Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Photos
I created an album on Facebook using pictures taken by...everyone but me. So feel free to check them out. Sorry, non-Facebook people.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Brief Review
Hello. I know I'm a bad blogger for not having posted about my trip to Taos, but I have excuses. So many excuses. First of all, my trip to Taos lasted for three days and was immediately followed by 1) an 8 page Jung essay, 2) getting ready to drive to L.A., 3) driving to L.A., 4) flying to Maine, 5) settling down in Maine. My other excuse is that I'm with half of my blog-audience anyway, and the rest of you guys are so busy you don't really care about my visit to Taos. But, now that I'm settled in here in Calais, I thought I would share a few of the more interesting moments from the previous week.
Visit to Taos: It is soooo beautiful in Taos. I had a great first couple of days on my visit, following around the three midwives and four students and asking lots of questions. I was impressed that the midwives were actually not very intimidating, that the students were not very hippie-y (by Santa Fe standards, probably not by Columbus standards). Most importantly, I was impressed by the professionalism of their birth center and by the wonderful relationships they have with their clients. I got to see visits ranging from first visits to six-week postpartum visits (their last). I was a little bit bummed the first two days, though, because I had REALLY been hoping to see a birth, but because they had had two the day before I got there I figured I was out of luck. As I was leaving the birth center at the end of the second day, though, there were two phone calls from clients in early labor, and I was invited to hang out the next day and maybe see a birth.
The next day I got up and hurried to the birth center, and there were two women laboring in the birth rooms. The women were all fantastic! The midwives and students were on top of their shit, totally calm, supportive, quiet, and efficient. The laboring women were working hard and I was just in awe of them. One of the women went for a walk at 9 cms! I was invited in to see her daughter be born, which was truly amazing and beautiful and FAST! I loved it, but what appeals to me most about the midwifery center is the work they do for the women throughout the whole course of the labor in terms of emotional support. And they knit! I would have a built-in knitting support system.
Going to California: I always look forward to going to Ben's house, but this time it was a little rushed. I got home Friday afternoon and didn't finish my Jung essay until Saturday afternoon, but then I really wanted to get on the road, so we rushed to pack our things and were on our way by 7:30 Saturday night. We slept over in Arizona and got to Ojai Sunday afternoon. I spent much of my time there worrying about packing and presents, and I can't wait to go back for New Years and properly relax!
Going to Maine: Red-eye. Ugh. I got to Calais and spent the day with Mandy and Dad. Pretty much everything since then is covered in Mandy and Jaime's blogs. It's great having the girls around and having Ben, Jaime, and Mandy to talk to. We finally got the stove and Ben and Dad installed it. The house is actually remarkably comfortable and our living circumstances relatively civilized. The Christmas tree is beautiful and the girls have been running around with ornaments re-decorating the bottom of the tree and our little Christmas tree since we put them up. Cute!
Visit to Taos: It is soooo beautiful in Taos. I had a great first couple of days on my visit, following around the three midwives and four students and asking lots of questions. I was impressed that the midwives were actually not very intimidating, that the students were not very hippie-y (by Santa Fe standards, probably not by Columbus standards). Most importantly, I was impressed by the professionalism of their birth center and by the wonderful relationships they have with their clients. I got to see visits ranging from first visits to six-week postpartum visits (their last). I was a little bit bummed the first two days, though, because I had REALLY been hoping to see a birth, but because they had had two the day before I got there I figured I was out of luck. As I was leaving the birth center at the end of the second day, though, there were two phone calls from clients in early labor, and I was invited to hang out the next day and maybe see a birth.
The next day I got up and hurried to the birth center, and there were two women laboring in the birth rooms. The women were all fantastic! The midwives and students were on top of their shit, totally calm, supportive, quiet, and efficient. The laboring women were working hard and I was just in awe of them. One of the women went for a walk at 9 cms! I was invited in to see her daughter be born, which was truly amazing and beautiful and FAST! I loved it, but what appeals to me most about the midwifery center is the work they do for the women throughout the whole course of the labor in terms of emotional support. And they knit! I would have a built-in knitting support system.
