Archery
When does a boat list to the side like that? When it has hit a reef.
Today, I spent about 2 hours down at the Olympic Archery Range. It was a lot of fun, and not something that I normally get to do. The Olympic Archery Range is housed inside a large warehouse-type building, in which there is a 30-yard archery range. There are a variety of hay-bales set up on wheels down range; these are the targets. There are also many foam animals set up near the back, those are used for 3-D archery on Wednesday nights. For only $9, you can rent equipment and shoot as much as you want all day. An old man named Ron hangs out there, and gives archery advice to whoever wants it. A few minutes with him, and I drastically improved my aim. I was shooting a 30-pound draw recurve bow with increased accuracy, and it was exciting to watch my arrows come closer and closer to the target.
There were also other people shooting compound bows at targets placed at 20 yards. While with a recurve, you have to shoot off of the feel of your arm, shooting a compound is much more like shooting a rifle. Since the weight of the draw is kept in the pulleys, you can hold your arm steady enough to aim down the sight of the arrow. The fingers never actually touch the bowstring, either, there is a clip that is used to release the arrow. That clip is strapped around your wrist. While it is just another way of shooting an arrow, I must say that there is definitely something a lot more romantic about shooting off the feel of the bow and arrow, rather than of the view of a sight.
Archery is definitely not my strong point, but it is still a lot of fun for me. I honestly can't think of anyone who would not like to pick up a bow and arrow and shoot a few targets. You don't have to be necessarily good at it, it's fun anyway. I've shot quite a few arrows over the years, mostly at summer camps. However, nobody has ever really taught me the proper technique for archery. Most of the instructors I've come across are teenage kids who just happen to be able to shoot somewhat well. Ron, however, knew exactly what he was doing. He's shot for almost 60 years now, and often goes bow-hunting. The biggest thing that I learned today was that you don't shoot off of sight of the arrow, you shoot off the sight of your bow. You literally point with your arm where you want the arrow to go, instead of moving the point of the arrow over that target. Before long, all 5 of my arrows were coming into a reasonably close target area. Hey, I'm still young, who says I may not become the next Olympic Archery Champion?
thinkandrew
P.S. This post marks the 100th post on this blog. That's nearly a third of a year. And this blog has been active for longer than that, since I missed about 5 days of posts in early July. But other than that, I've been blogging for every day since April 19th. I hope you guys have all enjoyed it as much as I have. And I will continue to write.
SSS Curtis - Continued
To reiterate what you may have missed reading yesterday, I spent the last week on the SSS Charles N. Curtis. The Curtis is a 78-foot former Coast Guard Cutter, built in 1931. It was used in Virginia during the Prohibition years to help catch rum-runners, and was moved to the west coast to help defend the pacific coast line during World War 2. It was purchased by the Boy Scouts in the 50's, and was turned into a Sea Scout ship. It's powered by 2 Detroit Diesel Inline Engines, at 225-horsepower each. The ship cruises at about 12 knots, though it has been clocked at up to 17 knots. It can sleep 28 people, though it can take up to 45 when going out for day-trips. It's a great boat, and it's a lot of fun to cruise around on. Everything on the boat is very hands-on, so that people can learn as much about the boat as possible. For example, there are no direct engine controls from the wheel house. The skipper uses one of those old-style telegraph systems, and a person in the engine-room plays throttle jockey all day. It was a great experience, and definitely one of my favorite in my scouting career. And yes, that is a pirate flag on the ship. We flew that after we soaked down another boat in a water-fight, using our 3 fire-hoses.
The ship had three levels in all. Below decks was where the engine room, the bathrooms, and all the most of the quarters were. Not much time was spent down there except when we went to sleep. Some people decided to sleep all day, though, which means they missed out on a lot of fun stuff. On top of the deck, there's the wheel house, officer's quarters, and the galley. On top of the roof of the galley is the third level, where the small skiffs are kept until needed. When the boat was anchored, we had the chance to jump off the top of the boat. We spent a good 5 minutes standing up there staring at the water until we finally jumped in, and when we did, most of us swam straight back to the ladder. The water is pretty darn cold; the sun doesn't heat up much more than the first three inches. Your head an shoulders feel pretty good while swimming around, but the tips of your toes start to feel tingly the moment you get in.
We went swimming from the shore, too, which presented an opportunity for an in-the-water wrestling match. A note: never try to wrestle someone who is 4 years older than you, weighs 60 pounds more than you do, is 12 inches taller than you, and was on a wrestling team for 2 years. It doesn't bode well for you.
Of course, when you dock in at port, there's plenty of time for other activities. While docked at Roche Harbor, me and my friends went swimming at the local resort. The pool was pretty small, and only three and a half feet deep. However, it was nice to be able to swim around in fresh water and not worry about the salt in our hair. We spent about 2 hours in there, then we got out. In the evening, a local troupe of actors put on a free play in the park; "The Merchant of Venice". They had an interesting interpretation of the play, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It went on for about 2 hours, but it passed by quite fast. It was as good as watching any movie, though usually, movie theaters aren't quite as cold. I had remembered to bring a sleeping bag with me, but everyone around me didn't. I ended up sharing for most of the night. While we went swimming, shopping, and watching plays, other people found plenty of time for other activities. Members of the ship's crew bird-watched for about an hour. Birds in khaki pants. With long blonde hair.
Roche Harbor was definitely a very interesting place. I saw elderly people walking around with canes, walkers, and even the little motor-scooters. Never in my life, though, did I expect to see this. That thing has 125 cc's!!!
thinkandrew
Trip on the SSS Curtis
I just got back from my trip on the SSS Charles N. Curtis. I spent 7 days on it, while cruising around the San Juan Islands. It was a lot of fun, though spending 6 nights on a 78-foot cutter with 28 people can be quite an experience. We did all sorts of things around the island, from swimming, to hiking, to working in an engine room, and even watching "The Merchant of Venice", performed by a non-profit actor's association.
We left from the Port of Anacortes, and visited a total of 5 different islands. Friday Harbor was a lot of fun, where we visited the Whale Museum, an ice-cream parlor, and the shower house. The showers were probably the most welcome, as it was the first one available in 4 days. Friday Harbor was also where we restocked on supplies, though the carts that we used to move the groceries down the docks were occasionally mis-used.
We spent time on Sucia Island, as well, where water carved monoliths of stone appeared at low tide. The entire harbor was lined with sandstone, and it was slowly eaten away at by the flowing water. In fact, the currents had carved out caves in the walls, some of which were used to hide illegal liqour during the Prohibition.
All in all, the entire trip was a lot of fun. Many things happened, and it was one of the best Boy Scout trips I have ever been on. I'll elaborate tomorrow.
thinkandrew
P.S. Thanks to my family for updating my blog for me when I was gone. Everything before this post and after the 23rd was not written by me.
Cycling
I went on a 15 mile bike ride today. The Boy Scout Cycling merit badge requires two ten-mile bike rides, two fifteen-mile bike rides, two twenty-five-mile bike rides and a fifty-miler. I've already gone on the two ten-milers and a fifteen-miler, so I decided to complete the second fifteen-mile bike ride.
We started the bicycle ride from Capital Lake, and rode into town. We rode up 4th Avenue and turned onto Boulevard Drive. We hung a left on to 18th, which eventually led to the Western-Chehalis Trail. We then rode that trail south a couple miles, and followed Yelm Highway back to the lake.
The bike ride actually wasn't difficult at all. I was surprised that I didn't feel tired, considering we biked nearly non-stop for more than an hour. I usually detest exercise of any sort, and was surprised that I didn't feel as tired as I thought I would. The trickiest part of the entire bike ride was actually dodging traffic downtown. Although most roads had a separate bike lane, the streets downtown did not. Most drivers around here are quite courteous, but it was still a little nerve-wracking having to ride along-side the other cars.
