Third Time’s a Charm? June 5, 2009

So today I will use the third ticket that has been issued to me to go to London.  If I were a fatalist, I guess I’d have to believe that I wasn’t meant to go to London.  I think I even said that at some point in yesterday’s events.  I’ve always wondered about that–the idea of if something were “meant to be,” it would happen.  I think you have to make things happen.  Rather than being a fatalist, I subscribe to Sun Tzu’s belief that the lucky man is the prepared man.  I don’t want to sit back and let something happen because “it was [or wasn't] meant to be.”  I want to make my own luck and be a deciding factor in my own fate.

I have to put it out there that Kerry was so patient yesterday; he is much more patient than I am, and I guess that’s why we have such a good thing going.  We tend to balance each other, and I don’t think I appreciate that enough.  I tend to amplify the things about him that I don’t like sometimes and not look at the virtues he has that I lack, like patience.  I think he would have thrown in the towel yesterday and accepted that we weren’t going.  In fact, at some point he said that he already had the time off, so we could go camping this week.  I, however, do not give up easily and was not ready to accept defeat (or what I perceived as defeat!).  So while he sat patiently with the luggage, I ran around trying to find out what to do next.  Once I knew what to do and where we needed to go, he took over, got a taxi, and got us moving.  We went to Walgreens to get my passport photo taken, and he picked up some snacks and water to make sure we had something to eat while waiting at the passport office because we didn’t have a clue what we were in for there.  His patience and my tenacity worked together to get another passport and get this third trip underway.  The message here is that I need to work harder at appreciating those good qualities, so I guess if I’m looking for a REASON that my purse was stolen, that’s as good a one as any.  But I don’t believe it was stolen because I’m not “meant” to go to London.

I am angry that, for the second time in my life, someone has felt it was okay to take what I have earned.  Kerry and I both work hard for our money, and for someone to just take it is maddening.  I can’t imagine how that person lives with him/herself.  How can you look in the mirror every day knowing that you’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you and left someone else without it?  I don’t get that at all.  I guess whoever took it needs it more than I do, and I hope they use it on something of value.  The thing is that people who steal purses in airports are probably not using the money they gain to pay legitimate bills.  I’m sure my purse was emptied of its money and thrown in a trash can somewhere.  Stolen credit cards don’t do anyone any good since they get cancelled as soon as the owner knows they’re missing, and I don’t know what someone can do with a stolen passport–it’s been reported as stolen to the Dept. of State, so I’m not sure how useful it would be for someone.  They must keep track of that somehow.

Kerry, of course, says there’s no use wasting energy being angry.  It could have been worse.  He’s right; it could have been worse.  This wasn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and it’s not the worst thing that ever could happen to me.  It was just a major pain in the ass on a day that I didn’t particularly need another pain-in-the-ass thing to happen.  But it’s done now, I’ve got a passport, I’ve got a credit card that wasn’t with me so didn’t need to be cancelled, and now I’m ready to go again.  Kerry is carrying my passport in his pocket, and he’s got the cash and credit cards, too, so I guess I’m stuck with him.

Green (the color, not the idea) March 23, 2009

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous (about 80 degrees!) so I sat outside for a while, and the bushes and grass were brown and dull. Then it rained last night, and I just looked out to see an explosion of green. It’s amazing. It’s been warm lately, and we haven’t had a winter here at all (I think I heard we were over 5′ short of average snowfall, but don’t quote me on that), so all the plant life was still looking pretty dead as of yesterday. It’s a different story today. We’re supposed to get snow on Thursday and after that, things will really get green.

I’m not even upset that the weather has been so lovely up until this week of my Spring Break. I can handle some rain and snow if it means everything will start to look alive soon. I’m sick of the blah, nondescript, bare-branched trees.

In other news, I’ve booked my European vacation for June. And Kerry is going along for the ride. We’ll be in London for a week, and Jess will meet us for a weekend, then we’ll head over to Belfast for another weekend to spend with her. So we’ll spend about 5 days with her, and she might only have to take one day off work. I’m looking forward to a week in London–I’ve rented an apartment so we can cook in rather than eating out all the time. Eating out every day kills a vacation budget!

Our summer is beginning to book up.  We’ll spend 11 nights in London/Belfast, then we have a weeklong camping trip planned in July and are working on another one in August.  Then we’ll be in Grand Lake for two nights in August for Kristi’s wedding.  I have to report to work August 17, so the summer will be over before I know it…too bad I’m already thinking about that and we haven’t even hit April (the longest month as far as I’m concerned; T.S. Eliot says it’s the “cruellest month“) of this school year yet!

Happy Thanksgiving November 27, 2008

This Thanksgiving has been unlike any other I’ve celebrated.  I’ve had TWO Thanksgiving dinners in the past week, both in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Both included two kinds of potatoes, along with turkey, dressing, veggies–fairly traditional “fayre.”  Otherwise, it’s just another day here as there is no Thanksgiving on this side of the pond.  I saw some more city sights today.

