It's 11:05 Sunday night. I'm about ready for bed. Got everything crossed off the list. Still fighting this cold, G'dammit, and now it seems Bizarro has caught it (or a version of it).
Tomorrow I need to buy a scale because I'm afraid my baggage is over 50 lbs. Also need to buy itty-bitty locks for the luggage (I can only find one here and there should be at least two).
Gotta get my travelers cheques and make a deposit, then it's off to the bus station, headed to NYC.
I miss Bizarro already!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
T-Minus 1 day
Tomorrow I hop on a bus headed to NYC and the adventure begins! I've had a cold the last few days which is really a bummer. I don't want to start this trip out with a cold, but it's just going to take its own sweet time working its way out of my system. I've been pounding Vit. C and fluids, and getting as much rest as I can. Not much else I can do.
Enjoy this while you wait for my next post from Korea: http://www.flashlands.com/flash_view.php?id=631
Enjoy this while you wait for my next post from Korea: http://www.flashlands.com/flash_view.php?id=631
Thursday, July 12, 2007
T-Minus 5 days and counting
It's Thursday morning; I'm feeling pretty set for leaving on Monday. I have been working my way down an immense list of things to do, and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today I gotta clean the bathroom and vacuum, and of course study Korean. And I have a 1:00 meeting with the producer of the Global Nomads video, which is just for me to show her how to use Quicktime.
The Global Nomads video is on hold until after I get started on Post for Korea Dreambus! but I want to make sure she can look at all the footage we've shot so far so she can work on an EDL (Edit Decision List). So it's not really on hold - just my part is.
This morning I woke up from one of these recurring dreams that have been plaguing me lately. The dream context is always different, but I always have this little creature/baby/animal that lives in my pocket, and the creature can't breathe in my pocket. I check on it and try to revive it, but eventually it dies. The one I had this morning was a little different because the little creature called my name out to remind me that it was in the pocket, and explained to me that it couldn't breathe. Then something else happened, and there was a guy who threatened to take away all my animals unless I left the area immediately (it was like some sort of park or public space). I went into panic mode, gathering up all the animals I could find, and told Bizarro to do the same and meet me at the car. Suddenly I remembered the little one in my pocket, but when I took it out, it was too late. Weirdly, because it is a dream, the little creature didn't look like a fuzzy little animal any more. It looked like one of my tubes of Burt's Bees Lip Balm.
I know it sounds hilarious, but I woke up in tears. These dreams have been coming at least once a week, and I'm sure they have everything to do with my feelings of responsibility concerning my mom's health and life. They may also represent a part of myself that I'm stuffing in a pocket and not giving air to. Yesterday my counselor and I discussed the feelings of "anticipatory grief" (the psychological term, apparently) that I have been pushing away. The very notion of my mom not being here fills me with dread and loss and grief, so I've been trying not to have those feelings. My counselor said I should allow them to come out, when I am in an appropriate place and time to do so.
Damn, that's a lot of heavy shitt, isn't it? Despite the dreams, I am doing well. Getting more and more jazzed for Korea every day.
The Global Nomads video is on hold until after I get started on Post for Korea Dreambus! but I want to make sure she can look at all the footage we've shot so far so she can work on an EDL (Edit Decision List). So it's not really on hold - just my part is.
This morning I woke up from one of these recurring dreams that have been plaguing me lately. The dream context is always different, but I always have this little creature/baby/animal that lives in my pocket, and the creature can't breathe in my pocket. I check on it and try to revive it, but eventually it dies. The one I had this morning was a little different because the little creature called my name out to remind me that it was in the pocket, and explained to me that it couldn't breathe. Then something else happened, and there was a guy who threatened to take away all my animals unless I left the area immediately (it was like some sort of park or public space). I went into panic mode, gathering up all the animals I could find, and told Bizarro to do the same and meet me at the car. Suddenly I remembered the little one in my pocket, but when I took it out, it was too late. Weirdly, because it is a dream, the little creature didn't look like a fuzzy little animal any more. It looked like one of my tubes of Burt's Bees Lip Balm.
