Second Day of School

Day 2: An unknown child (not one of my students) runs into the room during passing period to say hello to his friend.  Upon leaving, he runs full tilt into my flag, spearing himself on the flagpole and breaking it in half.  Horrified, he wordlessly runs from the room.

Exercising

Well, this marks the beginning of the third week of my exercise plan, and I feel like I can finally blog about it now.  I'm always hesitant to write down plans like this, lest I fail to do them and then feel guilty about them, but after two weeks of sticking to it, I feel confident that I'll keep it up, at least for a while.

So, near the end of October, Tim and I are planning to go to California with some new friends we've met.  We're going to go for only about 3 days and... climb Mt. Whitney! 

I don't know if you've heard of Mt. Whitney, but it's the tallest mountain in the contiguous 48 states, a giant 14,508 feet.  I've wanted to do it ever since cousin David did it and I learned that you can get to the summit without any special equipment.

But if I'm going to get to the top, I'm going to have to deal with some seriously high altitude, and I don't want to get altitude sickness.  Now, there's no way to control it or to prevent it 100%, but you can improve your chances of success by getting in really good shape.

So that's the plan: get in really good shape.  I've been exercising about 45 minutes to an hour about 5 times/week.  I've been trying to mix cardio and weight-training, so that I will have both strong lungs and strong muscles for mountain climbing.  My workouts look something like this:

• stretches
• 25 minutes cardio (elliptical machine on hill setting, stationary bike)
• 10-15 tricep pull-downs at 130 lbs (this is working towards a chin-up; I will do one eventually!)
• 5-10 lateral pull-downs at 130 lbs
• 20-25 squats with 20-30 lbs
• 100 crunches 
• 20 incline sit-ups 
• 20 push-ups
• more stretches

Eventually, I'm hoping to step up my workout to 35 minutes of cardio, pull-downs at 150 lbs, squats at 40 lbs, and incline sit-ups with weights.  I'm also going to start practicing with my backpack as soon as I buy one so that I can get used to the weight.

The workouts have been going pretty well so far.  Having a purpose and an end goal have made it much easier to muster up the willpower to keep doing them.  I can't say that I really feel great at the end of a workout.  I know exercise is supposed to give you more energy, and daily small amounts of exercise do give me energy, but this regimen combined with biking into and around town has mostly been wearing me out.  I can only hope that after a few more weeks my body will adjust and I won't get as tired.  We'll see.

Labor Day Weekend

This is the first Labor Day weekend I can remember that I actually enjoyed.  It seems like every year I use these three days to catch up on work or schoolwork, which is of course the opposite of what the Labor movement would have wanted.  This year I used my time more wisely and spent the weekend hanging out with Tim.

On Friday, we went over to Tim's friend Kurt's house and hung out to watch the Boise State - Michigan State game.  My loyalties were divided, but it didn't matter much; it was a close game in which both teams played terribly.  Even so, it was fun to get the football season started with friends, and we ate sushi (my second time to try it).

That night, we had a surprise visitor - a guy from the Couchsurfing website contacted us needing a place to stay.  We never had many requests when we lived in Norman, but Boise is more of a tourist destination, so we've had a few people ask us for lodging in the coming weeks.  We said yes, texted him, and met him a couple of hours later.  His name is Jeremy, a former Army MP who was on his way on a cross-country bike trip from North Carolina to Oregon.  He seemed pretty worn out, but he wanted to see Boise, so we took him downtown to get a drink and people-watch. He had some pretty funny stories to tell and was very nice (and didn't try to murder us in our beds).  Plus he let us try his night vision goggles - they were awesome!

On Saturday, we took it pretty easy.  I went downtown to the Boise Bicycle Project to do my volunteer orientation.  It seems like it will be really fun.  The purpose of the project is to refurbish used bicycles and hand them out to disadvantaged kids and adults in the community.  They also do a lot of bike safety awareness, helping out at bike events, etc.  It's a cause that means a lot to me personally, and I can't wait to get more involved.  On Saturday, I learned a lot about bikes, although I can tell it will take a long time to become good at fixing them.  I learned how to: remove and replace pedals, cut, thread and replace a chain, take apart the back gears and replace the carriage, and how to check chains, brakes, and tires for damage.  They were such good teachers!