An update:  As you know, I saw the movie Hunger; that’s written about below.  I also went to the Giant’s Causeway and the Ormeau Baths Gallery (to which I walked as it is not too far).  Another walking trip took me back near the Ormeau Baths Gallery as St. Malachy’s Church is in that area.  I walked through several neighborhoods to get there but was disappointed as the Church is being refurbished and is all covered in scaffolding.  Ahh, well, it was a nice walk anyway.  It was a beautiful day today–clear and mostly sunny.  I found the photographer I wanted to find and bought the print I wanted.  We’re going to the Mourne Mountains tomorrow.  The only thing I wanted to do and didn’t do was ride the big wheel, and I had plenty of opportunity to do that; I just never did.  Maybe next time.

Frankie Quinn, photographer November 26, 2008

On the first day I was here, Jess and I found a booth set up somewhere down at the City Centre with this man’s photographs; I couldn’t think clearly enough to figure out which one I wanted to buy, so I didn’t buy one.  Then I kept thinking about it and decided that I had to have one of those photographs.  I went back down to the City Centre today to find that booth, and I did find it.  Here’s the link to the photographer.  I also bought his book, Streets Apart, and he signed it for me.  This whole idea of the separation is just fascinating and sad.  I haven’t spoken to anyone here who hasn’t talked about “the Troubles.”  It is “history” to those of us who live outside of Belfast but to people who live here, it’s alive and remembered and not just simmering under the surface, either.

On a side note, everyone I’ve spoken to here has also congratulated me on the Americans’ choice for President.  They’re obviously Obama supporters here–no one seems to like Bush at all, and they’re pretty vocal about it. 

Conversations usually follow this path:  Once someone hears me talk, they ask where I’m from, and I say, “Denver, Colorado.”  They say something to the effect of “Well done on your choice of a new President.”  Then they ask if Denver is in the Rockies, and they say that I must not be too impressed with their little rolling hill mountains.  They ask about the weather in Denver and wish they had ANY days of sunshine and can’t believe it when I tell them we have 300 days of sunshine a year.  They ask if Denver is where Dynasty/Mork and Mindy/Perry Mason was filmed.  They ask why I’m here, and when I tell them my daughter works at F.G. Wilson in Larne, they’re impressed that she’s an engineer because many of them have never heard of a female engineer.  Then they say they’re glad that tourists are coming to Belfast again, now that “the Troubles” are over and people feel safe to visit.  I’m beginning to be able to understand the accents.  It’s weird to have them speak English to me and to have such a hard time understanding what they’re saying.  They don’t seem to have a difficult time understanding me at all.  Hmmm….I wonder why.

Raw November 24, 2008

That movie, info linked in the post below, was raw.  Gritty.  Ugly.  I closed my eyes several times, almost vomited, wanted to vomit, once.  Almost had to leave.  I didn’t, but the ladies in front of me did.  Not even an hour in, and it just got uglier.  Very little dialogue.  Very little character development.  Just in-your-face, realistic (as far as I could tell, not having ever been tortured or participated in torture) this is what it was like to be in Maze Prison in Belfast if you were an IRA terrorist.  You were not a political prisoner; you were a prisoner.  You painted your cell in blood and shit, and your belief in what you were fighting for never waned.  You’re expected to know about “the Troubles” of Northern Ireland, at least a wee bit, if you’re to understand what’s going on.  It’s a lot to digest, erm, think about, and I can’t begin to imagine 66 days.  Hell, 66 hours would be pushing it for most of us.  Sixty six days.  My God.  The power of the human psyche. 

Religion.  Economics.  Politics.  The three things people are willing to fight and die for.  In the end, I’m not sure which two of the three were more important.  Politics to be sure, but religion played, and does play, a part.  When I get home, I’ll post the photo of the mural I took of Bobby Sands on Falls Road.  I’ll also post a picture of one of the 40 “peace walls” in the city.  Instead of talking, instead of trying to fix problems, they just put up walls.   “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” comes to mind, but it’s not quite right…Robert Frost’s poem mentions that good fences make good neighbors, but it’s the other guy, not the narrator, who says this.  The walls here just cause separation.  Perhaps Frost was on to something.

