The wheels are turning but we're not moving (forward)

The past month has been like treading water--a lot is going on, but not too much progress is being made. Lots of little things keep creeping up which eventually hinder something we need or want to do (for example, two broken watches, parking tickets, lost car keys, a maxed-out credit card and no Dell laptop to show for it, etc.). The biggest annoyance for me is misplacing my day-planner, which has absolutely EVERYTHING in it. So while I would like to talk about what has happened the past several weeks, I can't be too sure of the details and dates. This is probably good, because I can now only provide the more memorable events :P

The week (or two) we spent in New York was such a breath of fresh air that it makes me already really want to go back. Though Seth was busy as usual, I spent heaps of time reading, going for walks to the end of the road with Seth's mom, eating lots of very delicious food, watching the Amish buggies ride past the house, wandering around Wegmans, petting the multitudes of friendly cats, and picking corn. Though it was early August and sweltering hot down South, it was cool and crisp every day in New York. Could a person want anything else?

We eventually had to leave New York and spend a day driving down to North Carolina, where we took just a few days packing and visiting wonderful friends and colleagues in Chapel Hill. We then piled back into the car and made the 14 hour drive up to Boston, hitting every major city on the east coast along the way (that day, we woke up at 3am to go for a short run then managed to leave the house just after 6am, which allowed us to avoid at least some DC traffic and NYC traffic). The drive should have only been about 13 hours but we got stuck in a small town called Perryville, where we had a very hard time finding an ATM to withdraw cash to pay for the last few toll roads. If you every find yourself in Perryville and in need of cash, don't waste your time with gas stations and go directly to the Food Lion!

Since arriving at Chrissy's apartment in Boston (well, Brighton, to be specific), we have been spending nearly all our time between Brandeis and Brighton, but we did manage an afternoon outing to Harvard Square in Cambridge. It wasn't as bustling as we were expecting, probably because classes were not yet in session. I still haven't been to downtown Boston, so I will need to make a point to see it sometime soon.

Yesterday Seth taught his first class--he did not start with any introduction and just launched right into full lecture mode and passed out the syllabus in the last minute or two of class. For each undergraduate to be paying over $36,000 a year in tuition, at least they will get their money out of having Seth as their professor! He will be teaching Classic and Romantic Music, a graduate proseminar in Music of the Renaissance, and doing lots of his own research. And until I find myself a job, I will be sitting in on Introduction to Economics (that's right, econ), and Art History (post-1945).

Besides this, we have been doing lots and lots of apartment hunting, attempting to wrap up more loose ends in Australia (like Superannuation, taxes, etc), and last week I got poison ivy down my lower legs. I have never gotten poison ivy and I thought I was resistant, especially considering I have a hard time identifying it and Seth always catches me before I wander right into it, so in theory I should have had it many times before. However, where we go running, near Hammond Pond, it is like an entire forest of the oily stuff. At least it doesn't really itch.

The past week and a half the Meyers were in New York, and Jens returned early. It has been nice to stay with them during this time. However, this evening Mark and Gina will be leaving for the Outer Banks for a week, and we will be dog-sitting for them out in the 'rural' part of town (about 30min west of Brandeis, or about 60min west of Brighton). This afternoon we cleared out of Chrissy's house and once again, everything that is important to us is in the car.

As nice as it is to be staying in comfortable homes and not necessarily have to pay rent (which can be ludicrously high), I do wish we had a place of our own to live. Since preparing to leave Johns in mid-December, we have moved approximately 12 times (in less than 8 months):

Johns --> Stephen and Kim's house --> Johns --> New Zealand --> Nick's house/Office --> Share house on Fenner St --> (*Seth goes to the US --> *Seth returns to Fenner St) --> Northern Territory --> Vietnam --> Hong Kong --> (Seth goes to New York --> Seth goes to Boston) --> (I go to Rochester, MN --> North Carolina --> *Boston) --> *New York --> *North Carolina --> Boston/Chrissy's place --> Boston/Mark's place

* = these are not moves, they were just big trips

The rest constitute a 'move' and not a 'trip' because we carried a significant amount of our belongings with us. At each move, we did not have a more permanent 'home base' or address or phone number where we could be reached.

New York is a State

During my last few 'rousing' weeks sitting at home collecting dust, I did manage to rattle off a job application (for a position at the Museum of Science in Boston), go to a few more Bikram Yoga classes, meet with Meghan for archery, visit with Monica Gray before her departure to Minnesota, and order a shiny new lap top (sorry, Acer). I can't wait for my new PC to arrive--though today I discovered there actually is a 'wireless button' on Acer, so now I can once again connect to WiFi and get lots of things taken care of without having to go to the public library!