We made it home in one piece, albeit a little tired. The next ride will have to be twenty-five miles! Hopefully it won't be too exhausting.
Music in the Park
During the summer, the Olympia Downtown Association holds weekly free concerts in Sylvester park. They get local companies and businesses to sponsor the different performing groups. There's usually a pretty good variety of music. The Olympia Symphony plays a concert for
Music in the Park every year. There are also country bands, big bands, as well as jazz bands that come play.
The setting is very informal. The band sets up their instruments and audio equipment in a gazebo in the middle of the park. They usually have big speakers to amplify the sound throughout the park. One can hear the music from a block away. People bring chairs and blankets and just sit on the grass, enjoying the music. Occasionally, people even get up and dance. Peoplep come and go as they please. As I said, it's pretty informal.
Last night, dad and I stopped by the park to watch the concert. A band called "DB and the Coupers" was playing funky jazz. Their band consisted of a drummer, an electric bassist, a keyboard player, and a saxophone player. They were pretty good; their set included a couple original tunes, as well as funky arrangements of well-known standards like
Summertime. The saxophone player proved to be quite versatile. A couple times during the set, he switched to the flute. Personally, I think he played the sax better, though.
Olympia's music scene is alive and well. Although there are plenty of big conerts, there are also a number community music programs, such as Music in the Park. Large concert halls certainly have their place, but sometimes itt's nice to be able to attend a concert without having to worry about dress code, showing up on time, or leaving if it gets boring.
Cool Is In
If I had to stand under the sun for more than twelve hours a day, I would fry too. With no shade, no shelter except a layer of epidermis, what can a few root hair suck in to replenish the life sustaining moisture that the sun is vigorously draining away? I am glad I have feet that can carry me into shades when it gets hot outside.
It was comfortably and characteristically cool in the 70’s in the beginning of the week. The weather forecast warned about the impending heat later in the week. Sure enough, the next day the temperature got up to the 85F. The following day, the temperature broke 90F. It shot up to 101F before dipping slightly to 95F two days later. Not only was the day time temperature hot, the worse thing is that the temperature stayed high at night. There was no breeze and room temperature stayed above 80Fat night. It was impossible to sleep. Fortunately we have a basement in our house. The temperature was a whole 15 degrees cooler in the basement. We all camped down in the basement for three days. Today, thank God, we are at a very comfortable 74F at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Some people prepare for the rainy days, we prepare for the warm weather days. Our fridge is filled with food we could eat cold, or easily warmed up in the microwave. How could anyone cook when the temperature in the house is in the upper 80’s? We had salads, cold noodles, chilled fruits, lots of ice tea, ice water and lots of ice cream.
The small heat wave we had this past week is something we endure every summer. We are blessed to be in the northwest coast. The weather is normally very mild, summer stays cool and winter stays moderate. It hardly gets too cold or too hot, and even when it does, it ends quickly. We don’t have air-conditioning in the house. We seldom have more than a few days of above 90 degree temperature. Some summer days are so cool we have to wear long sleeves.
We supposedly get a lot of rain, but they all fall in the winter. We get next to zero rainfall in the summer. The plants really suffer when the temperature rises. If we don’t water often, the leaves turn crispy, which describe our lawn now. We normally just let our lawn “go to sleep” each summer. They come back lush when the autumn rain starts anyway.
The Green Mile
Swimming has always been one of my strongest skills. I've been swimming for quite a few years now. When I was five years old, we were living in Malaysia, and my family taught me how to swim. The pool wasn't that deep; but then again, I was really small. My family treaded water to make it seem as if the pool was really quite shallow (I might add that I didn't have goggles). I began to get better and better until, at Christmas, my family gave me a pair of goggles. I was naturally excited and immediately hopped into the pool. Big mistake. Once I saw how deep the pool was, I completely freaked out and forgot how to swim. I had to relearn how to swim. It still makes me laugh when I think about it.
Last week, I was at our troop Boy Scout summer camp at Camp Fife when an opportunity to do the Mile Swim showed up. I've been meaning to do the Mile Swim and have been training for the past four months...
Gosh, that water was cold. I shiver even now when I think about it. The counselors told me the water was about 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Out of two hundred and fifty kids in the camp only two other kids besides me came out for the Mile Swim. The sun was setting at the time. It spilled out beautiful waves of golden light onto the shimmering lake. Who knew what lay in wait below the surface? I saw three canoes spotting us; dad was on one of them. The moment I jumped into the lake, I immediately started shivering. I tried not to put my head in the water since it was so cold. Dad kept on telling me to swim a proper breaststroke. Eventually I did and when I did, I wished I wasn't wearing my goggles.
Now, if you are afraid of heights, going into that cold lake and staring into that dark green abyss is NOT for you. The water was really quite clear. It's just that looking down 120 feet really shocks you at how deep it is. I couldn't even see the bottom. I tried not to think of what might lurk down there. I forced myself to keep looking forward. Memories of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 didn't quite help me erase images of the great Kracken. It was a nasty feeling. It got even creepier when at the last quarter mile, the water turned warm. I could almost feel the tentacles inches away from my legs about to yank me in.
I was exhausted but somehow managed to clamber onto the docks. It was quite painful, because there was a big nub on the dock and slamming your stomach into it isn't the best thing to do. I emerged from the water feeling quite victorious. I surprised myself too that I could swim non-stop for 45 minutes. I am very happy that I completed the Mile Swim.
Caleb
Pho
We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called “Pho 38” in Tacoma for dinner today. It’s really similar to “Pho Hoa”, another Vietnamese restaurant in Olympia that serves
pho, a kind of noodle dish served with beef broth and meatballs. Customers have the option of having different cuts of meat with their soup as well. Pho Hoa is one of our family’s favorite restaurants. We used to go a couple times a month, though we haven’t gone in a while now.
One of the reasons we like Pho so much is probably how similar it is to
koay teow t’ng, a Malaysian soup and noodles dish we had often in KL.
Pho, like
koay teow, is made of rice flour, albeit thinner in shape, and a little more resilient in texture. Since there are no
kopitiam (Malaysian hawker stalls) around here, we go to Pho Hoa.
Anyway, we were in Tacoma today, when dad suddenly had a craving for
pho, so we stopped at Pho 38. Unlike Pho Hoa, however, Pho 38 actually has more than just pho on their menu. They also have a healthy selection of Korean and Chinese dishes as well. Their menu is even printed in Vietnamese, English, and Korean. Their Korean dishes included a few different kinds of
bibimpbap, a Korean rice dish. I ordered a “Chicken
yakisoba”, (Japanese for “fried noodles”), which was for some reason put under the Chinese section of the menu. The portions were a little larger than I expected, but the food was delicious.
Capitol Lakefair
Capitol Lakefair is held ever year, right here in downtown Olympia. It lasts for one whole week, and thousands of people show up every year to participate. Things to do range from live music, to merchant booths, to parades, and even to the many and varied rides. You could easily spend a whole day at Lakefair, and if you're not careful, spend away your whole wallet full of money, too. Things at the fair aren't exactly the cheapest things in the world.
To participate in any rides or games, you must purchase tickets, of which each cost $.50. The minimum purchase is $20, so you'll end up with 40 tickets. Every ride costs about 7 tickets, and the games hover around 4. While the rides are a whole lot of fun, I tend to stick more to the games as that way, I can have something to show for at the end of the day. Between yesterday and the day before, I brought back a movie poster, a stuffed dog, and a stuffed fish. They weren't terribly difficult to win, but it was kind of fun to get them. I got the poster by throwing a dart at a poster. Nope, not hard. I got the dog by throwing a dart at a balloon, which wasn't hard either. I think the main draw for that game, though, was that there's supposedly a $50 bill hidden inside one of those balloons. And if I hit it, I get to keep it. While probability tells me that my chances of getting it are next to zero, my head tells me that it's worth a shot. And hey, I got a stuffed dog, so it wasn't a total loss. The fish was a bit more fun to win, as I had to compete against 3 other people for it. A spout of water would come out, and it would move back and forth. Using a joystick, I had to be the first person to fill a jug by using it to follow to water. I barely won, and it was pretty exciting when I did.