After fixing up my bike a little, I headed to the farmers' market where I realized that the ladies from the Somalian refugee farm stall recognize me (I love their lettuce) and scored a free bell pepper.  Awesome!  In the afternoon we took a little hike, and Saturday night was the first OU game.  We were able to find the broadcast online, so Tim and I chilled out at home and watched the Sooners bring home a win (although it was by the skin of their teeth until the fourth quarter).

Yesterday was a packed day.  In the morning we woke up early and headed to Ann Morrison park for the Spirit of Boise hot air balloon festival.  It is already getting cold in the mornings here; we could see our breath and our hands and feet were numb.  Despite the cold, though, the festival was amazing.  I think hot air balloons are beautiful, and it was so cool to see them up close.  Several took off right in front of us and flew overhead.  After the balloons took off, they served free pancakes and coffee to everyone.  I'm starting to really love this place.

In the afternoon, we drove out a ways outside of town with two of our new friends - Jacob, and John - to float the river.  This means getting in an innertube and riding about two and a half hours down the freezing cold river back to Ann Morrison Park.  I started out having fun for about the first hour, where the river was a little slower with just occasional fast or bumpy sections, but it got too intense for me - there were rapids, waterfalls, and sections of the river where you had to paddle through the current to avoid getting hit by tree branches and boulders.  I am not good at paddling.  I ended up cutting my foot on a rock, crashing into a tree, and freaking out until the end.  I felt bad for the other guys, but I think they all still had fun, and at least I survived the experience.

Last night we went over to the house of Jacob and his girlfriend Robin, another new friend, for a barbecue.  Bacon cheese jalapeno poppers are a divine gift.  So delicious.  Then we played Rummy for a couple of hours, which was great; I haven't played in years and it's one of my favorite games.  It's so nice to have some friends now.

Today was another chill day.  We didn't do much - just played video games, read books, and worked out at the apartment fitness center.  We are really stepping up our workouts in training for Mt. Whitney.  More on that tomorrow.

No More 'Poo!

Well, yesterday was my last day of using regular shampoo and conditioner - at least for a while.  After thinking about it, I decided that my guilt about potentially making aquatic animals sick and over-fertilizing harmful algae was stronger than my desire to have pretty hair.  I don't mean to proselytize, but why is this collection of dead skin cells so important to us anyway?

Not going to lie, though, I am a bit nervous about giving up the 'poo.  A few years ago, one of my camp friends told me "You know, all women are vain about something.  I'm pretty sure for you it's you're hair."  Yup.  I know I have nice hair and I don't want it to be ugly!  I would be sad.

But I have been hearing lately about people using alternative methods of washing their hair.  I have looked at organic, phosphate free products online, but they are super expensive and some of them still use fragrances and other chemicals.  So, today I tried the baking soda and vinegar method!

Wait, you say.  Aren't those the ingredients you use in a volcano science experiment?  Yes!  And what better way to wash your hair?

Here's what you do:
Shampoo: Mix 1 tbsp. baking soda to 1 cup water
Conditioner: Mix 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp honey to 1 cup water (NOT white vinegar)
Shake well to mix thoroughly.

So, in the shower, I shampooed my hair first.  The baking soda feels awesome!  It tingles when you pour it on, and then you rub it all over your hair and I guess it must soak up the oil.  It left my hair feeling clean.  No problems yet.

I waited until the end of my shower to condition my hair.  Normally I leave it on for a bit, but since it was vinegar I didn't want it on my hair very long.  Warning: the vinegar-water does still smell something like vinegar, but it's diluted enough that it isn't too bad.

So I stirred up the conditioner, poured some on my head and then soaked the ends of my hair in what was left.  After about 1 minute, I rinsed it out and called it good.  Note: your hair and your bathroom will NOT smell like vinegar after rinsing (phew!).

So far, it seems to have worked!  My hair feels clean and it was easy to comb out.  The conditioner seems to untangle hair just as well as conventional stuff, although your hair doesn't get that super-sleek silicone feel.  I'm going to try this for 6 weeks and see how my hair holds up.  If it gets really terrible, I might adjust my method, but I have a good feeling about it.