Going to California: I always look forward to going to Ben's house, but this time it was a little rushed. I got home Friday afternoon and didn't finish my Jung essay until Saturday afternoon, but then I really wanted to get on the road, so we rushed to pack our things and were on our way by 7:30 Saturday night. We slept over in Arizona and got to Ojai Sunday afternoon. I spent much of my time there worrying about packing and presents, and I can't wait to go back for New Years and properly relax!
Going to Maine: Red-eye. Ugh. I got to Calais and spent the day with Mandy and Dad. Pretty much everything since then is covered in Mandy and Jaime's blogs. It's great having the girls around and having Ben, Jaime, and Mandy to talk to. We finally got the stove and Ben and Dad installed it. The house is actually remarkably comfortable and our living circumstances relatively civilized. The Christmas tree is beautiful and the girls have been running around with ornaments re-decorating the bottom of the tree and our little Christmas tree since we put them up. Cute!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Midwife Roadtrip 2006!
Wednesday I'm driving up to Taos to interview for the midwifery apprenticeship with the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center. So, I already have a list of questions, but I wanted to ask all of you if you have anything you would like me to ask about midwifery in general, or this place in particular, when I am up there. I'd love it if you could comment with any questions you have.
The Bosque
Last Friday Ben and I went to NABLA, which is a party the school has a few times a semester for upperclassmen and tutors to eat and get drunk together in the afternoon. I chose sparkling water. I am still having a very difficult time consuming any kind of alcohol other than wine and champagne since my birthday last year. Last year, on Christmas Eve, I am about to go to sleep in Ben and Julie's attic when Ross Margulies calls me and convinces me that we HAVE to celebrate our 21st birthday together. We were born on the same day in the same hospital..blah, blah, etc, etc, so I went out with Ross and friends (all Jewish, of course) who were willing to go to the Short North for a 21st birthday party at 11pm on Christmas Eve, and we did shots of Tequila. NOT A GOOD IDEA. Abby and Jared, (other Margulies') as well as my friend Simone, (who I hadn't seen for about two years) took care of me in my drunken misery and I ended up tucked into Molly's (another Margulies) bed and waking up at 7am, Christmas morning, walking back to Stanwood in the rain, and not exactly in the Christmas spirit. To add insult to serious injury, I had done a very poor job of planning Christmas food, and so I forced Dad to drive me around looking for someplace that was open (turns out, Starbucks is) so that I could get some food in my stomach. Thanks, Dad. The true result of this escapade was that I haven't been able to enjoy a margerita or much of anything since last Christmas, and so haven't had the desire to use the cocktail shaker Brad bought me. So I wasn't drinking anything at NABLA. My apologies, by the way, to my older siblings, who didn't want to hear about that AT ALL. Mandy, I never want to hear about what you get up to.
So, we were at NABLA and I was busy staining my fingers with pomegranate seeds, talking to a friend who is in an ecology precept. Her precept was taking a field trip that night to Bosque del Apache, which is a big wetland about two hours South of Santa Fe, to watch thousands of snow geese take off at 6:40 the next morning. I thought, "Cool. I just saw Winged Migration. I want to see thousands of snow geese take off." I also thought, "Cool. Water." (Because there is less standing water in New Mexico than any other state in the U.S.) So, a half hour later, my friend and I had convinced Ben to camp at an RV park and wake up and look at the birds. Another half hour later, Ben and I had all of our stuff loaded in the car, went to Whole Foods to buy some snacks, and were driving South. It was dark, so we didn't see much on the drive down, but we had a good time driving and then setting up our crazy tent that we'd rented from the Student Activities Center, which consisted of a pole that you stick in the middle of the tent to hold it up, and a tarp to put underneath the tent. We held the corners down with big rocks, because there were no stakes.