I'm not a terribly huge fan of fair rides, but I do enjoy them when I get the chance to go on them. I can't spend too much time on them at once, though, otherwise I start feeling kind of weird in my stomach. I've never really felt very uncomfortable on a ride, but when I go on one that's really fast, it makes me feel like I want to burp, but it won't really come out. It can be kind of annoying. The 3 rides that I went on all involved spinning at very high speeds, and 2 of them involved going upside down. With ominous names such as "The Zipper", "Cyclotron 2000", and "The Twister", I don't think I need to elaborate much further. It was definitely fun, but I don't think that I'll be going on any more of them for a while.
One big tip for Lakefair, though. Bring your own food and water. Many people don't bring any, and vendors there capitalize off of that mistake. A mere bottle of water can put you back a dollar or more, whereas a good ice-cream cone can be as much as $2.50. I was craving a nice big ear of corn the whole time I was there, but the $4 price tag made me feel sicker in my gut than "The Zipper" did. So, (most of) my money stayed in my pocket, and I made myself happy with a granola bar. The chocolate bars that I brought were a mistake, because they melted and messed all over the inside of my backpack. So, don't bring chocolate either, because you won't enjoy it. But please try to enjoy the fair.
thinkandrew
Sleeping Arrangements
I often hear of younger scouts having trouble sleeping in 2 man tents. It's not because it's in the outdoors, or the bumpy ground, the flying critters, or even the snoring adults in the tent next to yours. It's because it's a 2 man tent. And by definition, 2 man tents have 2 people in them. For people who have grown up living in their own room all their lives, it can be very difficult for them to sleep with someone pressing up on their side. All the more so if your tent partner is a roller, in which case he will invariably end up on top of you sometime near 3 a.m. Then, you'll be continuously forced to shove him off, but to no avail. In the morning, your face will be read, it will be difficult to breath, and it will be so warm underneath him that your fingers start turning a nice golden brown. Just kidding. Tent partners are very easy to work with, and by right, you should have no trouble with one at all. Even if you've had your own room for all your life.
I've never had my own room until we moved here to the US 2 years ago. I have two other brothers, and we always shared a room together. We had a bunk-bed with a slide out trundle underneath, and sleeping arrangements were usually decided by who got there first. Most of the time, I would opt for the middle, when my older brother slept on the top. My younger brother slept on the bottom, but when he wasn't there, I was quick to pick that spot, as it was underneath the air-conditioner. We had two bureaus in our room, both of which had three drawers. We each would get assigned two drawers for our clothes, toys, and other miscellaneous junk. That system worked really well for many many years. We used that system for over 9 years, I believe. I don't see why any other children can't live with it. In some places, whole families live together like that. We're already lucky to have our own bedroom at all. Sure, people like privacy, but do you really need that much privacy from your family?
But now, I have my own room. I must admit that it grows on you really fast. Nobody complains about moving their stuff, or if you spread all your own stuff around. (Until mom comes in and sees the equivalent to the aftermath of Katrina, that is.) I can sleep with the window opened or closed, and I can turn the fan on or off. If I had a fan, that is. It can be nice to have the freedom to spread your junk around just the way you please. However, if need be, I have no aversion to grabbing all my bedding, and camping a few nights in either my brothers' or parents' rooms. This normally happens when we have house-guests, as my room usually ends up being the guest-room. It's not always because I am evicted that I go to sleep in my brother's room, though. Recently, it's been so hot up on the top floor that it was more comfortable to just go sleep in the basement. It must be 20 degrees cooler down there. My parents' room has a ceiling fan in it, so sometimes I'll go sleep in there. My dad's snoring can cause insomnia, but the trick is to go to bed before he does. And if I happen to snore, that's not my problem.
Tenting is really no different. He has his side of the tent, and I have mine. Everything is fine, as long as he doesn't roll around too much or shoves all his junk onto my side. And remember, the trick is to fall asleep before he does. It works every time.
thinkandrew
Beat the Heat
It was pretty warm today. In fact, it was as warm as it has got around here for a long while. We broke the 100 degree mark at our house today, and things were baking quite a bit. The heat normally doesn't bother me that much, and I don't mind ambient heat that much at all. However, with the sun beating down over head, it can be quite difficult to stand.
I was out this entire afternoon in the sun, as I was volunteering with the Union Gospel Mission at Capitol Lakefair. Capitol Lakefair is a yearly fair that happens right in downtown Olympia, lasting for a week. I was at the UGM booth selling cold drinks and tortilla wraps. While I think we only sold about 4 wraps in the entire 3 hours that I was there, we must've sold 20 cold drinks. When you're just sitting there for hours, the heat can really get to you. Your body absorbs all the heat, and it's almost impossible to make it escape. People just sit there like warm lumps, with sweat dripping off of their foreheads. You can almost see the heatwaves coming off of people. It's like watching hot buns that just came out of the oven. Near the end of my 3 hour shift, I went around the fair while carrying a large bucket full of ice and drinks. In just 15 minutes, I sold 8 drinks. People were very quick to buy. Water by far outsold soda, which kind of makes sense. When it's so warm, water quenches your thirst much better. Soda is good too, but when your mouth is so dry, the soda sort of leaves a sticky feeling with which you have to live with all day. We ran out of water quite fast, though, and it wasn't until then that we started selling soda.
As I walked through the fair, I quickly noticed that almost every patch of shade had someone sitting under it. People sat under trees, next to the walls of buildings, there were even people trying to sit under the shadows of lamp-posts. It definitely helped, as then the sun wasn't shining directly down onto you. The air itself may not be that hot, but when you're right under the sun's rays, that's when you can really start burning. Almost everyone I saw had a nice clean line between red and white on all of their arms. I, however, went to the fair wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a wide-brimmed hat. You won't catch me with any sunburn.
Capitol Lakefair can be really unpredictable. Last year, it was overcast for almost the whole fair. A drizzle was coming down for most of the days, and it was around the mid 70's for the whole week. This year, most people would give the shirt off of their back. Not because it's a generous thing to do, it'd just help cool them off. Many people would pay anything for rain right about now. But it's supposed to cool off tomorrow. Meaning that it'll be 95, instead of 102. But if we're lucky, it might go lower. And if it doesn't Lakefair ends on Sunday anyway, so we don't have to worry about it much longer.
thinkandrew
Old Friends
Kopachuck State Park, WA
I meant to post this photo yesterday, but Flickr had a spasmodic crash and prevented me from accessing their website.
We had some very very old friends come and visit us today. We knew them when we lived in Maine, and the last time we saw them was 5 years ago. It has been a tremendous amount of time since we have come in contact at all, and it was wonderful to be able to meet up. They stopped here on their way up to Alaska, where they would be taking a family vacation. We spent about 2 hours in the morning just talking and recollecting. It brought up a whole bunch of memories that had been in the back shelves for a long time, and it was a lot of fun to have the chance to blow the dust off of them. Then we went off for lunch together, and then it was time for them to leave. What was almost 4 hours together barely felt like 1. An unthinkable amount of time could have been spent just visiting, to recall everything that we had been through together, and to have fun again. We met them in the early 90's, before I turned 5. So we really have known each other for a very very long time. They were already missed the moment they left our house. As sorely missed as when we first moved away from the US 11 years ago. But hopefully we'll be able to get together again.
