I walked outside this morning to run down and get the mail, and also to double-check the make of my car (I'm scheduling a slightly overdue service appointment). When I opened the door I was hit with a waft of fresh air that smelled surprisingly like my grandfather's home: sweet foliage, the rich dark smell of freshly-turned earth, and the oaky, woodsy smell of freshly chopped logs stacked by a brick bake oven.
I don't know how all those scents happened to mix together, but they say that scent is the strongest memory trigger out of all the senses. I have opened all the doors and windows in my apartment, because when I returned to it, it smelled rather sickly sweet (candles...) and I decided it would be healthy to get some air circulating.
Oh well, back to work.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Ring of Fire
This weekend has been INCREDIBLY difficult so I'm calling it the ring of fire because it was three days of circular insanity.
Thanksgiving was lovely, I spent it with my cousins and some of their extended family in Irvine - we sat around, listened to music, drank wine, and ate a lovely dinner. Very relaxed, no stress, no snippiness or anything negative. Just a nice afternoon/evening with family.
Friday, on the other hand, I spent at work, and it was just waves of people, then a slow spell...then waves of people and then a slow spell. All. Day.
Rick says it's always like that Thanksgiving weekend because people have their family over for the whole weekend and need something to do. And there I was thinking it'd be empty because everyone would be shopping or sleeping!
Suffice it to say, I got home Friday and went right to bed (after microwaving the Thanksgiving leftovers Aunt Anne was kind enough to give me - she legitimately gave me half the meal!!) and stayed there for a couple hours before getting up and working on my novels for a few hours.
Saturday was a hideously busy day too, I'm not used to two busy days in a row there (that really doesn't seem to happen much), so I was pretty grumpy. It's really hard to smile at people when they ask questions like, "Why does your exhibit go from 200 CE to 600 CE? That's a really big jump!"
Dude, I'm a security guard. It's my job to make sure you don't steal anything.
However, I did not say that. I smiled as best I could, and said, "Well, it's a four-room exhibit, with approximately 200 pieces, so there are only so many dynasties they can cover."
The person who asked me the question was all, "Oh, what a good point" and wandered off. It was so hard to NOT facepalm. But I managed it, so I'm a little proud of myself. I'll be prouder when I stop stuttering.
I don't know why my stupid stutter had to come back, but there's something about wandering around in Bowers (weather eye always on the alert for camera flashes), thinking about money/my thesis/football/food, and being interrupted by some question I could never have anticipated that just brings my stutter to the surface.
Today was slower, but I was exhausted so it felt longer, and more difficult. Today my first shift was in the terra cotta exhibit, and I was walking around in the pit (the middle rooms of the four) and a gentleman approached me and asked, "Where are the large terra cotta warriors?"
I suppose I first should explain that there are four rooms in terra cotta (officially known as Tombs and Temples):
1) The "front room" - containing four life-sized warriors, a life-sized horse, and other artifacts from the Qin Dynasty
2) The "pit" - the Han Dynasty room with about a dozen miniature warriors, miniature farm animals, a set of weights and measures, and a tomb door.
3) the "pit" - the Tang Dynasty (I think) with pottery, grave goods, and lots of beautiful metal objects that were the heritage of metalworking skills and trade resulting from the Silk Road
4) the "back" - the last room, focusing on Buddha and Chinese Buddhists, with items like an alms bowl, a large Buddha sitting on a lotus flower (I'd say 2/3 life-size ish), and the four reliquary boxes that held Buddha's fingerbone. (The bone is now touring Buddhist countries as an item of reverence.)
We were in room 2. There is a large window between room 1 and room 2. The couple had come from room 1.
I just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Somehow I gathered enough of my wits together to point to room one and say, "In that room there." I hoped they had come from room 4 (some people do wander through that way, somehow completely bypassing both security and visitor services, although it doesn't happen often) and my hopes were dashed when the wife said, "We just saw them!" and he looks back through the window and says, "Oh, I must have missed them!"
They walk off, and I just stand there. Room 1 is a rectangular room with one giant platform that is the best-lit thing in the room, easily some 20 feet by 10, with four life-size terracotta men and a life-size terra cotta horse. There are four other cases in the room, all smaller than 3X3. How, and I say this with every drop of kindness I can wring from my soul...HOW DO YOU MISS THE SOLDIERS?!