Hello from Belfast November 24, 2008

I am sitting in my room at the Tara Lodge; it is just after noon, and I have recently been sitting at Clements Coffee Shop having a bit of tea and grading some papers.  I began my morning, as I have begun the last two mornings, with breakfast here and then a walk.  Today I haven’t walked as far as I did on the previous mornings as I made myself a bargain that I would at least get started on my grading; thus, I have gotten through the first 15 papers of my senior class and have 11 more to go as 2 people did not turn in their personal history.  These take quite some time to grade as they are fairly lengthy; however, they are fun to read, so grading them is not so much a chore as it is just something I need to do.  I have other papers to grade as well–the vignettes written by my freshmen with the theme of “Home” will also be fun to read.  I have also brought with me the vocabulary/grammar assignment completed by my juniors.  These, unfortunatley, are not so fun to read as I have to look for the correct usage of words as well as the correct building of sentences into simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.  Some of their sentences, however, will be quite funny and make me laugh, for which I will make a note and possibly feel obligated to award an extra point or two.

It is surreal to be sitting in a coffee shop in Belfast drinking tea and grading papers and then sitting in my room from which I can look out the window and see the wheel going round at the City Hall and the breaks in the ever-present clouds through which blue sky peeks.  I need to go buy a hat as Jessica says my headband is not acceptable since it is no longer the ’90s.  She has a point; I have had it since the ’90s.  I also need to go to the Visitor’s Center on Donegall St. (Ave.?) to book a tour to Giants Causeway, Carrickfergus Castle, and Bushmills Distillery. 

I don’t have the technology needed right now to post any photos, but I will do so as soon as I get the chance.  Belfast is a very compact city; I am a short walk from the city centre (when in Ireland, spell as the Irish do), and I can get anything I need in the city.  There is a new mall called Victoria Square (I think), and it has a Chili’s and a Maggiano’s and many other names I recognized.

On my list of things to do:  1.  The aforementioned Giants Causeway Day Tour.   2.  The Ormeau Baths Gallery, which is a hotspot for modern art and currently features ”the first major display in Ireland” of Roderick Buchanan, ”featuring recent artwork which references sectarianism as manifested in history, culture and society.”  Will have to take a taxi to that, I think.  3.  I want to see the movie Hunger, which comes highly recommended by Jessica.  I have spoken to several people here, however, who won’t be seeing it is it is “too close to the bone” for them.  I thought it would be very educational to see the movie in Belfast, the seat of much (all?) of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.  4.  I saw a photographer in the city centre the other day whom I hope to find again as he had some amazing photographs of buildings on fire from bombings with seemingly “normal life” going on in the foreground.  I want to purchase one of these photographs.  5.  I want to ride the wheel I can see from my room–it’s a big enclosed ferris wheel.  6.  A day trip to the Mourne Mountains, probably on Friday.   I need to make a reservation for this at the visitor’s centre on Donegall St.

Tonight we are going to dinner with Brice and Olive, the folks Jess met on the plane from Denver.  More later.

A Quick Post Before I Leave November 19, 2008

Here it is the morning (4:30 a.m.) of the day before I leave, and I’ve been trying to get ready for what seems like weeks now.  Jessica’s suitcase is packed–she was only able to take two bags, so I’m taking her some of the things she had to leave.  I suppose I’ll bring home some things she needs to clear out as well.  My suitcase is also packed, for the most part, and now I have no idea what’s in there.  I hope I was thinking clearly when I packed.  Belfast, of course, is a city with stores, so it’s not the end of the world if I forget something.

My bigger problem is school.  My sub plans are mostly made, but I still have one thing to plan for my AP class, and I’ve gone round and round in my head about what I want the assignment to look like.  My hope is that I’ve done enough thinking about it that when I sit down to type it up, it will just magically flow out of my brain and into the document and voila!  A persuasive assignment that will actually be meaningful.  We’ll see how that goes.  I’ve got no choice.  It has to be finished today.

Other than sub plans and packing (minor details, right?), I think I’m ready to go.  I have my list of things to do, including charge the camera batteries and my iPod, call the bank and let them know my card will be in Northern Ireland for a week, pack my books in a carry-on, take pens and paper and stuff to grade (always– never a vacation from grading!)…nothing else comes to mind.

I can’t believe I’m going off to Europe without Kerry.  It’s not that I think I can’t do it; after all, Jess has managed on her own, so that’s not the issue.  Women really have come a long way.  My grandmother would never in a million years gone gallivanting off to Europe without my grandfather.  Not that I’m planning to do much gallivanting of the first definition, which is to wander about, seeking pleasure or diversion, and absolutely no gallivanting of the second definition, which is to go about with members of the opposite sex–I just like the word this early in the morning.

I may be able to post from Ireland; if I can, I’ll also post pics.

Airline rip-off October 18, 2008

I bought my second ticket to Belfast yesterday.  Hope I get to use this one!  I will be leaving Thursday, Nov. 20 and returning Saturday, Nov. 29. I wish Kerry were going with me, but he preferred to use his time this year going to Montana with his brother and hunting with his brother.  That’s the way that goes.  I was lucky enough to get a decent flight both ways–my only layover each way is in London.  Some of the flights I looked at took more than 18 hours; I paid about $100 extra to make my flights 12 hours going and 13 hours coming home.  It’s worth it.  I’ll be flying British Airways, which I have no experience with at all.