Old friends are people to be greatly appreciated. There are not many people in this world who can boast that they've known someone for all their lives. To have grown up with someone, stay friends with someone, and even grow old with someone is something to behold. A great camaraderie is built up, and you know that you'll know that person forever. I know some people who's
parents grew up together, and now their kids are friends as well. They are incredibly lucky to be able to have such a relationship. I, having moved around much more than they have, do not have such an experience. I'm not saying that I'm deprived. I have plenty of friends, and am appreciative of each and every one. However, it would be wonderful to be able to know someone for all my life. The oldest friends I have, of my own age, I've only known for about 5 years. 5 years is definitely considerable, but since we've moved, I've heard less and less from them. We ARE on the other side of the world, after all.
But what irks me is that it seems that people that are fortunate enough to have wonderful relationships with people never seem to realize it. Sure, they're happy together, but life just sort of cruises by them and they take for granted the fact that they'll always be friends. I've been great friends with people before. But when we moved away, bam! I never hear from them again. People don't seem to realize that every moment that you can spend with someone is special, that you may never have the chance again. Once again, I'm not saying that I would have preferred not to move. I enjoy the fact that we have traveled all around the world, and have gained much from it. I do wish, though, that I could have stayed friends with some people that I have lost. Fortunately, I live in the age of the internet. It's possible for me to start entire relationships through the 'net, and never actually see that person in the flesh. But somehow, it's never really quite the same.
I think you understand what I'm trying to say here. And now, I'm going off to IM some of my friends. Because I want them to know that I appreciate them.
thinkandrew
Piano Tuning, Window Washing, and Juggling
Today was one of those rare summer days where a lot of things actually got done. I'm not terribly lazy when summer comes around, but it can be enjoyable to just sit around and do nothing. I normally do get something done everyday, whether it's mowing the lawn or continuing to strip the piano. However, today was a day where I finished a lot of things.
This morning, Mr. Sowers of
Pianova Professional Piano Services came by to tune our piano. It was long overdue, and we probably should have had our piano tuned more recently. However, being so out of tune did not slow down Mr. Sowers at all. It was as simple to tune to him as any other piano is to tune. It did not take him very long, only about 2 hours to actually tune the piano. He spent a lot of time explaining to me exactly what he was doing, though, which I appreciated very much. It's quite fascinating, to see watch someone tune a piano. He was constantly striking notes, comparing one against the other, until they were all perfect. Then he'd go over them again, checking them against one another, just to make sure that everything was just right. It is a lot of work to properly tune a piano. It is definitely no easy task. I always say that pianists are the laziest of all musicians, because they are the only ones who do not tune their own instruments. It takes a lot of training to become a skilled piano technician. When Mr. Sowers finished, he did a very fine job. The piano sounded better then it had ever sounded in months.
After he left, mom decided that we should wash the windows. It's been long overdue as well, we haven't washed them since we got them installed almost 9 months ago. While they looked relatively clean when it was not very bright outside, you could clearly see a thick layer of dirt once the sun shone through it. When the sunlight came down at the right angle, the dust and dirt layer reflected the light in a way that you couldn't even see through the window. It took a lot of scrubbing to finally get the windows somewhat-clean. Even now, they still have some water-stains on them. Not being able to reach the outside of second floor windows, we had to resort to less than orthodox methods to clean them. First of all, I would remove the screens so that the glass would be exposed. Then, from the bottom floor, mom would pull up the garden house and give them a good rinsing. I would follow up with a good scrubbing, and a wiping off with a long-handled squeedgee. Not when from the bottom floor, mind you. It's too difficult to properly squeedgee a window from ten feet below. No, I removed one side of the window and washed that inside the house. To wash the other side of the window, I would sit on the sill, and lean out about 3 feet so that I could reach to the far end of the window. I managed to clean it without incident, meaning that I didn't fall out. At least mom was watching from below, so she could've broken my fall if I had indeed lost my balance. Most of the dirt has now been removed, but I'm pressing mom to go to a hardware store and pick up some of the foaming spray type window cleaners. They seem to get the job done a lot better.
I have also decided that I would like to learn how to juggle. While not exactly a very useful skill, it can be quite a bit of fun. It also brings about impressed gasps and expressions whenever it is performed infront of people. But first I have to learn how to juggle. Mom picked up a juggling book and three juggling balls from a garage sale, and they've been pretty helpful. I understand the basic technique of juggling, which is to toss up the next ball into the air just as the first one reaches the crest of its arch. However, it's perfecting that that can be very difficult. When I reach up to grab the ball that is coming down off of its arch, it is very counter-intuitive to continue and toss up the one that is already in my hand. It can be downright confusing. The biggest problem, though, is keeping my throws consistant. A proper throw would land the ball from one hand into the other. My throws, however, require me to run around the room, chasing the ball. I need to find a smaller room to practice in, one with a slanted floor so that the balls will roll back to me. With balls flying everywhere, I slowly got better. It's pretty hard, and can only come about with lots of practice. I've gotten to seven consecutive throws now, so I'm definitely progressing. And never throw it up and backwards. You can hit someone on the head.
thinkandrew
Death by Spicy Food
I almost died at the hands of another today. I was an innocent man, yet my life was being snatched away from me. I gasped as I realized that someone else's hands were on my life, and I quickly turned around it and reached out to snatch it back. I managed to grab a hold of it, and wrestled it back. I looked up at my assailant, and was completely taken aback. It was my mother. A grin came to my face. "Again, mom? You put too much chili in the noodles
again?" Seriously, you can die from too much chili. It burns your heart out.
I'll be the first to say that my mom is a great cook. After all, isn't that the duty of all children everywhere? I enjoy everything that is put before me on the table, and I always eat as much as I can. However, mom has been known to have some slip-ups with the chili-bottle. I'll also be the first to say that I love spicy food. Any kind of spicy food. Curries, fried-noodles, even tofu, you name it. Chilis go with almost anything. We frequently use two different types of chili sauce at home. The first kind is
Sriracha Chili Sauce, which comes in a large red bottle that has a green nozzle on the top. This is the kind that we mix into almost anything, especially noodles and tofu. It has a very heavy garlic taste, and is our all-around favorite chili. Another one of our favorites is
this kind, who's name literally means "Old Grandmother". Maybe it's someone's grandmother's secret-recipe. It consists of deep-fried chili-flakes, and is guaranteed to heat your mouth out, as well as sterilize the first 5 millimeters of the inside of your mouth.
I also love curries. Mom usually cooks up a huge pot, with either fish, beef, or chicken in the spicy broth. This, we dole out over heaping piles of steaming white rice. It is very tasty, and leaves the whole house smelling wonderful for a long time. When we lived in Malaysia, eating curries was a joy. There are many Indian-operated road-side restaurants in Malaysia. These are called mamak-stalls, and they serve Indian breads, as well as a buffet of sorts. This buffet is normally a plate of rice and a large selection of vegetables, meats, and lots and lots of curries. At any given restaurant, there are probably 8 different varieties of curries being served. There are spicy and non-spicy curries, vegetarian curries, beef curries, chicken curries, fish curries, and even lamb curries. All of them are good, and it's sometimes very difficult to choose which one you want. Myself, I am partial to fish and lamb curries. Those are definitely my favorites. Especially when the fish curry has ocra in it. The ocra soaks up all of the broth into itself, so that when you bite down onto it, the broth all squirts out in a great burst of flavor.
It's always a joy to see mom cooking with chili-sauces. It usually means that we're in for a very enjoyable meal. There was one time, though, where we had picked up a bottle of chili-sauce that wasn't really that great. It wasn't that it was bad, we just didn't like it as much as the others. However, the bottle was still half-full, and we couldn't bear to throw it away. Okay, mom thought, I'll just put in a whole bunch into this tofu that I'm cooking right now, and we can use it up faster. A whole bunch turned into the whole half-of-the-bottle. The whole half-of-the-24-ounce-bottle. Needless to say, finishing that tofu became quite a chore for us. I believe it took us nearly a week to finish off all of it. But at least we finished the bottle of chili-sauce.
