Time is the fire in which we burn

...as a wise man (Delmore Schwartz) once said.

I keep a list of stuff I want to do before I die. It helps keep me motivated and out of the rut I find myself in sometimes. It was a really busy year for me thanks to nursing school, so I'm proud of what I was able to experience this year. My brother and sister and I had planned to go to Ireland in the summer and Australia just sort of happened instead, which was absolutely thrilling and the highlight of my year. These are the list items I accomplished in 2010.

4. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns Australia, 08/14/10)


We were too busy snorkelling and soaking up the sun to bother much with cameras on the reef trip, not to mention it was a little windy and we sacrificed a towel to the Coral Sea, but I got this shot of our first destination: Michaelmas Cay. Lovely little sand island, but it's a bird refuge so the boats anchor just offshore and you can swim in if you like. I did for a tiny moment to adjust my fins, but it smelt like bird poo and the water was feathery, so back out to the reef for me.

29. Volunteer at a USO or at a VA hospital (June/July 2010)
Technically, it wasn't really volunteering, but I think it counts. I learned more than I expected.

32. Go ice-skating (Portland OR, 12/15/10)
It's really sad I've never done this before, but my very good friend took pity on me and we went out on a "Holidate" (get it?) and I skated for two hours without ever falling down. Darn straight I just high-fived myself!

53. Jump off a waterfall (Columbia Gorge OR, 09/09/10)
My Dutch friend came to town on her trip around the world. I took her on a hike (in the rain, don't worry, we brought beer) in the beautiful Columbia Gorge and convinced her and two other poor shivering hikers to jump off a waterfall with me. We chose the 15-foot smaller waterfall because we didn't wish to die. Worth the icy water. She still has all the pictures.

92. Participate in a flash mob event (Portland OR, 12/04/10)
Simple, really, meet a bunch of strangers, do something random and crazy in public together, then disappear. We sang carols and did a 5-minute freeze one Saturday at a mall. Next you'll see me gluing fake eyeballs on trees. Or something.

113. Learn to sandboard (Moreton Island Australia/Florence OR)



Obviously a work in progress, but I discovered the awesomeness that is sandboarding in Australia and was ecstatic when I learned I can do it on pretty much any dune anywhere. Took my Dutchie sandboarding in Florence in September, then dragged my family in November (wouldn't recommend it after rain...the sand is sticky and you go slow and fall harder). My parents tried it. For the win!

One goal I know I'm crossing off in 2011 is #22: Graduate nursing school. Can't wait! :)

Abridged Schedule of Events in the Land of Oz

Day 1/2: Day of flights from hell (PDX-LAX-Auckland-Brisbane)
Day 3: Raining in Brissie. Botanical Gardens, shopping.
Day 4: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane Art Gallery
Day 5: Flight to Cairns
Day 6: Sunbathing. Shopping. Bats in trees.
Day 7: Fitzroy Island... hiking and swimming on the coral beaches of paradise
Day 8: Great Barrier Reef trip on the Passions of Paradise catamaran. Mind blown.
Day 9: Markets, bungy jumping at AJ Hackett Cairns - 50 meters. Backwards.
Day 10: Sleeping in, shopping, sunbathing
Day 11: Trinity Beach north of Cairns, party party party
Day 12: Hanging out with new friends at hostel, return to Brisbane
Day 13: Walking tour of dowtown Brisbane, Southbank and Kangaroo Point, pub crawl
Day 14: Friends, pub crawl
Day 15: Dinner with Sam's friends
Day 16: Tamborine rainforest trip + beer, cheese and wine tasting
Day 17: Brisbane Museum
Day 18: Moreton Island trip + FWDing, sandboarding and snorkelling shipwrecks
Day 19: Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast
Day 20/21: Day of flights from hell.

vuvuzela fever

School break came just in time for the World Cup semifinals... the last day of break is the final. Spain and the Netherlands are playing for the title. Not only do I adore both teams, but there will be a new World Cup Champion. There have been only 7 winners in 18 cups. I love the World Cup. My life is consumed by soccer for 64 games of bliss. I watch it in class. I watch it in pubs. I watch it at hospital. It is my heart.

