Just Saw This

Thought of 9S...maybe it can go on the back of the Champagne of Off-Campus Housing shirts...

like woah

there is mexican food.. there is Dr. Pepper.. and here are my friends.. NZ was sweet, but I am thrilled to be back in the states.. right now I am at home.. gearing up, bonding, visiting, etc then I am headed out to CO on the 19thish... IF you live in Kansas I would love to crash on your floor during the drive.. if not, then hopefully I will see ya soon in CO or who knows.. i hope to catch up with yall soon and chat on the phone or play patty cake or something..anything please..!!.. well i miss you all more than i missed Dr. Pepper so you should feel honored and come stay with me in my trailer park in buena vista, CO.. good creeking, playboating, hiking, and bouldering (so i'm told).. so i dont think any of you would be dissapointed..
smoochies
-nicole

Pirates life for me

Hello all!
Just a little update on what I'm up to these days. I arrived back on the east coast a few weeks ago as I am working this spring for the same group I worked for in the fall. Also Sadie joined the crew for this spring as well and I'm very excited to have her around as we have adventures in the exciting land of Stamford, ct. I don't remember how much I may have have told you guys about this organization in the past so here's a little info on what I'm doing. The organization is a non-profit called Soundwaters and is basically devoted to educating kids and the whole community about Long Island Sound and about what we can all do to promote a healthy environment. There is a small museum/community center on in a park nearby where they have after school programs and all sorts of other stuff and there is also the boat where Sadie and I work and also live (featured in the picture above). School groups typically come for 3 hours and we go out on the sound and have about half the time as a whole group where the kids help us raise the sails and hear general info about the sound and the area. We do a trawl everyday so that we can catch creatures for the kids to look at and we spend the second half of the sail with the kids split up into small groups that then go around the boat to different stations taught by the crew members. Most of the time the stations are environmental like plankton and water cycle kind of stuff and occasionally we do a nautical science based program with stations on navigation and how sailboats work. We also have public sails on the weekends so if anyone finds themselves in the nyc area you should come by!

However for the moment the boat is out of the water for some maintenance so we have been spending our days painting, rust busting and putting things back together that were stored at the end of last season. And since we don't move onto the boat until its in the water we have been staying in a hotel where our dirty/paint covered carhartts have really been fitting in well seeing as how last weekend there was a dance competition (think sparkle motion from donnie darko everywhere you look) and this weekend there are lots of small children really dressed up for what we think may be a beauty pageant. Last weekend the crossword competition was also in town but sadly we missed them as they were at another hotel.

Hope everyone is well. Let me know if anyone is venturing to the east this spring as nyc, boston, and hanover are all relatively close.

fair winds
laura k

Moving On

Good news from the dirty south...

I received word yesterday that I have been accepted to the masters program in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. Vancouver, here I come!

I've been working on this since last summer, putting in time at the UNCA library and drumming up recommendations, all that stuff that depresses you because you feel like a high school senior again. But I was also invigorated by researching things I'm passionate about, and now I'm being given the opportunity to fulfill this dream I came up with sophomore year-- of travelling the world and talking to people about what water and rocks and dirt and trees mean to them. As of now, I plan to focus on water rights and management in the Whistler/Squamish region.

So I'll be moving to Vancouver this fall, and working on my masters for two years. If things go well, I'll keep going for my PhD. I'm gonna be an anthropologist!

Get ready to visit with your skis, bikes, kayaks, and climbing gear. It's on!

New England Freshies!

It would seem from the dumping of snow last week that, contrary to popular belief, New England is allowed to get powdery goodness to ski in from time to time! Tom and I have been out and about in the backcountry and I've been putting some serious tree-skiing practice. Not only that but I discovered today that there is backcountry in my backyard. I was actually able to put on my ski gear at home, walk across the street, skin up a trail, put in some turns after work, and walk back home again. Bwa ha ha!

Happy February everybody! I'll hopefully have more of a life-update sometime soon, when things aren't so crazy.
-nell-

An Open Invitation

Will

This is an open invitation to anyone reading this to come visit me in San Francisco. My new city is damn cool; I live in a house called "The Spark" in a really cool neighborhood with Aekta, Crank, and Hoffturd; and I have ample floor space. I'm even planning to buy an air matress.

I'm making this offer because I got such hospitable treatment from many of you all on my trip across the country. Y'all are awesome!

Shout outs!!!!

to Molly Malone for cooking me a delicious Italian dinner and letting me crash on her futon;
to Merrick for taking me climbing and feeding me the second I walked in the door;
to Nate for taking me on the Coors Tour and offering to let me crash at his parents';
to Laura Jorgensen for showing me the best Thai food in Boulder and the best flip cup skillz on this side of the Mississippi;
to Sara Hellmuth for taking off work working with cute animals to put up with my sarcasm;
to Nick Baum for being Scandanavian and for sharing his friends at a sick party in Tahoe; and lastly
to Potter (and Nick too) for making me feel at home while I was squatting in their living room for 2 weeks.

Seriously, schedule in some time in your year to come visit me (and Dan, et al.)! It's great out here!

Question: Who will win in a fight, colts or bears?

Though it is clear where my loyalties lie for the game this coming Sunday I would like to thank Dan for his support and encourage everyone else to cheer for da bears. We have the superfans, Urlacher, and even the lions outside of the Art Institute are feeling the bears fever.



Bear down Chicago Bears!