Monday, April 4

4.4.11

Today it is raining and cold-ish here. I am able to get by without
wearing a winter coat and just wearing my nice fall wool one. I am
glad that you had a great weekend with friends partying it up. I
spent the whole weekend recovering from soccer and mass amounts of
schoolwork. I have managed to get through quite a bit and plan on
surfing with Amelia and her boyfriend on Wednesday.
This week I am very excited because we finally are allowed to walk
around more of the campus. This seemed like a pain before the
earthquake because there are so many paths, but now I understand why
they are there! It used to take me 10 minutes to walk from the bus
stop to the main area of tents where lectures are held. Now, with
more paths and walkways open it only takes me 5. This is a big help
because now I hate walking. I walk 15-20 minutes to the bus-stop, 10
minutes on campus to get to class, 10 minutes to get back to the
bus-stop, and another 10-20 minutes after soccer practice from the
bus-stop to Michelle's house at 8:30 at night. This accounts for me
wasting at least an hour every single day. It isn't as bad as driving
to school, but I spend a lot more time walking and waiting then I
normally do driving to class. It is just a different lifestyle that I
am not enjoying as much. I love it down here and I don't mean to
complain, but today is such a crappy day and walking in the rain is
not very much fun.
I am working my butt off for soccer and am relieved to know that
practices are reduced from two to one day a week. This seems lame
that I'm so lazy, but they are from 6-8pm at night...and it gets cold
when the sun goes down. So that means that I have to walk back in a
dark park all sweaty and hungry. It just makes for a super long day.
The girls that I play with are very nice and enjoy having me on the
team. They all came to the scrimmage yesterday hungover from some
massive party the night before...it was noon when the scrimmage
started and they all looked like they were in a massive amount of
pain. Near the end they managed to get themselves out of their
hungover state and were joking about the antics that happened the
night before. I did not partake in those festivities, but perhaps in
the future something fun (and safe) might occur. I am quite rusty
from not playing for some time, and hope that I can make it back to
the standard that I was once at. I have to learn to shoot and float
the ball again...But the good news is that the soccer cleats that I
bought down here work, they haven't destroyed my feet and my knees are
holding up well. I am currently covered with black and blue marks
from playing for 4 hours this weekend in scrimmages...but I can still
walk!
Michelle has been busy getting ramped up for her new job. She loves
gardening and has been monopolizing the quake devastation on the
nurseries by buying a TON of cheap plants. They are all currently in
their little pots in the backyard...potted and waiting for her when
she has time. She says that she will get them all in the ground, but
her mom and I are quite skeptical. She reminds me of Grandma in that
sense....planning and starting a huge project that just gets pushed
aside when she gets busy.
Oh well, its her life. Now I'm waiting for my class to begin at
Uni...stuck inside like a billion other students in the 3-4 buildings
with computers and places to sit to study. Everyone here is focused
though, so it is actually productive unlike the Libraries in the US.

Well, hope the week goes well! I can't wait to come home to the
Northern Sunshine and 4th of July antics!

2 comments:

  1. I miss walking everywhere so much, but I can understand that it can also be frustrating at times, especially if you are having to wait for the bus a lot too. You may not appreciate it now, but it is kind of great to get an hour of walking in a day without even trying...just having in be part of your daily life. But when you are exhausted after a long day, it is no fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Grace: someone's daughter beat me to this theme. Walking an hour beats driving half an hour for many of us. Great songwriters agree:
    Walk on By (Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach);
    Walk Like an Egyptian (Bangles);
    Walk the Line (J. Cash);
    Walk the Dog (Rufus Thomas);
    Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed);
    Walk this Way (Aerosmith);
    Just Walkin in the Rain (Johnnie Ray)
    Walk a While (Fairport Convention)
    Walk Don't Run (The Ventures);
    Walking on a Wire (Richard and Linda Thompson);
    The Walk of Life (Dire Straits);
    Walk On (Neil Young)
    Walk Away (Joe Walsh).
    Anyway, Grace:
    maybe you can ease all the time you're walkin by just a little humming or singing of yer musical faves. Beats an Ipod.
    May love abide in your busy days.

    ReplyDelete