I know it sounds hilarious, but I woke up in tears. These dreams have been coming at least once a week, and I'm sure they have everything to do with my feelings of responsibility concerning my mom's health and life. They may also represent a part of myself that I'm stuffing in a pocket and not giving air to. Yesterday my counselor and I discussed the feelings of "anticipatory grief" (the psychological term, apparently) that I have been pushing away. The very notion of my mom not being here fills me with dread and loss and grief, so I've been trying not to have those feelings. My counselor said I should allow them to come out, when I am in an appropriate place and time to do so.
Damn, that's a lot of heavy shitt, isn't it? Despite the dreams, I am doing well. Getting more and more jazzed for Korea every day.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sad Story
I have nothing to complain about on any front when I read this story:
Foreign student killed in accident
Published Thursday, July 5, 2007.
Christa Gould / For The Post / cg320004@ohiou.edu
Abhishek Singh, an Ohio University student from India working on his doctorate in physics and astronomy, was killed Saturday night after he apparently was hit in a two-vehicle accident and thrown into the Hocking River. He was 22.
Singh was born in Faizabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India on July 7, 1984.
His parents are Amarendra and Indu Singh.
He had been studying at Ohio University since fall of 2006. Before coming to Ohio University, Singh studied at the National Institute of Technology in Jamsehdpur in the state of Jharkhand in India. He earned a degree in electrical engineering.
“He was always very enthusiastic, probably one of the most enthusiastic students I knew,” said Ken Hicks, professor in physics and astronomy and advisor for Singh’s summer research project. “He really wanted to make some discovery or some contribution to the world through physics.”
One of his roommates, Sunny Mishra, said that Singh’s aim was “to serve India after getting his degree.”
Singh was also a member of the Indian Students Association at OU.“He used to go out in the morning [to study and do research] and come back late at night,” said Santosh Vijapur, the association’s treasurer.
Singh placed third in the Microsoft Imagine Cup prize in 2005 for his work in computer programming and received $3,000. He was also awarded about $5,000 from Texas Instruments in 2004.
Although he did not accept the position, Singh was selected to be a scientist in the Defense Research and Development Organization for the government of India, Mishra said.
Singh’s body will be returned to his family in India for burial, said George Mauzy, spokesman for the university. The university will later hold a memorial service for Singh.
Singh was killed Saturday when an SUV allegedly careened across the Richland Avenue bridge, hit him and sent him into the river.
The SUV was part of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Richland Avenue and State Route 682 that happened around 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, Lt. Randy Gray of the Athens Police Department, said.
Police found the body of Singh, a 22-year-old graduate student from India—nearly 14 hours after the accident—in the Hocking River on Sunday at about 3:25 p.m.
Police officers were at the accident scene on Saturday night, but the drivers did not report that a pedestrian had been hit, Gray said.
“No one had any idea [a pedestrian had been hit] until after we found the body,” he added.
On Sunday, however, people on the bike path along the Hocking River noticed what resembled a body in the river and notified the OU Police Department, who later contacted the Athens Police Department, Gray said.
The initial accident occurred when April Hankinson, 26, of Athens, ran the red light at State Route 682 while traveling northbound on Richland Avenue in her Ford Explorer, Gray said.
Hankinson’s vehicle was hit by a Subaru LGX compact traveling eastbound on Route 682, Gray said. The eastbound vehicle’s driver was Naomi Bell, 45, of Ravenswood, W.Va. Hankinson’s car careened into Singh, knocking him off the bridge, Gray said.
Hankinson and Bell were taken to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, 55 Hospital Drive, for minor injuries and were released, Gray said.
Police have a blood sample from Hankinson and will determine if she had alcohol in her blood, Gray said. He did not say if alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Once the crash’s investigation is complete, the prosecutor’s office will review the evidence and decide if charges will be filed, Gray said.
Foreign student killed in accident
Published Thursday, July 5, 2007.
Christa Gould / For The Post / cg320004@ohiou.edu
Abhishek Singh, an Ohio University student from India working on his doctorate in physics and astronomy, was killed Saturday night after he apparently was hit in a two-vehicle accident and thrown into the Hocking River. He was 22.