Get your goat

On today's menu: goat!

I've always wanted to try goat meat.  It's the world's most commonly-eaten meat; it shows up in a lot of South American, Asian and African food.  It's supposed to be leaner than chicken but higher in protein than beef.  In short, it sounds pretty awesome, right?  I was excited to see it at the Capital City Market (Boise's giant farmer's market) this weekend.  It was a little more than I would typically pay for chicken, but I thought it was worth it just to try it.  Plus, this particular goat is locally-produced and lived on grass.  Hurrah for happy goats!  Makes me think about Heidi.

So anyway, I decided to try a recipe I've looked at before - Seco de Chivo.  It's an Ecuadoran dish that seems pretty similar to chili.  I looked over a few recipes and picked out what I liked from each.  Here's my recipe:

Seco de Chivo

1. Season 1 lb of goat meat with garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and 1 can of beer, let marinate for at least an hour.

2. Remove the meat from the marinade and save the marinade liquid for later.

3. Heat two tbsp of oil over high temperature in a large pan and fry the meat until browned on each side.

4. Lower the heat to medium and add the minced vegetables ( 3/4 onion, 3 stalks celery, and 1 bell pepper), cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

5. Blend 1 can of diced tomatoes, a few springs of cilantro, and 1-2 hot peppers with the leftover marinade, and add the puree to the meat.

6. Add 1-2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 tsp all spice, and bring to boil.  Then, lower the temperature and simmer until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thickened, about 2 -2 ½ hours.

7. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve warm.

 

I served this dish with red beans and brown rice.

The goat was pretty good.  It was a bit gamey, but rich-tasting despite the low fat content.  I liked the blending of different flavors in this dish as well.  It was a little spicy, a little sweet, and very tasty.  I think Tim liked it more than I did.  Anyway, I'm glad I got to try it - one more food experience checked off the list!

The New Apartment

Well, posting in the summer didn't turn out as I had hoped - between the lack of internet and the surplus of interesting things to do, I wholeheartedly failed to keep up with this blog.

However, now that I'm settled in Boise, I have plenty of time for blogging, and the internet here is quite reliable.

I love my new apartment!  It's light and open, and the location is great.  Within a 1-4 miles, we have access to downtown Boise, the Greenbelt, Boise State University, and Camelsback Park, which contains several miles of hiking and biking trails.  There are also bike lanes connecting our street with downtown.  Biking is so much easier now; I have lived here for three weeks now and haven't had any rude comments or obscenities screamed at me from car windows.  No one has tried to run me off the road.  The only problem I've had is that occasionally Google Maps has inaccurate information about where the bike lanes are (but they're usually close). 

Other bonuses to our apartment: balcony, nice pool, exercise equipment, and a blackberry bush.  I am a happy camper.

Inside the apartment, we have a whole bunch of new (to us) furniture.  We gave away most of our furniture in Norman, so we had to replace our couch, table, chairs, bookshelves and dresser.  We were able to find everything we needed at thrift stores and garage sales, and I think we got amazingly nice stuff for the price.

I think the concept of thrift stores is awesome - it employs perfectly the principle of re-using, which is even more important than recycling, in my opinion.  We were able to get everything we needed for around $250, and no new materials had to be used.  I am especially excited about our new table and chairs, which is solid wood and has two removable leaves that can extend it to seat 10 people.  I can have so many people over for dinner!  As soon as I find enough friends.

As far as that goes, I've made some inroads.  I have joined a bunch of things - I am now a volunteer at the Discovery Center of Idaho, the local science museum.  It's really fun to work there; you basically just clean stuff and play with science experiments with little kids.  The people are nice, too.

I also found a church near the University that a lot of the students go to, so that brought me to a large group of friendly people my age.  I'm going to a barbecue there tomorrow, and on Monday we are going to float down the Boise river.  (First I have to locate and purchase an innertube.)  They also want me to go to Tijuana with them in January on a mission trip.  Apparently they go every winter to visit with and vaccinate the group of orphans they sponsor throughout the year.  That seems interesting to me, so I'll look into it, although I think Mom might die if I went to Tijuana.