We were also camping with a couple of friends, and a random townie/St. John's alumnus, who was a friend of one of these friends. So we built a fire in the desert (smaaaart) and sat huddled around it (I was especially huddled) trying to keep warm. It was cold. Cold. Cold. I can't say it enough. Cold. At 1am, the fire wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I tried to get into the tent, but was so cold that I needed Ben's help to zip me into my bag and put extra layers on. Ben's great, by the way. He's good at telling scary stories. He is good at setting up ridiculous tents. He's good at packing lots of extra layers so his whiny girlfriend will be warm... The list goes on. Anyway, I was actually freezing the whole night but that was because I refused to follow his advice and insisted instead on staying, completely still, huddled in my sleeping bag. I did a lot of huddling. Finally it was 6am, so we got all of our stuff put back in the car and drove to the Bosque.
I thought that this was like a New Mexico secret, so imagine my surprise when we arrive (at 6:20!!!) and there is already a dock full of crazy nature/bird devotees with their SLRs and crazy 24in. lenses all set up on enormous tripods. I sheepishly pulled out mom's camera (even with the big lense on, it looked puny- and it wasn't even digital!) and began looking out on the Bosque. There were shovel ducks, coots, sandhill cranes, Canada geese, and lots and lots of snow geese. Before I knew it, the snow geese started squawking and all at once, they took off over our heads. It was really beautiful, and you'd think that this would be where the story ends, and it would have been except for Ben, who turned into NATURE MAN and took two and half rolls of film of all of the birds. Cute. He had a really good time, and I did too except that I was like, "Brrr..." after an hour. So we went home, and I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from the physical trauma of the cold. If I had a digital camera, like the nature people, I would have a picture to post, but instead you'll just have to use your imagination for a couple of weeks, until I get my film developed.
So, we were at NABLA and I was busy staining my fingers with pomegranate seeds, talking to a friend who is in an ecology precept. Her precept was taking a field trip that night to Bosque del Apache, which is a big wetland about two hours South of Santa Fe, to watch thousands of snow geese take off at 6:40 the next morning. I thought, "Cool. I just saw Winged Migration. I want to see thousands of snow geese take off." I also thought, "Cool. Water." (Because there is less standing water in New Mexico than any other state in the U.S.) So, a half hour later, my friend and I had convinced Ben to camp at an RV park and wake up and look at the birds. Another half hour later, Ben and I had all of our stuff loaded in the car, went to Whole Foods to buy some snacks, and were driving South. It was dark, so we didn't see much on the drive down, but we had a good time driving and then setting up our crazy tent that we'd rented from the Student Activities Center, which consisted of a pole that you stick in the middle of the tent to hold it up, and a tarp to put underneath the tent. We held the corners down with big rocks, because there were no stakes.
We were also camping with a couple of friends, and a random townie/St. John's alumnus, who was a friend of one of these friends. So we built a fire in the desert (smaaaart) and sat huddled around it (I was especially huddled) trying to keep warm. It was cold. Cold. Cold. I can't say it enough. Cold. At 1am, the fire wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I tried to get into the tent, but was so cold that I needed Ben's help to zip me into my bag and put extra layers on. Ben's great, by the way. He's good at telling scary stories. He is good at setting up ridiculous tents. He's good at packing lots of extra layers so his whiny girlfriend will be warm... The list goes on. Anyway, I was actually freezing the whole night but that was because I refused to follow his advice and insisted instead on staying, completely still, huddled in my sleeping bag. I did a lot of huddling. Finally it was 6am, so we got all of our stuff put back in the car and drove to the Bosque.