Singh was born in Faizabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India on July 7, 1984.
His parents are Amarendra and Indu Singh.
He had been studying at Ohio University since fall of 2006. Before coming to Ohio University, Singh studied at the National Institute of Technology in Jamsehdpur in the state of Jharkhand in India. He earned a degree in electrical engineering.
“He was always very enthusiastic, probably one of the most enthusiastic students I knew,” said Ken Hicks, professor in physics and astronomy and advisor for Singh’s summer research project. “He really wanted to make some discovery or some contribution to the world through physics.”
One of his roommates, Sunny Mishra, said that Singh’s aim was “to serve India after getting his degree.”
Singh was also a member of the Indian Students Association at OU.“He used to go out in the morning [to study and do research] and come back late at night,” said Santosh Vijapur, the association’s treasurer.
Singh placed third in the Microsoft Imagine Cup prize in 2005 for his work in computer programming and received $3,000. He was also awarded about $5,000 from Texas Instruments in 2004.
Although he did not accept the position, Singh was selected to be a scientist in the Defense Research and Development Organization for the government of India, Mishra said.
Singh’s body will be returned to his family in India for burial, said George Mauzy, spokesman for the university. The university will later hold a memorial service for Singh.
Singh was killed Saturday when an SUV allegedly careened across the Richland Avenue bridge, hit him and sent him into the river.
The SUV was part of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Richland Avenue and State Route 682 that happened around 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, Lt. Randy Gray of the Athens Police Department, said.
Police found the body of Singh, a 22-year-old graduate student from India—nearly 14 hours after the accident—in the Hocking River on Sunday at about 3:25 p.m.
Police officers were at the accident scene on Saturday night, but the drivers did not report that a pedestrian had been hit, Gray said.
“No one had any idea [a pedestrian had been hit] until after we found the body,” he added.
On Sunday, however, people on the bike path along the Hocking River noticed what resembled a body in the river and notified the OU Police Department, who later contacted the Athens Police Department, Gray said.
The initial accident occurred when April Hankinson, 26, of Athens, ran the red light at State Route 682 while traveling northbound on Richland Avenue in her Ford Explorer, Gray said.
Hankinson’s vehicle was hit by a Subaru LGX compact traveling eastbound on Route 682, Gray said. The eastbound vehicle’s driver was Naomi Bell, 45, of Ravenswood, W.Va. Hankinson’s car careened into Singh, knocking him off the bridge, Gray said.
Hankinson and Bell were taken to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, 55 Hospital Drive, for minor injuries and were released, Gray said.
Police have a blood sample from Hankinson and will determine if she had alcohol in her blood, Gray said. He did not say if alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Once the crash’s investigation is complete, the prosecutor’s office will review the evidence and decide if charges will be filed, Gray said.
Monday, July 09, 2007
T-minus 8 days and counting
I leave for NY a week from today. So much to do - it's overwhelming. I'm trying to sort out the stuff I need to do for the trip to Korea, and the stuff I need to do for the household before I leave. And then there's mom, and I have to drive to Elmira tomorrow to go shopping her for her, especially since we've got temps in the 90s for the next couple days. And I'm going back to Elmira on Friday for her birthday. Not complaining, just feeling a bit overwhelmed. And I'm not feeling too energetic today, myself. I'd love to stay at home in the AC and get stuff done here, but I am tutoring at 3:30, which means walking in the heat of the day to the coffee shop we're meeting at.
The author Sark calls a day like this a day to hang out the crabby flag. Today it's flying high.
The author Sark calls a day like this a day to hang out the crabby flag. Today it's flying high.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Trying to Reframe
There's been a lot of grumpus activity lately. I am trying very hard to allow myself permission to relax and have fun with friends this weekend, but it's hard because other people around me are definitely not relaxed. I'm the one whose mother was in the hospital, I'm the one who drove to Elmira the last 6 days in a row, I'm the one who's been the caretaker for a sick old woman. Talk about having your schedule interrupted!