Next week should bring some new opportunities as well.  I auditioned today to be in a choir at the University, and apparently it's a good mix of students and community members, music majors and not.  That meets twice a week, so I should see a lot of those people.  All in all, I'd say it's going well.  It's hard to get used to a new place, and it's been a little lonely so far, but I think things are looking up.

Yay Blog!!

It seems kind of silly to be excited about something so relatively simple, but I'm just so happy right now!  This is going to be a fun way to keep in touch!

Minaret

I have a book suggestion for anyone wanting to learn a bit about Muslim culture. Minaret, by Leila Aboulela, tells the story of the woman behind the hijab, if you will. It centers around a woman named Najwa, who was once a rich, Westernized daughter of a bureaucrat in Khartoum, Sudan. However, political turmoil changes her life drastically, and she ends up in London. There, she finds comfort and wisdom in traditional Muslim ways.


I have never known much about Islam or Sudan, so I found this book really interesting and informative. It also made me think about some of the similarities between Christianity and Islam and the good things about each. It is so easy to think about the bad things that religious zealots do, but there is so much wisdom in the old religions too.

For example, one of Najwa's prayers:

"My Lord, You are the One who created us, You are the One who guides us, You are the One who feeds us and when we fall ill You are the One who cures us. My Lord forgive us our sins... My Lord give us from your Mercy and blessing so that we can love what You love and so that we can love all those actions and words that bring us closer to You."

And later in the book:

"Can I ask forgiveness for someone else, someone who's already dead?

Yes, you can. Of course you can. And you can give charity in their name and you can recite the Qur'an for their sake. All these things will reach them, your prayers will ease the hardship and loneliness of their grave or it will reach them as bright beautiful gifts. Gifts to unwrap and enjoy and they will know that this gift is from you."

Besides all that, the story was really good, the characters were fascinating, and her writing style is very direct and pleasant to read. I recommend it.

Mockingbirds

This is Katie. In five days, I'm leaving my hometown of Bedford, Texas to take a cross-country road trip that spans twelve states and will end in Boise, Idaho, where I'm moving with my boyfriend. This is the story of that journey, and if I'm lucky, it will continue once I get to Boise. I might even convince my sister to blog along with me. I'm not sure what exactly I'll post, but I'm sure there will be pictures, memories, recipes, and book suggestions. Some posts might be poetic, but others won't be a bit. Here goes nothing.

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By the time I step outside to take my morning bike ride, the sticky June air has already reached the texture of thick soup. I clip on my helmet and begin to pedal.

I head to the park where I played as a child. It is full of memories. Here is the mud pit where my friends and I would dig in the dirt; here is the field where we would play tag and have Indian wars, ruthlessly throwing the barbed plants that grew there like tiny, vicious spears; here is the tree where I had my first kiss.

I pedal on. The bike path here weaves back and forth beneath the power lines, and the combination of the electric buzzing and the chirping cicadas creates a white noise backdrop for my thoughts. I pedal harder and faster until I am whizzing over the hills, working up a sweat.

I take a break. Stepping off the bicycle, I walk over to a nearby bench, artistically placed under a towering electrical transformer, and sit down. I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of the summer sun burning my skin.

Above me, a mockingbird warbles from the branches of a gnarly old mesquite. His songs are varied and beautiful, but false. I open my eyes to watch him more closely. He reminds me of the people here, dressing up in the songs of others, trying to impress but never quite achieving the sophistication of the sharp northern songbirds. As a blue jay lands next to him, the mockingbird’s sweet hymns dissolve into angry, jealous squawking. He is unwilling to share. I laugh internally; yes, it is appropriate that he is our state bird.

Although the wind has the quality of a hairdryer blowing through a steamy bathroom, it feels refreshing on my sweat-drenched skin. It blows by a nearby crepe myrtle, and it strikes me how strangely incongruous this plant is: dry, thick leaves that can withstand the drought, twisted stems that can weather the sometimes fierce winds here, and delicate, feathery pink blooms that fall off at a single touch. The wind ruffles the myrtle’s blossoms, and a few fall to the ground, startling a beetle.

I spend a few more minutes under the tower and then bike back home, but the moment stays with me. I will miss the South.