dish came about 10 minutes later than everyone else's, so Jeff and JT were having a not eating their food and waiting for us contest. Jeff won:) Anyway, it was a great meal overall, and they were some nice people to be around. Amy and I sat on the side of "Becky" and Yuan (pronounced UN as if slurred), both girls, and we enjoyed talking to them. It turns out that JT had family from Butte originally, so he had been there before. There was also Tory (not sure how its spelled) from Hawaii, but he spoke Japanese. It was a good dinner, and we even tried a bit of the native Japanese food, including some "sweet potato noodles" as UN called them. They did taste a little potato-y, but it might be different than ours. They were see-through and reminded me a little of lutefisk. He opened some of his presents and got several soccer things, a jersey and mini ball, and Amy's cupcake, and I gave him some magnets, but he didn't open them until he got home, so we couldn't watch. There is a tradition in China that on your birthday you are supposed to eat noodles for a "long" life:) Also egg, which symbolizes birth. After dinner, we took a long time figuring out the bill, and then walked back to the bus stop.
On Sunday, both Amy and I had things to do at Church. I read a scripture and Amy did a monologue. She did really good, and everyone was impressed. It was an adaption of the Lady at the well story and she was portraying the lady. I just read, which isn't special really, but I did get up there and do something. After church, we went to American and ate lunch and then I got read for my concert. I was supposed to be there at 2, so I got my Tux on at about 1:30. I dropped off my little video camera with Amy, and her ticket and then headed over to the Arts Center. We warmed up a little and then got off the stage so people could come in to the Recital hall. I found Amy just to tell her that I saw a sign that said no recording:( So, no one will be able to see me. It sounded really good in the recital hall, I think, but we really messed up on one song!
Afterwards, we went back to my room, I gave her my scooter, and she scootered home. We planned that we were going to be very on task, and she had to be, so that she could finish her book by Monday! I was thinking how nice it was to accomplish so much homework and I thought that I could be more productive more often, by not checking facebook just because my laptop is there, and not just browsing the internet. Anyway, both today and yesterday, I have gotten a Lot done. I have nearly finished all of my homework due before Friday, which is totally not fair, because Amy has much more homework than I, but still. I also got out of bed at 8 and went for a 2 mile run in the Fitness center and am getting up tomorrow to to the same, except at 7, because I have classes at 8:30.
That is all for now.
I saw several of the people I recognized from soccer, and two more of Jeff's friends that are girls on the shuttle. We rode to Tenleytown and met up with everyone else. There were 10 of us in total, I think, and we all walked up Wisconsin Ave to a Japanese restaurant. There was a sushi happy hour, with sushi for only 1 dollar per piece, so many of them stocked up... I didn't however, and scavenged through the menu trying to find something that involved cooked meat. Amy and I shared some beef teriyaki, which was very excellent, but it seemed smaller that what everyone else had ordered... At least it was cooked! Anyway, our dish came about 10 minutes later than everyone else's, so Jeff and JT were having a not eating their food and waiting for us contest. Jeff won:) Anyway, it was a great meal overall, and they were some nice people to be around. Amy and I sat on the side of "Becky" and Yuan (pronounced UN as if slurred), both girls, and we enjoyed talking to them. It turns out that JT had family from Butte originally, so he had been there before. There was also Tory (not sure how its spelled) from Hawaii, but he spoke Japanese. It was a good dinner, and we even tried a bit of the native Japanese food, including some "sweet potato noodles" as UN called them. They did taste a little potato-y, but it might be different than ours. They were see-through and reminded me a little of lutefisk. He opened some of his presents and got several soccer things, a jersey and mini ball, and Amy's cupcake, and I gave him some magnets, but he didn't open them until he got home, so we couldn't watch. There is a tradition in China that on your birthday you are supposed to eat noodles for a "long" life:) Also egg, which symbolizes birth. After dinner, we took a long time figuring out the bill, and then walked back to the bus stop.
On Sunday, both Amy and I had things to do at Church. I read a scripture and Amy did a monologue. She did really good, and everyone was impressed. It was an adaption of the Lady at the well story and she was portraying the lady. I just read, which isn't special really, but I did get up there and do something. After church, we went to American and ate lunch and then I got read for my concert. I was supposed to be there at 2, so I got my Tux on at about 1:30. I dropped off my little video camera with Amy, and her ticket and then headed over to the Arts Center. We warmed up a little and then got off the stage so people could come in to the Recital hall. I found Amy just to tell her that I saw a sign that said no recording:( So, no one will be able to see me. It sounded really good in the recital hall, I think, but we really messed up on one song!
Afterwards, we went back to my room, I gave her my scooter, and she scootered home. We planned that we were going to be very on task, and she had to be, so that she could finish her book by Monday! I was thinking how nice it was to accomplish so much homework and I thought that I could be more productive more often, by not checking facebook just because my laptop is there, and not just browsing the internet. Anyway, both today and yesterday, I have gotten a Lot done. I have nearly finished all of my homework due before Friday, which is totally not fair, because Amy has much more homework than I, but still. I also got out of bed at 8 and went for a 2 mile run in the Fitness center and am getting up tomorrow to to the same, except at 7, because I have classes at 8:30.
That is all for now.
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