When it's done right, though, spicy-food is something to behold. It is definitely one of my favorite classes of foods, and it's what I always reach for first when food is placed before me. It heats up your mouth, clears your sinuses, and threatens numb lips for the rest of the day, but I still love it. It's positively delicious to eat.
Gameplay
I've been playing a lot of games recently. I've been playing quite a wide variety of them, ranging from board games, to card games, to computer games. Games are a great way to have fun with others, and now that it's summer time, I have more time to play them. Now that I have more time to play them, I hope that I actually get better at them. I'm not exactly the best game player in the world.
I played 2 games of Sequence with mom today, and 3 games of Chinese Chess with my brother. I think that out of those 5 games, I only won once. I don't really play games often enough or seriously enough to get quite a bit better at them. At least that when I played my computer game on the internet, I beat all of my opponents. It feels pretty good to blow something up when I just lost at chess for the third time in a row.
Short post today, I'm making up for the extra-long one yesterday.
thinkandrew
Free Food
There is a saying, which goes: "There is no such thing as a free lunch". In most instances, I would agree with it. Nothing can really be "free" in this world, that's just the way that it works. A "free" cellphone requires that you sign up for a service-plan, a "free" gift requires that you subscribe for a magazine, and even "free" iPods off the internet require that you sign up for at least 3 different credit-cards. Today, however, I came across one of the rare instances in this world where something comes as close as possible to being truly free. I'm talkin' about Sunday's slew of free samples.
I love free samples. (From now on, when I mention free samples, I'm talking about food. They're by far the most common, and usually the most worthwhile.) They're wonderful things. It's like getting a present that you didn't expect, when people hand you food. I always look out for them when I'm in the grocery store, and always rush for the first little stand that I can see sitting in an aisle. The only place that gives out free food samples here is Costco, but Carrefour gave out samples when we were in Malaysia. Costco's are by far better, though, judging by the facts that a), the servings are bigger, b), the food is tastier, and c), there's always at least one stand open. Through my searches for free food, I quickly learned that the stands that had either an open bag of tortilla chips or the ones with microwaves usually have the best food. I also learned that Sunday is the day that free samples are most abundant, and you can easily eat an entire lunch there.
I classify free samples into four different catagories. In a jar, frozen, bottled, and microwaved. The jar-ed stuff is usually the stuff that gets served with tortilla chips. Most of it is pretty good, though they're not always my favorite. The free samples that come out of jars are things such as spreads, salsas, and dips. The spreads tend to be a little funky, so I don't head toward those with a passion like I do with other goodies. Salsas are usually quite tasty, though. Dips are by far the best. Today, there was an especially tasty dip. I don't remember what it was called, what it looked like, or really anything about it, other than the fact that it was tasty.
The frozen goods are things like ice-cream and other frozen desserts. These are not served very often, as they tend to melt on the table while customers walk by. I did get some vanilla ice-cream today, though, and it was quite nice. Bottled goods means almost any kind of drinks, juices of which are the most predominant. Almsot anytime there are free samples, juice is among them. It can be canned juice, frozen juice, or even freshly-squeezed juice. Mostly it tends to be orange or some fruit-mix. They're nice to slightly quench your thirst, as they're always served nice and chilled. They tend to be a little sweet, though.
By far the best class of all free samples is the microwaved class. Microwaved free samples are so good, that they should be in a category of their own. If microwaved food was a hurricane, it'd be a cat-5. (My bad metaphor for the day.) If you ever see a microwave sitting on a small table in Costco, immediately make a bee-line for it. They serve anything from teriyaki-chicken breasts to stuffed-burritos, spinach and cheese ravioli to sliced hamburger patties. It's all wonderful food, and it's mostly wonderfully filling. Today, I was fortunate enough to have a whole variety of microwaved foods. I ate so much that I had to cut back on my dinner. There were burritos, hamburger, chicken, beef and lettuce wraps, and even apple-onion sausages. Out of all of them, I must say that I liked the burritos the best. Imagine your medium-sized burrito, and then slice out an inch thick cross-section. That's how big the servings were. It came hot out of the microwave, and straight into my mouth. I savored every bite of it, and even went back for seconds. If you love such food though, be prepared to wait for it. Microwaved, being the best kind of free sample, is usally the food that has the longest line in front of it. You may be there for as long as five minutes, but it's definitely worth the wait.
I have proved now that there is actually such a thing as a free lunch. And it's really tasty too. Stop by at your neighborhood grocery-store today!
thinkandrew
Itchy Scratchy
This morning, I went and volunteered for three hours at Watershed Park in Olympia. The Olympia Parks Department holds volunteer work parties just about every weekend during the summer, all of which last for about 3 hours in various parks around town. This time, at Watershed Park, we were pulling out English Ivy. English Ivy is a non-native invasive species, which can overtake native plants and completely cover the ground within a few years. It has even been known to climb up trees and choke them to death. Brought over from Europe for use in ornamental gardens (it is rather pretty when it's not on a rampaging path of doom), it quickly escaped and started growing all over. It's quite obnoxious to local plants, and thus, it needs to be pulled. We spent all three hours pulling up the ivy, and we filled up half of a pickup truck. All in all, it was a very good three hours spent. We got a lot of work done, and the park benefited. However, now that I'm home, I'm ferverently scratching all over.
I did remember to spray on bug-repellant, but oviously, I missed a few spots. Mostly on my elbows and forehead, actually. The park we were working in had sort of a swampy area, where skunk-cabbage, horse-tails, and various amphibious creatures grew. It also happens to be a prime mosquito growing land. The whole time we were there, there was a swarm of them floating right above our heads. I was mostly protected, wearing a hat, long pants, and spotty bug-repellant. I probably should've worn long sleeves, but the thought of bugs didn't really occur to me. I regret the spotty application of bug repellant, too, because I now have a welt on the middle of my forehead the size of a quarter. If I don't scratch for a long time, it sort of stops itching. If I accidentally brush it though, the itching comes back with a vengeance. Argh!
Another reason that I regret not wearing long-sleeves is the stinging nettle. The nettle has a nasty little habit of violently stinging anything that brushes up against it. Being by far one of the most annoying plants in the park, we were not allowed to pull it, as it was native. For the most part, I was able to stay away from it. It's quite distinctive, and it's very easy to recognize. Fortunately for us, most of the ivy grew quite far away from the nettle. However, every once in a while, I would be greeted by a searing heat in my bare arm, letting me know that there was a nettle that wanted to be friends with me. It would itch like crazy for a while, but then it would subside. The swelling would go away just as fast too. Even though the effects were not long-lasting, it's definitely a plant that I would have liked to pluck from the roots.
So now, I sit at the computer while trying not to touch any sensitive areas that could break out in itchiness. I've succeeded for a few hours now, and I hope to continue succeeding. I guess I should probably go apply some hydrocortisone, too. That might help.
thinkandrew
The News
I was scanning through CNN's website today, to get a sense of current events. That's when I spied a link to this video on their front page. Thinking the name "Diet Coke + Mentos = $$$" rather interesting, I clicked on it. And the video completely blew me away. Found on EepyBird.com, they have provided a text with which I can link their video to my blog. Enjoy!
But really, I was on CNN to read the latest news about the Middle East conflict. It's going on right now, and we're watching history in the making. I'm going back to the TV now, to watch a live broadcast.
Lovin' Camping, except for one thing
I love camping. I love almost everything about camping. Going out into the wilderness, "communing with nature", getting up before 6 in the morning, all of it really appeals to me. It's a great experience, being able to live a simpler life, even if it's only for a few days. But a simpler life is not always enjoyable. I said just now that I love almost everything about camping. Almost is the key word. There's one thing that definitely detracts from the camping experience. Hygiene.