Meghan at the range

Last Saturday I finally caught a flight up north, to Boston. I planned it just right so that I would arrive in time for a little girl's birthday party, the daughter of Seth's cousin. However, my flight path from Raleigh followed directly behind a storm and my flights were delayed and/or canceled. I arrived over 8 hours late, missed all the fun, and wasted a day.

In Boston I finally met with Seth and we stayed with his sister, Chrissy, and her family in Brighton. We spent the next three days looking at apartments, share houses, etc. in Waltham and Watertown, and by the end we decided to expand our search to the more bustling Cambridge. The most promising place we found was of course a bit expensive, especially with oil heating, so I think we will just have to continue our search later. We spent so much time looking at places that I never had a chance to explore Boston--besides meeting with Seth's brother-in-law, Jens, for lunch at the Prudential Center. One of our excursions, however, was meeting a friend of Seth's from UNC (Paul) who just so happened to live around the corner from Chrissy. It's a small and very weird world.

Near Prudential Center (Newbury St.). Gnomes.

Dropping a few things off at Seth's new office at Brandeis

Yesterday Seth and I took the train from Boston to Syracuse, with a 2 1/2 hour layover in Albany. The train was actually really nice, like a super deluxe bus, and I got to watch the stunning scenery of Massachusetts and upstate New York pass by through the windows. *Note: For those readers who are not familiar with American geography, New York is a large state which contains New York City. New York State is predominately rural and sparsely populated. Seth lives about 7 hours outside the city.* We were greeted by his parents at the station--it was really nice to see them, particularly since I have not seen them in about 3 years.

Riding the Amtrak through New York

We will be at Seth's parents' house for an undetermined number of days before driving back to Boston and North Carolina. It is so lovely and peaceful here--when I was in Australia and I thought of how nice it would be to return to the US, I would usually be picturing these farming communities in New York and certainly not the rich suburbs of the hot and humid south.

The albinos

I don't know if it is just dumb luck or if there was some sort of little-discussed nuclear waste spillage in the Triangle Area, but last week on my way out for an early run (July 15th) I spotted my second albino birdie.

Seth noticed the first bird during one of his runs in the Spring of 2006--a partial albino female cardinal. This was in Chapel Hill, and we followed her for a few months until she mysteriously disappeared. She was really cute but was pretty aggressive towards all the other females her mate attracted. He spent an awful lot of time singing. I bet she was set up.

*Photos taken by Seth Coluzzi, April 2006*

This second bird was a robin: white with an orange breast and with dark eyes. I saw it in my front yard then it flew into the neighbor's trees. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it and I haven't seen it since. I will need to wake up early some morning and stake it out!

This picture is actually of a different robin, but it looks just like the one I saw:

* Photo by G. Ordy (Chesterland, Ohio in June 2006)*

A domestic life

The past few weeks since returning to Raleigh have been as exciting as can be expected for an unemployed non-student living with her parents. I would be much busier and efficient if there was internet at home so I would have more time to search for jobs and prepare for the move. Instead, I go to the public library for only a few hours once a day, where I now have a weirdo stalker to deal with, amongst other things.

I have been keeping up with my running, which is sometimes tough to do because the pavement is jolting and the streets are unexciting, but I have also been splurging on a few other excursions. For starters, I have met my old friend, Meghan, a few times at an archery range where she takes lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She started archery a few months ago and the range is just 5 minutes' drive from my house. Where was this place when I wanted to take lessons three years ago? I guess it was good for me to learn how to shoot more or less on my own—her teacher says I do well for having too thin of arrow shafts, having the wrong type of riser on my bow, and not using a sight. Regardless, it is great to meet with an old friend once or twice a week for two constructive activities: 1) arching, and 2) quietly making fun of the suburban southerners chit chat about their deluxe compound hunting bows (I'd like to see them shoot that picture of the deer from 60feet using a bow as bare as mine!).

Right next to the archery range is a Bikram hot yoga studio. I have never wanted to try hot yoga for fear of the heat—hot yoga is essentially like normal yoga except they crank up the temperature to somewhere around 105–110 degrees F and use humidifiers to get everyone extra sweaty. It feels like being in a sauna (which I have little tolerance for) and is supposed to have similar health benefits, such as being cleansing and detoxifying. The heat also has the added benefit of relaxing the muscles and increasing flexibility. The reason I have kept away from this type of yoga is that extreme heat makes me feel dizzy and nauseous, which is to be expected the first few visits, according to the yoga instructor. But the reason why I wanted to go and try it out was because they offer a good deal for new people, and because I know of no other yoga studio around and I am desperate.

During the first class I felt dizzy at several points and near the end of the 90min class my head got fuzzy and I didn’t think I could finish. I was so wet with streams of sweat that my bath towel, which I laid over my mat, was totally wet. It was intense. However, I must admit it was not as intense as running mid-day and exposed during the solstice in Hue, Vietnam. That was just all around bad.