And I want a vuvuzela.

Americana: Life in Color

I inherited my wanderlust from my parents. My dad loves to hike and explore nature for hours on end, and while my mom enjoys that, she usually leans more toward educational/historical attractions. Naturally, my family loves to roadtrip since everybody gets a little piece of their favorite activity.

Our last family roadtrip was in the summer of 2007. My mom and youngest siblings drove from Oregon to Wisconsin to collect my middle sister from school, then headed south. My dad, brother and I flew into Ohio to meet them. We drove all the way to like the third Florida Key and back to Oregon (9000 miles, if you were counting). To my family, this is not crazy. This is Adventure. Of course, if you were to ask them what it's like to travel with five of their six children, plus a friend of my sister's, they would tell you it's annoying. I'm pretty sure that's a lie, though, cuz I'm super-fun. Obviously. Especially in constricted living quarters.

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Hannah and Sam playing on the edge of the Cherohala Skyway in North Carolina


Imposing lady figure on some important building in Savannah, Georgia

For those of you familiar with Pirates of the Caribbean, this is my sister recreating the scene in which Tia Dalma casts the crustacean claws to divine the location of the Flying Dutchman. "A touch... of DESTINY!"

We were in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, eating bouillabaisse and other cajun delights.


A fishing pier in Ft. de Soto, Florida. My first sugar sand beach. :)

The sibs in front of a piece of the Berlin wall in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Home to the huge concrete Jesus.

I love going places. I hate being trapped in the city by nursing school. Most of the time. Nursing school is exciting. :)

oh, the places you ...should be... going!

Lately, no one lets me talk about my trips except to beg for my secrets. Which is fine. Everyone should travel!

Brussels: the center of the universe

How I Traveled Europe (relatively) Cheaply:

1. Buy a EuRail pass!
2. Don't eat out a lot... shop at grocery stores. I found a 3€ bottle of wine that was sold for 16€ in a restaurant.
   
3. Stay with friends if you have them conveniently located, otherwise hostels or small hotels are your best bet.
4. Skip the major tourist attractions if you're not absolutely dying to go... in Paris, I went to the Louvre but climbed up Montmartre for a view instead of the Eiffel Tower.
5. Allow spontaneity. The best times are rarely planned.
6. If you get the opportunity to go someplace, take it.
   

My uncle was recently nonplussed when I confessed I did not know the price of beer in Belgium.

Sometimes people are embarassed by me

Keep in mind that these pictures are from my New Zealand/Hawaii trip three years and I have honed my skills* since then. ;) I also ditched the bangs. Which you can't see in these pictures (I win again!)

We had a bunch of picky eaters along for the ride. That was just too bad for them in New Zealand, but during our two days on O'ahu, we were taken to the Ala Moana mall and told to fend for ourselves. The first time I ate Hawaiian food, the second... well, we decided to wander off to the beach and sneak back before our meet-up time.

I met this palm tree. It could not withstand my super powers.


Then we went to the Big Island. We were taken to the Halema'uma'u Crater and lectured on volcano trivia. I tried to take notes, but I was swallowed by the earth.


At Akaka Falls State Park, since I hike more than some people on the trip, I was back in the parking lot following the waterfalls loop hike sooner than they were. This picture is just good location and timing and the sneakiness of my friend Jeff.

Apropos, n'est-ce pas?

Now do you see why some people pretend not to know me?

I also recently learned that the more random a file name I use for a photo, the more ridiculous the search is that leads people to this blog. Things that have absolutely nothing to do with what this blog is about. It's a sort of poetic justice, I would say. Hello, random Google readers! Please don't be scared!

*Said skills include wildly erratic behavior and making my mother pretend she doesn't know me.