Hygiene is not very difficult at home. Many people shower once a day. However, hygiene can be quite difficult to maintain while in the wilderness. And I'll try to be tactful about the way that I talk about it. When you have to answer to *ahem* nature's call, there's no plumbing. I have no problem with stepping into the woods, but when it comes to digging a hole, it starts to get a little uncomfortable. Fortunately for me, I have yet to come across an area where all "human-waste" must be packed out with you. If you're really fortunate, the camping spot you're at will have a pit-toilet. That's about as much plumbing as you're going to get when you go camping in the back-country. It's better than having to dig a hole. Just remember to hold your breath when you walk in.
Bathing is not very easy either. Many campers carry the antibacterial toilettes, and those are somewhat effective. However, those do not seem to remove the dirt. At least it's sanitary dirt. On the trip to the Enchanted Valley, we were camped right next to the Quinault River. Thus, I was able to sort of give myself a rub-down in the cold water, and I was able to stay reasonably clean for the entire trip. Most camping stores also sell biodegradable soap for any washing uses, and I myself have just bought a bottle. Hopefully, at Philmont, water will be abundant enough that I can give myself frequent baths. In fact, near the end of our trip, we will be camping at about 4 different spots that have running water and showers.
Living with cat-holes and pit-toilets is something that you can very quickly get used to. Sure, it can be uncomfortable at first, but you learn to live with it. Being able to have a bath is nice, at most of the time, you will have the chance. However, the biggest peeve for personal hygiene while camping for me, is brushing my teeth. I currently have orthodontic braces, and food gets stuck in them all the time. It can really be a pain to properly take care of your teeth while camping. If you don't brush, your teeth turn yellow, your breath starts to smell, and your mouth will constantly have that just-woke-up feeling. It's certainly one that I can live without. Your toothbrush never really has the chance to dry after you brush, and living in a small plastic bag for a week can make it start to go a little funky. That's one of the reasons why I'm going to be carrying two toothbrushes when I go to Philmont. Seriously, there has to be a better way to maintain oral hygiene while in the back-country.
thinkandrew
Fundraising
Maple Leaves
I have a headache right now. It's not a terribly bad headache, but it's enough to make it difficult for me to think of anything to blog right now. It's in the front part of my head, but it feels like it's coming from the inside. It's throbbing pretty good right about now, maybe I've been staring at a computer screen for too long.
I went to our Troop Committee meeting tonight, to endorse the idea of selling popcorn as a fundraiser for this year. Selling popcorn is a nationally held event, with tens of thousands of scouts across the US selling it. There are over 10 different varieties to choose from, and millions of dollars are sold each year. And out of those millions of dollars, 30% goes straight to the scout's account. Another 36% goes to his unit, and the rest goes back to the company that manufactures the popcorn. It's a really good deal, and I was really impressed by how much my little brother made last year when he sold it. He sold over $1,200, just walking door to door!
And what did our troop sell last year? Christmas wreaths. And out of a hundred and thirty scouts, we only sold about 800. Last year, we sold 991! People just don't seem that interested in buying wreaths. For some reason, they all seem much more receptive to popcorn. That's why I'm pushing for our troop to sell it this year. It's a great opportunity, and it's really easy to make a whole lot of money.
Fundraisers are definitely essential to an organization like our troop. Being non-profit, there has to be a way for us to make money to support ourselves. The money earned through fundraisers goes to support camping trips, the purchases of badges and awards, summer camps, and various other things. And most of the time, the scouts have been very good about working with these fundraisers. But it can be difficult to find just the right fundraiser. Like I said, the wreath sales seem to be slowing down. They tried a coffee fundraiser this year, but it didn't work out very well. And I'm sure nobody wants to see another jar of cookie dough or another magazine subscription. But for some reason, the consumers seem very drawn to Boy Scout popcorn. I guess they can already identify with it, kind of like Girl Scout cookies. Even though scouts have been selling popcorn for years and years, people are still willing to buy it. I came across one man who said he buys popcorn from every Boy Scout he sees, and he has 6 boxes in his pantry from last year!
So, the committee meeting went well, and they gave me the go-ahead to work on getting our troop signed up for selling popcorn. Hopefully, by September, I'll be knocking on your door.
thinkandrew
Endless Paperwork
Visions of a Sunset
While going to a Boy Scout Summer Camp is a lot of fun, you would not believe how much paperwork is involved. There's this a medical form, a parental permission form, a code of conduct form, a form to allow the adults to give you medicine, and even a form that lets them publish pictures of you without their permission. It's all a big hassle, and it gets difficult to remember which ones you have to turn in when you have to juggle 5 or 6 of them at the same time. In preparation to going to Philmont, I've already signed my signature at least 20 times.
I can fully understand the necessity for paperwork. When something is written down on paper, and has someone's signature, any liability is removed from them. It can be used to prove that an agreement has been made, or that you are indeed physically capable of going on a backpacking trip. It tends to get awfully repetitive, though, when you have to fill out the same form multiple times for different trips. A BSA Class 3 Medical Form is required for all summer camps, but each summer camp has its own "version" of that form. "Version" meaning that it has the summer camp's name printed on the top. I've had that form filled out 2 times now, and each time, I needed a doctor's signature. It's quite a pain to go and get one. Why can't I just have all my personal, medical, and insurance information implanted into my thumb or something, then all I'd have to do is place my thumb on a little reader. Voila! The form is now filled.
For Philmont, I had to fill out another form that granted Philmont permission to reproduce my picture without notifying me. I certainly don't see anything wrong with that, after all, it would be pretty cool to pick up a brochure and see my face smiling back at me. However, I don't get paid for the use of my picture. I feel that my picture is worth something, and if someone were to print it, it's probably worth something to them too. I should at least get a t-shirt that says my picture is in their brochure. That way, everybody will know that it's me in that brochure, not some kid from the middle of Kansas.
As for forms that allow adults to give me medicine, I'm quite fortunate in that area. I have no real illnesses, and I require no medications. Thus, I don't have to worry about any prescription drugs, any regular doses, or any regulations. All I need to do is sign a form that lets the crew leaders give me tylenol or pepto-bismol when I need it. And hopefully I won't.
Forms are a hassle, but their a necessary evil. For now. I live for the day when thumbs will replace pens, papers, and signatures.
thinkandrew
The Hazards of Bike Riding
Today, I went on a 15 mile bike-ride. Going down the Chehalis-Western Trail isn't too difficult, and thus, we (myself and my brothers) were able to complete it in a little over an hour and a half. It was quite a lot of fun, too. Zooming down the trail, which is lined on both sides with trees, can be quite exhilarating. The wind on your face, the feeling of your jacket blowing up behind you, and the legs of your pants flapping against the pedals all adds to the experience. There are, however, several hazards that can take away from the experience of riding a bike at all.
I found out today, in a rather nasty way, what the function of a windshield on cars is. I'm cruising down the trail, going at around 12 miles an hour, without a care in the world. I just set off a few minutes ago, so I'm pretty fresh, and am able to push myself to go faster. I'm pedaling, pedaling, and suddenly, THWACK. Something small hits me in the face. It doesn't hurt at all, so I figure I just ran into a leaf or something that was floating down to the ground. I don't think much about it until 2 seconds later, when THWACK THWACK. Okay, I think, what's going on? Is some kid hiding in the bushes and throwing leaves at me? THWACK THWACK THWACK. What's that bug doing on my arm? I look up, then quickly close my eyes and look back down. THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK. Eeehhwwww.... A swarm of bugs is swirling around, right above the trail. I had the misfortune to plow right through them. Yep, it was pretty nasty. These little bugs are like little suicide bombs, just hanging around there. Apparently, they take much glee in hitting only cyclists, as they easily avoid the slower people that are walking around. With little smiles on their malicious faces, they scope out an unsuspecting cyclist. Then, they buzz right into the path of them. THWACK. OW! Eeewwwww....