When I stepped out of the class I immediately dried up and felt really great. Not only was my skin really nice feeling, but my muscles, which constantly ache from running on the road, felt nice and loose. I have never really experienced anything like that before.

I gave myself two days before trying it again. This second time was much better and I didn’t feel dizzy at all, though I did sweat just as much! I even noticed that Bikram Yoga is like visiting a popular beach: the lights are unusually intense and feel like the piercing sun, you quickly become soaking wet like you just got smacked by a wave, there are lots of people hanging out on beach towels, and you typically wear as little clothing as possible.

I will try a few more classes before my special deal expires, but I have a hard time getting the motivation to go, not because of the temperature, but because they do the same asanas (poses) each lesson. This gets boring, even if my brain does manage to run off because it is afraid of the heat.

Last week I took an afternoon to visit some people in Chapel Hill. I wanted first to see Dr. Wiley, the bird enthusiast and naturalist who gave me Naomi’s name. He wasn’t in his office, so I went to see Dr. Pfennig, my undergraduate research supervisor. It was really nice to see him and he filled me in on all the goings-on in the lab. He even gave me George’s two recent publications. George was my mentor and used the data I collected from measuring snakes (which took me a year and a half), and I always felt he should have included me as an author in any paper he would publish that used that work. Well, he didn’t. He did, however, thank me in the acknowledgments, which I suppose is fair enough. One paper is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B (Mimicry on the edge: why do mimics vary in resemblance to their model in different parts of their geographical range?) and the other, most impressively, is in Nature (Selection overrides gene flow to break down maladaptive mimicry). I won’t be able to include these publications in a CV, but at least I can brag about it a little.

While in Chapel Hill I met briefly with Christina, a good friend I first met in Dr. Pfennig’s lab, for a yoga class with Scott. Scott is by far my favourite yoga instructor and is also a great person, if not eccentric and a bit wild. I hope to take another class with him before moving, but it would be a bit out of the way :o(

Not much else has been going on. I have been working on emailing biologists in the Boston area, emailing with Warren back in Canberra because he is kindly helping me print and bind my thesis, searching for computers to replace this wicked beast of burden, and trying to read and be productive. As long as I can get out of the house I am safe.

Some pictures from the delta

*This refers back to the super long June 26th entry* As promised, here are a few photos from Dad's camera from the day we went to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. (My camera died soon after arriving). As you can see, this day-trip, similar to everywhere else in Vietnam, is not meant for the claustrophobic, xenophobic, or agoraphobic.

Inside an Auntie's house

Some Aunties

Loading the long boat

Cramped ride over to the island that holds the family plots

The family cemetery

The family cemetery

Giving blessings to the ancestors

Bananas and mangoes in their natural habitat

The turtle (wi) who lives in the cemetery (he actually really seemed to like the biscuit)

Riding back


Oddly enough, this old family picture (from when we lived in Denver, CO) was hanging on my Auntie's wall. It's a small world.

Hanging out in the bedroom

Preparing lunch

Preparing lunch

Grandma and her two aunts from Saigon (my great, great aunts?)

Photos by the temple...

...photos inside the temple (shoes off!)...

...photos with the people weaving

Julie is kidnapped

Walking down the street

Meanwhile, Dad was having some rice wine with the fellas

Miss Tuyen, the substitute teacher (this is the primary school across the street)

The ladies...

...the fellas

Tuyen and me (my Mom's cousin's granddaughter, I think)

Loading the ferry to head back to Saigon

From Rochester, MN (Monday, 7 July, 2008: 5:20pm)

The end of my 22-and-a-half-month trip ends here, in a tiny airport in Rochester, Minnesota. I am waiting for my delayed flight back to Raleigh, North Carolina at the small diner in the airport. There are more people working at the single security checkpoint than there are people waiting at all six gates. I ordered an almond cappuccino and as I looked for change I shook out currency from four different countries, quietly hidden in my wallet. Not sure of what to expect with a $1.50 cappuccino, the cook dispensed my drink from a machine that is not unlike what is found in gas stations, into a giant Styrofoam cup. Even after making espresso-based coffees for 9 months at my job at Dash, this is the drink I crave the most.

I spent the past four days playing with my little nephew, whom I think is extremely cute and intelligent (and I am usually very critical of mini-humans), and hanging out with his parents. I preferred to not do too much sightseeing around town and just stay at home and run errands with everyone—it was great to not feel obligated to be on the go and just stay in one place for several days in a row. It was also fun to poke around the local grocery stores, the mall, Sam’s Club, and even the evil Super Walmart. (I am more easily entertained than Carter, though I am sure my wandering around drove Andrew and Jennifer nuts! But it's been a very long time since I've experienced these American-caliber mega-stores.) Last night Jennifer suggested making a handbag for me; she has become very skilled in designing and creating handbags and other small items and sells them at craft shows and online. I don’t tend to use handbags very often, but I designed this one exactly how I wanted it so I am sure I will use it all the time!