That incident is pretty much representative of the day; I found two girls taking pictures with flash in the second room and when I went over and politely informed them that no flash was allowed the girl said, "I know, I just forgot."
I just shook my head and walked away; turns out they'd been informed by the guard in the front room to not use flash earlier. I saw them two hours later in the permanent Chinese exhibit (called 5,000 Years of China) and they were using flash AGAIN - one of the docents reprimanded them as I was walking over to do it. I wish I were allowed to throw people like that out. I refuse to believe a teenager with a camera they've owned more than two hours doesn't know how to turn off the flash. It was just general lack of respect. And that deserves being thrown out on your bum, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I don't get to do that. Please, Parents of the World - teach your children to respect museums/schools/knowledge in general, if you teach them nothing else.
Okay, I want to kick back with some popcorn and The Big Bang Theory now. Hooray for mindless zoning!
Thanksgiving was lovely, I spent it with my cousins and some of their extended family in Irvine - we sat around, listened to music, drank wine, and ate a lovely dinner. Very relaxed, no stress, no snippiness or anything negative. Just a nice afternoon/evening with family.
Friday, on the other hand, I spent at work, and it was just waves of people, then a slow spell...then waves of people and then a slow spell. All. Day.
Rick says it's always like that Thanksgiving weekend because people have their family over for the whole weekend and need something to do. And there I was thinking it'd be empty because everyone would be shopping or sleeping!
Suffice it to say, I got home Friday and went right to bed (after microwaving the Thanksgiving leftovers Aunt Anne was kind enough to give me - she legitimately gave me half the meal!!) and stayed there for a couple hours before getting up and working on my novels for a few hours.
Saturday was a hideously busy day too, I'm not used to two busy days in a row there (that really doesn't seem to happen much), so I was pretty grumpy. It's really hard to smile at people when they ask questions like, "Why does your exhibit go from 200 CE to 600 CE? That's a really big jump!"
Dude, I'm a security guard. It's my job to make sure you don't steal anything.
However, I did not say that. I smiled as best I could, and said, "Well, it's a four-room exhibit, with approximately 200 pieces, so there are only so many dynasties they can cover."
The person who asked me the question was all, "Oh, what a good point" and wandered off. It was so hard to NOT facepalm. But I managed it, so I'm a little proud of myself. I'll be prouder when I stop stuttering.
I don't know why my stupid stutter had to come back, but there's something about wandering around in Bowers (weather eye always on the alert for camera flashes), thinking about money/my thesis/football/food, and being interrupted by some question I could never have anticipated that just brings my stutter to the surface.
Today was slower, but I was exhausted so it felt longer, and more difficult. Today my first shift was in the terra cotta exhibit, and I was walking around in the pit (the middle rooms of the four) and a gentleman approached me and asked, "Where are the large terra cotta warriors?"
I suppose I first should explain that there are four rooms in terra cotta (officially known as Tombs and Temples):
1) The "front room" - containing four life-sized warriors, a life-sized horse, and other artifacts from the Qin Dynasty
2) The "pit" - the Han Dynasty room with about a dozen miniature warriors, miniature farm animals, a set of weights and measures, and a tomb door.
3) the "pit" - the Tang Dynasty (I think) with pottery, grave goods, and lots of beautiful metal objects that were the heritage of metalworking skills and trade resulting from the Silk Road
4) the "back" - the last room, focusing on Buddha and Chinese Buddhists, with items like an alms bowl, a large Buddha sitting on a lotus flower (I'd say 2/3 life-size ish), and the four reliquary boxes that held Buddha's fingerbone. (The bone is now touring Buddhist countries as an item of reverence.)
We were in room 2. There is a large window between room 1 and room 2. The couple had come from room 1.
I just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Somehow I gathered enough of my wits together to point to room one and say, "In that room there." I hoped they had come from room 4 (some people do wander through that way, somehow completely bypassing both security and visitor services, although it doesn't happen often) and my hopes were dashed when the wife said, "We just saw them!" and he looks back through the window and says, "Oh, I must have missed them!"