Anyway, I am intent on blowing off other people's negativity and having fun with my friends this weekend. I'm not responsible for any one else besides myself from this point on. I have to decompress after the last week, and then I have to be clear-headed enough to do the last week of prep to go to Korea (which of course also involves all the housework and laundry before I leave).
I am woman, hear me roar.
Anyway, I am intent on blowing off other people's negativity and having fun with my friends this weekend. I'm not responsible for any one else besides myself from this point on. I have to decompress after the last week, and then I have to be clear-headed enough to do the last week of prep to go to Korea (which of course also involves all the housework and laundry before I leave).
I am woman, hear me roar.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Momazoo Update
Today was Mom's third dialysis treatment. She continues to do well and she is coming home tomorrow! They will do another treatment in the morning before she leaves the hospital because the out-patient dialysis unit won't be open on the 4th of July (which strikes me as very wrong - it's a dialysis unit, people, not a shoe store!). She won't have dialysis again until Friday, so the doc wanted her to have a treatment before she leaves tomorrow.
Bizarro and I will pick her up and get her settled at home, and I'll go buy her whatever groceries she needs, as well as stamps. I'll be driving down again on Wed. to see how she's doing. Then Bizarro and I are going for a much-needed vaca weekend.
Two weeks from this time I'll be in NYC, having dinner with the Thorpallos (their collective name) on the eve of my flight to Korea. Can it really be so close?
Bizarro and I will pick her up and get her settled at home, and I'll go buy her whatever groceries she needs, as well as stamps. I'll be driving down again on Wed. to see how she's doing. Then Bizarro and I are going for a much-needed vaca weekend.
Two weeks from this time I'll be in NYC, having dinner with the Thorpallos (their collective name) on the eve of my flight to Korea. Can it really be so close?
Just like old times
Fucking Ohio University. Come back from the grave 2 years later to bite me in the ass. Those of you ardent readers who were with me back in the grad school days know the inordinate amount of ridiculousness I endured (and the corresponding amount of bitching and moaning I did).
Out-of-Town-University that has hired me for the fall couldn't get verification of my M.A. in Linguistics because O.U. doesn't participate in that online verification system (natch, that would be too 21st century for them). So it was up to me to order (and thus pay for) a transcript. So I did that online, paying $12.50 so it would get there this week, only to receive a notice that my account is suspended and I'd have to contact the bursar's office.
Are you fucking kidding me?
So I called the bursar's office and sure enough there's a parking ticket from JULY 2005, probably the week we left for NY. I had to pay those fuckers another $20 to take care of the parking ticket, but in the meantime I had to dig up my old Oak account (email) and password to do it via echeck, otherwise they charge a 2.9% fee for using a credit card. What the hell, people? Your university can't soak up that fee? Are you really that bad off?
Anyway, so I retrieved my Oak account info from the computer geek squad at O.U., cleared up my grievous debt with the bursar's office, and verified taht after 2:00 today my transcript will be sent.
Getting a transcript via paying a 2 year old parking ticket so I can get a part time job: $32.50.
Getting screwed by Ohio University over 2 years after graduation: priceless.
Out-of-Town-University that has hired me for the fall couldn't get verification of my M.A. in Linguistics because O.U. doesn't participate in that online verification system (natch, that would be too 21st century for them). So it was up to me to order (and thus pay for) a transcript. So I did that online, paying $12.50 so it would get there this week, only to receive a notice that my account is suspended and I'd have to contact the bursar's office.
Are you fucking kidding me?
So I called the bursar's office and sure enough there's a parking ticket from JULY 2005, probably the week we left for NY. I had to pay those fuckers another $20 to take care of the parking ticket, but in the meantime I had to dig up my old Oak account (email) and password to do it via echeck, otherwise they charge a 2.9% fee for using a credit card. What the hell, people? Your university can't soak up that fee? Are you really that bad off?
Anyway, so I retrieved my Oak account info from the computer geek squad at O.U., cleared up my grievous debt with the bursar's office, and verified taht after 2:00 today my transcript will be sent.
Getting a transcript via paying a 2 year old parking ticket so I can get a part time job: $32.50.
Getting screwed by Ohio University over 2 years after graduation: priceless.
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