Here's another hazard. If you've ever been on a public trail, you've probably noticed signs that ask you to please pick up after your pet. Those signs usually have little dispensers underneath them, which hold rolls of plastic baggies for people to pick up their pet's "presents". Most people are pretty good about cleaning up after their pet, but there are people who are not. I'm not sure how you can just leave your pet's "presents" just lying there on the road, and walk past it, just like I can't understand how someone can just toss an empty beer bottle over their shoulder. But I digress. The "present" will sit there, and eventually dry out. Then, someone like me will come plowing down the trail. And hit it dead on. It doesn't stink at all, and none of it hits you. But it's like watching something blow up, when your tire goes over it. It splats out in all directions, and little dried up pieces of what looks like dirt (but really isn't) rolls away. Eeeeewwww. Then I have to stop and pick it out from between the knobs on my tires with a stick.
Those are just trivial hazards. I can live with those. One thing you really have to be careful about, though, is traffic. Most drivers just don't seem to realize that there are indeed cyclists on the road, and those cyclists are not protected by airbags, seatbelts, or anti-lock braking systems. All they've got between themselves and the hard pavement is a helmet. While riding on the road, a bicycle is considered a full vehicle by law, as well. So we cyclists have to be pretty careful and aware of what's going on. Cars always have the right of way for me, and if I have to wait 5 minutes to get across the intersection, I will. It's not worth taking a big risk. And so far, I've survived.
So, stay away from the hazards of bicycle riding. But living with these hazards, and feeling the wind flap the clothes behind you (you never feel it through your hair, because you're supposed to be wearing a helmet) is really a lot of fun. Or you can put a fan in front of your excercise bike. Your choice.
thinkandrewP.S. Thanks to Ethan, who is willing to help me post a few things when I'm gone during summer trips. This way, my blog will not be abysmally dead for over 3 weeks. I, however, remain as the primary contributor to this blog. But Ethan's is worth reading, too. You can check it out at the
Sleepyheads Club.
Rain
Eating a meal in the rain
It hasn't rained here for the past 3 weeks. The weather has not been unbearably hot, but it has been reaching the low-90's. It's warm enough that it's uncomfortable to stay outside for long periods of time. Yes, it's been pretty hot for quite a while. The weather report says there might be some rain tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to that.
While it gets pretty hot during the day time, it cools off quite a bit when the sun goes down. To solve to heat problem, we leave the windows open during the night, inviting all the cool air to rush into our house. Then, when the sun comes up, we immediately shut all the windows and keep as much of the heat out as possible. It works pretty well, and the temperature in the house is at least 10 degrees lower than the outside. It's kind of funny that we're working so hard to try and avoid the 90 degree heat, when we lived in 100 degree heat that was so common in Malaysia. Even though we were used to it, I'm pretty sure that I can definitely live without it. I like the cool weather here.
It hasn't rained for a long time, too. Lawns all around town are beginning to turn yellow and brown, as the grass goes to sleep to avoid all the heat. Mom says the grass "is under a lot of stress", though I'm not quite sure what that means. I do know, though, that she waters the lawn for several minutes every morning. Once the sun gets up high in the sky, though, all watering of plants is halted. With the sun so bright, and without a cloud in the sky, the water almost evaporates before it even sinks into the dirt. That's a far cry from the winter-time, when we set a local record with 33 straight days of rain. It was nice and cool then, but it wasn't much fun staring at gray skies every day.
The rain we get here tends to be pretty drizzly; we hardly ever get really large downpours of rain. It may go on for days at a time, but you never get buckets poured down onto you. Gray skies stick around for what seems like forever, and little drops patter down onto the sidewalks for a long long time. I kind of prefer the rain that we got in Malaysia, where it came down like crazy for an hour or two, and then it was all gone. Rain drops the size of pennies would hammer the roof, making it difficult to talk and be heard at the same time. Then, as suddenly as it came, it would be gone. The sun would be shining within a few minutes, and steam would rise up off the driveway. It was pretty interesting.
But rain, no matter what kind of rain, is not much fun at all to hike in. I don't mind it too much, as long as it lets up enough to let everything dry off when I pack it away. I don't want to have to carry the extra weight of water-logged equipment. And I'll love the rain, too, if it promises to let me keep my feet dry. It's not fun to hike with wet feet.
thinkandrew
AP Scores
Yay! After 2 months of ponderous waiting, the College Board has finally decided to relieve the agony of thousands of students around the country. Rather than making them wait one more nail-biting moment, the College Board has notified everyone that YOUR TEST RESULTS ARE IN THE MAIL. And now, we shall see an end to all this pain. Or possibly even more pain, if you didn't test well.
I myself did pretty good, and I'm fully satisfied with my results. I took the AP Micro and Macro Economics exams, and scored a 4 and a 5 in them respectively (5 is the maximum). Having a score like that guarantees that I will be able to receive college credit for them. That's a whopping 10 credits, and I got them when I was in highschool. It's a pretty cool feeling. Most of the people in my class did similarly well, almost all of them with either 4's or 5's. Yep, I'm pretty glad. Now if only someone would throw a party to honor my good grades.
thinkandrew
Buying in Bulk
In the process of stripping the piano, I've already used up about a quart of semi-paste stripper. Apparently, applying the stripper to a surface was not enough to get out the tough old finish that was already on the wood. I had to apply stripper to each surface twice. And stripping each surface twice uses up a lot of stripper. Obviously, I needed more so that I could get the job done. So today, I went out to buy some.
The stripper I used was
3M Safest Stripper Paint and Varnish Remover, a powerful but non-caustic, non-flammable, and biodegradable chemical stripper. I used up the quart we had pretty quickly too. I went to Home Depot looking for more, but oddly, that brand of stripper was about the only brand that Home Depot didn't sell. So, I went over to Ace Hardware to look for it. I walked into the paint cleaner and stripper aisle, and found what I was looking for. However, it came in two sizes. One was quart sized, like what I had before. The other was gallon sized, and looked like way more than I'd ever need. But one look at the price tag made me immediately reach for the gallon sized. While one quart was about $10, one gallon - which is four quarts - cost just under $20. So, I could either pay $20 for two quarts, or pay $20 for double the amount. The choice was pretty easy. Even though I'll now have more stripper than I'll need for the entire project, I might as well have bought the extra stripper. It's essentially two more quarts for free, if I had bought it in quart sized bottles.
Buying in bulk is definitely cheaper than buying in small quantities. A gallon of milk almost always costs less by volume than a half gallon, unless half gallon milk is on sale. Many stores have opened up that sell in bulk, such as Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club. All those stores sell wholesale, which means that instead of buying a 4 pack of batteries, you end up buying a 40 pack of batteries. But you normally end up spending quite a few dollars less. Many people like to shop at these places, as do we, and you often see people coming out of Costco with carts piled high. If I have enough room, I might as well buy 10 boxes of cereal, instead of just one, right? You can't buy single gallons of milk at Costco, either, they only come in boxes of two. You can buy delicious muffins there, too, but you have to buy 15 at a time. I also see people coming out of there with *ahem* a 40 pack of cigarettes, and lots and lots of beer.
Buying in bulk may take up a lot of room, but it's probably saved us a lot of money over the long-run. How much we can buy (and save) is only limited by the size of our pantry. It's pretty cool, too, to be pick up some chocolate at the store, and have enough to last for 3 months. Having 40 bars of chocolate in your cupboard is just awesome.
thinkandrew
Refinishing a Piano
Harbor Seals in the San Juans
Last year, near the end of summer, we picked up an old Baldwin upright. Mom was scanning through the classified ads, and there was an ad for a "Free Piano - all taken apart, needs to be put back together". Apparently, it was someone's garage project to take apart their old piano, refinish it, then reconstruct it. That person got past the take-apart stage, but that's where it ended. Thus, she put it up for free in the classifieds. Fortunately for us, my mom spotted the ad before any other local piano enthusiasts did. Before we knew it, we were carting home a piano in the back of our friend's pick-up truck.