Andrew at the lab

Andrew and Carter (they have the same expressions!)

El Gallo

My brown corduroy bag!

It will be strange being back home in Raleigh, but I am sure after a day or two it will be like I was never gone. It would be a much needed rest to be there for several weeks or even a month or two, but I know staying at home would drive me nuts after a while. However, while in Raleigh, I am mostly looking forward to seeing a few friends who are still in town, going to the coffee shop down the road to read, and taking a yoga class with my favourite instructor over in Carrboro. Unfortunately, I must also pick through piles and piles of crap and decide what I should keep, what I should chuck, and what needs to somehow go up to Boston. I also need to fight the necessary evils and look for a job and find a home… ergh…

From Rochester, MN (Friday, 4 July, 2008: 8:45pm)

It’s my first day back in the US! It’s so hard to believe that my time living overseas is over…

Seth and I spent our final day hanging out with Synni and Dan in Hong Kong. After doing a little shopping on my own in the malls down the road, Seth and I shared some grocery store sushi then we met with Synni, who took a sick day off work, for our second round of dim sum (this time for afternoon tea) in North Point. We also poked around the neighbourhood for a little while, stocking up on much desired sweet buns for my trip back home, then hopped over to Dan’s apartment. He lives with his family in a somewhat more ‘domestic’ part of town, and we got to meet his Aunt, Auntie (mother), and Amy (little sister). The family was great and very cute—it was the first time a westerner had visited their home and they all seemed very shy. His mother lavished us with sweets then prepared for us the most ‘professional’ tea Seth and I had ever witnessed. Making the tea consisted of a huge quantity of puh-erh tea leaves (maybe a 1/4^th cup), a tiny pot (perhaps 10oz), and six thimble-like cups. After adding the leaves to the pot she poured in a little hot water then immediately poured the fresh tea over the cups and into a bowl, then spun the cups in the hot liquid inside the bowl. She then poured in a second serving of water into the pot and within seconds emptied it into the cups, then poured the cups of tea over the pot. Finally, she filled the pot one more time, then quickly poured the tea into the cups. I am not sure of the purpose of pouring hot tea around the cups and over the pot, but maybe it was to season or heat the clay. Either way, it was done in a matter of seconds, which kept the tannins of the ultra rich tea to a minimum.

Loading up on pastries to bring to Dan's house and to bring back to the US

Dan's mom preparing tea the 'professional' way

After tea we shared photos from our respective trips, then Synni, Dan, Seth and I walked over to the adjacent shopping mall to have our final dinner at a Japanese steakhouse. Before heading out we stopped downstairs, which was full of Japanese shops, to load up on several cute gifts (it is funny how Hong Kong is so obsessed with all things animated and Japanese!).

Dinner at the steakhouse in a food court

We went back to Dan’s place, where his mother and aunt had set up a Majong board. They tried to brief us on the game then had us jump right in. It was so much fun and very memorable! We will definitely need to figure out how to play online with them in the future :o)

Majong with Dan's mom and aunt

Last night in Hong Kong

During this time, I checked my email to look up flight information. I had gotten a note from my supervisor saying both of my thesis examiners had responded and both passed my thesis and said no revisions were necessary! I couldn’t believe it! I had been certain I would spend several weeks working on revisions then would still have to find a way to print, bind, and mail it from the US. What’s more is that I officially now have my degree :o)

It got really late and I still had to pack for my flight the next morning, so Synni and Dan walked us to the MTR to say goodbye. It was sad to leave them and Hong Kong, but I am sure we will see those two again soon!

Seth being silly on the MTR

In the morning I went running with Seth around the park, then he joined me for the long bus ride to the airport and I got set for the 14 hour flight to Chicago and 1 hour flight to Rochester, MN.

Victoria Park: note that the sign says to KEEP LEFT

On the way to the airport: massive harbour for cargo ships

It was bittersweet arriving in the US, the land of soccer moms, high-fructose corn syrup, teenie boppers of all ages, supersize booties, and extra large SUVs. Jennifer, my sister-in-law, picked me up in Minneapolis, I met my little 15 month-old nephew, Carter, then I went to have some much missed ‘Mexican’ food with my brother. Andrew and Jennifer talked to me like I had never left the US, though it still felt weird to be back, especially in some place so American as the upper Midwest on the day before Independence Day—a place of few minorities, lots of suburbs, nosy neighbours, streamers with colourful plastic triangles stung across ‘parking lots’, and American flags hanging next to front doors.

I slept well, despite any signs of jet-lag, and woke up at 5am for my typical early-morning run. However, it was surprisingly cool and crisp and felt like Easter Sunday, much less July 4^th. What's more: I saw squirrels.