I thought that this was like a New Mexico secret, so imagine my surprise when we arrive (at 6:20!!!) and there is already a dock full of crazy nature/bird devotees with their SLRs and crazy 24in. lenses all set up on enormous tripods. I sheepishly pulled out mom's camera (even with the big lense on, it looked puny- and it wasn't even digital!) and began looking out on the Bosque. There were shovel ducks, coots, sandhill cranes, Canada geese, and lots and lots of snow geese. Before I knew it, the snow geese started squawking and all at once, they took off over our heads. It was really beautiful, and you'd think that this would be where the story ends, and it would have been except for Ben, who turned into NATURE MAN and took two and half rolls of film of all of the birds. Cute. He had a really good time, and I did too except that I was like, "Brrr..." after an hour. So we went home, and I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from the physical trauma of the cold. If I had a digital camera, like the nature people, I would have a picture to post, but instead you'll just have to use your imagination for a couple of weeks, until I get my film developed.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Confession
I'm supposed to be writing one of four essays I have to finish before next Friday, but I have the overwhelming urge to write a post instead. This made me realize that I actually only blog as a means to procrastinate, which is probably why my posts tend to be kind of sketchily disorganized rambles. My resolutions: I will try to post once a week just for the joy of posting. I will try to write reasonable essays so that my tutors don't have to read complete crap at the end of the semester.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Cider VS. Juice
Apple cider on the left. Apple juice on the right.
Ben and I were mulling some hot apple cider today when I began to mull (ha!) over a discussion Mr. Tisher and Ms. Sidor had recounted to me one late night in Albuquerque at Frontier, between seeing Borat at the big theatre and arguing about the best course of action in a zombie-crisis/nuclear crisis/any crisis on the drive back up to Santa Fe. They (who are one of the few cute St. John's couples) were arguing about the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Mr. Tisher...who is from NORTHERN CALIFORNIA says there is no difference between apple juice and apple cider. Ms. Sidor...who is from the MIDWEST (albeit from Michigan- but I think she's from Grand Rapids) says that cider is processed differently and has a distinct taste. I, of couse, sided with Ms. Sidor, because she was right, and now I would like to prove it by referring to the wikipedia page about apple cider, which I just consulted. In Mr. Tisher's defense, the page does say that, "It has been suggested that in the United States of America the differences between apple juice and cider are not legally well established." Still, the first line of the Wikipedia article says, "Apple cider is the name for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from apples by a process of pressing, especially in the United States and parts of Canada. It is more sour and cloudy than conventional apple juice, retaining the tart flavor of the apple pulp which is lost in conventional fruit juice production." And as I learned on Wait, Wait...in a very entertaining interview with the creator of Wikipedia, it must be true if I read it on Wikipedia. I also learned that up to 30% of Wikipedia's articiles may be about Japanese pop culture items like manga, anime, and video games. Cool.
Ben and I were mulling some hot apple cider today when I began to mull (ha!) over a discussion Mr. Tisher and Ms. Sidor had recounted to me one late night in Albuquerque at Frontier, between seeing Borat at the big theatre and arguing about the best course of action in a zombie-crisis/nuclear crisis/any crisis on the drive back up to Santa Fe. They (who are one of the few cute St. John's couples) were arguing about the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Mr. Tisher...who is from NORTHERN CALIFORNIA says there is no difference between apple juice and apple cider. Ms. Sidor...who is from the MIDWEST (albeit from Michigan- but I think she's from Grand Rapids) says that cider is processed differently and has a distinct taste. I, of couse, sided with Ms. Sidor, because she was right, and now I would like to prove it by referring to the wikipedia page about apple cider, which I just consulted. In Mr. Tisher's defense, the page does say that, "It has been suggested that in the United States of America the differences between apple juice and cider are not legally well established." Still, the first line of the Wikipedia article says, "Apple cider is the name for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from apples by a process of pressing, especially in the United States and parts of Canada. It is more sour and cloudy than conventional apple juice, retaining the tart flavor of the apple pulp which is lost in conventional fruit juice production." And as I learned on Wait, Wait...in a very entertaining interview with the creator of Wikipedia, it must be true if I read it on Wikipedia. I also learned that up to 30% of Wikipedia's articiles may be about Japanese pop culture items like manga, anime, and video games. Cool.
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