And once it got to our house, it stayed there in our garage for months...and months...and months. Not doing a thing. Mom got pretty peeved at all the room it was taking up in the garage, so these past few days, she finally got me to working on it. And now, just one day after since I've started, I've already put at least 3 to 4 hours into it. The prospect of having a new piano to play in our house really appeals to me. And also, if I can get some serious work done on it before anyone comes to help me, I may be able to lay claim to it when I move to college. Not that my roommate would let me put it in my dorm room. And yes, I will share it with everyone else in my family. But the road to getting a fully refinished piano is a very difficult one.
Refinishing a piano is just like refinishing any other piece of old and large furniture, except that you have to be much more careful when you're working around the hardware of the piano. I've heard many horror stories of people trying to clean off their piano with spray-on chemicals, getting it all over the strings and soundboard, and have to pay thousands of dollars to get all the sensitive wood and equipment repaired. Thus, when working on the panels on the side of the piano, I have to be extra-sensitive not to get any chemicals onto the actual playing part of the piano. Right now, I'm working on removing the old finish of the piano. It's a daunting task, because there has to be over 20 square feet of finish that I have to strip off. For the past two days, I've been spreading semi-paste stripper onto the panels, waiting for an hour or two, then scraping off the old finish. The semi-paste stuff feels kind of like soft pudding, and it's not the most pleasant stuff to work with. Brushing on thick layers, then scraping it all off is a very messy task. The paste gets everywhere, and you have to be careful not to spill any of the used up paste, as the finish that came off with it can stain very easily. It's not as simple as just wiping the stripper off, either. You have to really get in there with a putty-knife to scrape off all the old finish. Then after that, you have to sand the entire piano to provide a new surface on which you can apply the new finish.
I've probably stripped about one quarter of the piano so far, so I've gone pretty far. Unfortunately, the parts I've stripped are all the easy parts. Large wood panels are really easy to apply onto and scrape off, it's the little embellishments on the legs and covers that are tough to get into. I need to go to a hardware store and buy some stiff brushes to be able to get into the nooks and crannies of the carved items. But once all that mess is over, then comes the fun part. Brushing on layers of stain is very gratifying, as you begin to show the natural beauty of the wood. Once you've finished staining it all, then you can begin reconstructing it again. And before you know it, you've got yourself a brand new piano that's worth a lot more than when you first got it for free.
Our piano needs some repair, too, unfortunately. It IS pretty old, so there are some parts that work less than they're supposed to. We have a friend, though, who is a RPT - Registered Piano Technician. I'm trying to get him to come out here and take a look at it, and maybe help me out with what needs to be fixed. I need him to come over anyway, because a) our primary piano needs to be tuned, and b) I have absolutely no idea how to put back all of the parts that the first owner took out of our piano. It should be a lot of fun, though. Pianos are interesting machines.
So, if all goes well, we should have a beautiful piano sitting in our living room within a year. The possibilities with two pianos are endless. Duets, Concertos, and even 8 hands with 2 pianos. I can't wait. And if all goes wrong, I'll be sitting in a puddle, trying to get the stains out of my clothes. But we won't go there. Our Baldwin Howard Upright is going to be perfect.
Where am I going?
Whenever you go anywhere, it's probably a good idea to know where you're going. If not, you can very easily get lost. This applies to almost any mode of travel, from hiking, to riding a bus, to driving on the highway.
This afternoon, I went out and did a 1.5 mile orienteering course. Running through Saint Martin's University's campus, there were about 10 different waypoints that I had to find myself through. It was a challange, but if you know what you're doing, it's absolutely a breeze. To be able to navigate a compass-course is a requirement for First Class in the Boy Scouts, to make sure that everybody knows how to find their way around. It's fairly simple, to be able to take a bearing off of a compass. There are more difficult techniques, too, of which I haven't had the chance to practice. To find your specific location on a map, some people will triangulate their position off of a few large landmarks. It's a very useful skill, especially when you're out in total wilderness. Nowadays, though, many people just plop down a few hundred dollars to purchase a GPS. Then, they can tell you exactly where you are, down to 2 feet. And you don't have to figure it out. But even if you have a GPS, GPS's use batteries, and compasses don't. It's always really useful to know exactly where you are.
I've said in previous posts that with my bus-pass and bicycle, I can go anywhere I want to. And that's true. But, it can be difficult to travel on a bus. There are so many different routes out there, and they all have different schedules. You have to know exactly which one you want to take at which time. Inside each bus, there are bus-schedule booklets. By reading one of these, I can get to where I want to go, and actually on time. And hopefully, I'll always get onto the right bus. Otherwise, I could end up somewhere out in the middle of Yelm, which is not somewhere that I really want to be.
Mom or Dad are the primary drivers in our family, and whoever happens to be sitting in the front seat is normally the primary navigator. That means holding directions in one hand, and a map in the other hand. And to ensure that we get where we wanted to go. Otherwise, it's on your head to find a place that we can turn around and make that turn that we missed. It's difficult to drive and navigate at the same time, so mom and dad prefer to have someone navigate while they're driving. Now, though, it's become so easy to get directions to go anywhere. Just log onto
Mapquest, enter in your address, the address of the destination, and it'll spit out directions and a map on how to get there. This, I can do.
thinkandrew
4th of July!!!
Fireworks are used to celebrate almost any big holiday. Nowhere in the US is that more apparent then during the 4th of July. Normally banned, but allowed for a few days during this National Holiday, the masses of explosives come out in force. For 4 days, you can hear people setting them off almost every night. You go to sleep to pops and flashes coming in through your window. When you're not trying to sleep, you're out there setting them off. It's all a whole lot of fun.
We have never really bought any fireworks, except for once or twice when we were in Malaysia. Most of the stuff we got was pretty standard; firecrackers, sparklers, bottle rockets. We shied away from the bigger stuff, such as mortars and smiley-faces, since they tended to be both a lot more dangerous and a lot more expensive. Fortunately, though, we've always had friends who were really into purchasing a whole bunch of fireworks. This year, my brother had a friend over who brought a whole box of "weapons" with him. We spent about an hour in the middle of the night setting them off, in a large field near our house. Lots of big booms and flashes. Whereas the professionals have fancy electronic rigs, these small ones are basically just light-and-run. None blew up in our faces, and hopefully, they never will.
There's always a really big show that goes on in our city, too. It's held around 10 o'clock every 4th of July at the Tumwater Valley Golf Club, and it's quite a substantial show. This year, it was 21 minutes long, and they set off over 1300 different shells. Nearly 6,000 people came to view the spectacle, too. It was really awesome, and I was even able to snap a few pictures of them. However, I was somewhat dissapointed by the show this year. Last year's seemed to go a lot longer, and I think they had cooler stuff last year, too. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Now, we just wait for the show that comes next year.
~thinkandrew
San Juans
The San Juan Islands are a group of islands that sit up in the northeastern section of Washington; they're barely within the US side of the US/Canada border. It's a beautiful area, known for its resident orca pods, beautiful scenes, forests, hills, oceans, and history. Much orca research has gone on there, and with over 70 that live in the area, there's a great abundance of them. A lot of history as happened here, too. At one point, there was almost a war fought between the US and Great Britain over the possesion of these very islands. It was a lot of fun to visit, and the 6 days I spent there were definitely very enjoyable. So enjoyable, in fact, that I'm too tired to write anything very substantial. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures.
A lighthouse off of Cattle Point, on the southern tip of San Juan Island. You can see it from the road, but you have to walk in about a quarter mile to get to it.
The world-famous orcas that live in the San Juan Islands. Each one is identifiable by their unique dorsal fin and a "saddle-patch" (a patch of coloration behind their dorsal fin). However, I can't tell you who is who.
Part of Orcas Islands poking out from the clouds, from Mt. Constitution (2409 feet) in Moran State Park.
Life is good in the San Juans.
thinkandrew