My original ticket was on Lufthansa, or rather booked with Lufthansa. Turns out that some parts of my trip weren’t actually on Lufthansa-operated carriers; thus, when I had to cancel my ticket (which was an ordeal in itself), I ended up receiving a credit for Lufthansa that I will most likely never be able to use.  Here’s the deal:  When you use a voucher that they issue you after much argument in the first place, it is very specific that it may only be used “on Lufthansa operated flights only.”  Right now, the cheapest Lufthansa flight to Belfast is about $3500.  That’s three thousand five hundred DOLLARS.  So my $700 voucher won’t do me much good.  Even though the original ticket was not a Lufthansa operated flight, I still have to fork over the big bucks if I want to redeem my $700 (which is the amount I paid for my original ticket less $350 plus miscellaneous taxes and other fees).  It’s a rip-off.

If I want to use that voucher, I will have to fly someplace that Lufthansa flies.  They don’t fly into Belfast.  I could have used them if I wanted to fly into Dublin, but the only returning flight from Dublin to the US on Lufthansa leaves at 6:00 a.m.  I’d have to get to Dublin the night before and stay in a hotel and take a cab to the airport, meaning that I wouldn’t be saving any money.  I’m not going to spend more money to use the darn voucher!  Perhaps we’ll plan to go somewhere over Spring Break using that voucher.  It’s just $700 sitting in my desk drawer…but it looks like the cost of using that $700 will be high.  Sigh.

I didn’t leave my heart… August 2, 2008

…but San Francisco was nice.  Jess and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip this week, and we had a good time.  She is still waiting on her paperwork from the UK to be finalized, so she was at loose ends, and I didn’t really have anything to do.  It was hotter than Hades here in Denver (still is), so we decided to go someplace we’d never been that was cooler than here!  San Francisco filled the bill.

We stayed in a funky little boutique hotel right across from the gates into Chinatown.  The Hotel Triton is ranked as the best “rock and roll” hotel by Frommers, and we got a good deal through Orbitz, so that’s where we stayed.  The room, though small, had two double beds and enough space for us to be in there for the short time we were actually in there.

Chinatown was absolutely overwhelming.  It was so crowded and noisy that I couldn’t even focus.  We just walked around without buying anything, and we didn’t go back after the first day.  San Francisco is HUGE.  There are just buildings on top of buildings on top of buildings as far as you can see.  There were open spaces in the form of parks, and many of the buildings were beautiful, but it was just so much.  With Jess leading the way (because she can read a map, and I am not so great at it–she would tell you I’m hopeless), we walked to various parts of the city.  We walked through Union Square where we caught a cable car to the waterfront area, then we walked around there for a while.  Took a bay cruise and went under the Golden Gate Bridge and past Alcatraz–that is a spooky, creepy place!  Enjoyed the sea lions of Pier 39 and walked to the Italian area of the city, North Beach, where we had a great panini sandwich and some Italian beer.  We walked through a neighborhood (or three) and went to Coit Tower for stunning views of the city, sat in a park across from St. Peter’s and Paul’s Cathedral (where Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio) and watched the people, then walked back to the waterfront to catch a cable car to take us back to somewhere near our hotel.

We also went on a tour of some Napa Valley wineries, had some good meals, and enjoyed the cool weather.  I can see why San Francisco is known as “Fog City” for sure; though we had lots of sun and blue skies, we also saw the fog many times.  The second time we were out in the bay, we couldn’t even see the Golden Gate because the fog was so thick.  You can just see it moving in and out of the city. 

A great weekend July 9, 2008

I am so blessed to live in Colorado. We had the most amazing experiences over the 4th of July weekend, and I have to say how fortunate I feel to live where I do. We drove up to Kerry’s sister’s in Granby, and I wasn’t feeling so lucky as we navigated our way, slowly, through I-70 Hell on Friday, July 4. What usually is a two-hour drive took almost four due to the massive numbers of people making their way to the beautiful mountains to spend the weekend. I can’t blame them; however, it makes for an annoying drive when speeds fall to 5 or 10 mph on the interstate.

Once we finally got there, though, the drive was worth it. We went to a place called Lost Lake (one of many in the state!) to try to find lady slipper orchids so I could take pictures. I’d seen them before but for whatever reason have never been able to get a good photo, so that was my goal. Just in case anyone ever reads this who is interested, this particular type of orchid is really a calypso orchid, or fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa). Orchids aren’t just found in the tropics. According to my research, orchids can be found on every continent except Antarctica and are found in all types of terrain, excepting true deserts. I was really expecting to see a few if I was really lucky, so imagine my surprise when we saw LOTS of them. We stopped counting after 30.

Two fairy slipper orchids