They walk off, and I just stand there. Room 1 is a rectangular room with one giant platform that is the best-lit thing in the room, easily some 20 feet by 10, with four life-size terracotta men and a life-size terra cotta horse. There are four other cases in the room, all smaller than 3X3. How, and I say this with every drop of kindness I can wring from my soul...HOW DO YOU MISS THE SOLDIERS?!
That incident is pretty much representative of the day; I found two girls taking pictures with flash in the second room and when I went over and politely informed them that no flash was allowed the girl said, "I know, I just forgot."
I just shook my head and walked away; turns out they'd been informed by the guard in the front room to not use flash earlier. I saw them two hours later in the permanent Chinese exhibit (called 5,000 Years of China) and they were using flash AGAIN - one of the docents reprimanded them as I was walking over to do it. I wish I were allowed to throw people like that out. I refuse to believe a teenager with a camera they've owned more than two hours doesn't know how to turn off the flash. It was just general lack of respect. And that deserves being thrown out on your bum, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I don't get to do that. Please, Parents of the World - teach your children to respect museums/schools/knowledge in general, if you teach them nothing else.
Okay, I want to kick back with some popcorn and The Big Bang Theory now. Hooray for mindless zoning!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Grad School 2.0
Well, I have officially started my graduate school applications. I should've started months ago - technically I did, contacting some professors that I was particularly interested in working with in October. But those programs turned out to be not what I was looking for, and between my new job and the AGSA and my thesis somehow my applications got pushed to one side.
Two weeks ago I messaged six universities through GradSchools.com, but when they hadn't emailed me back by Monday I decided it was a dead end and started sending off emails on my own. As of today, I have contacted Texas A&M, Stony Brook, Bryn Mawr, Durham, The Cyprus Institute, and the University of Virginia. Haven't heard back from any of them yet, but I'm going to go ahead and start applications at all of them, particularly Virginia and TAMU because their deadlines are earliest. That is, TAMU's official deadline is January 1st, but to be considered for funding you have to apply by December 1st...which I didn't know because when I was looking over their website two weeks ago I didn't scroll down to the bottom and read that fine print. Major fail on my part!
I was also interested in Brown, but when I looked more closely at their website it's clear that they're a classically based department and you need two classical languages and two modern languages before you can advance to candidacy; although I do (did) have a grasp on both Latin and German, re-learning those two and learning two new languages in two years is a little much for me. Plus I'm not super-duper interested in classically based departments; I prefer a scientific approach.
I've also emailed my professors here about advancing to candidacy, but they all seem to be busy too, so next Monday I need to send off more emails asking when we can meet and discuss my options in person. Stupid budget cuts, making my life difficult!! Universities should be the LAST thing to get cut...well okay, maybe social security and healthcare should be cut last, but they're all top three.
Tomorrow I have to go and look for a nice plate because I'm baking cookies to take to my cousins' place on Thanksgiving, and of course they need a decorative plate to sit on. And then, I need to bake the cookies. But that shouldn't be so bad, although I am worried about baking in this oven, which I've never actually done beyond meat, potatoes, and the occasional broiled seafood.
I am SO excited for Christmas - and the holidays. Oh well...time to cook dinner!
Two weeks ago I messaged six universities through GradSchools.com, but when they hadn't emailed me back by Monday I decided it was a dead end and started sending off emails on my own. As of today, I have contacted Texas A&M, Stony Brook, Bryn Mawr, Durham, The Cyprus Institute, and the University of Virginia. Haven't heard back from any of them yet, but I'm going to go ahead and start applications at all of them, particularly Virginia and TAMU because their deadlines are earliest. That is, TAMU's official deadline is January 1st, but to be considered for funding you have to apply by December 1st...which I didn't know because when I was looking over their website two weeks ago I didn't scroll down to the bottom and read that fine print. Major fail on my part!
I was also interested in Brown, but when I looked more closely at their website it's clear that they're a classically based department and you need two classical languages and two modern languages before you can advance to candidacy; although I do (did) have a grasp on both Latin and German, re-learning those two and learning two new languages in two years is a little much for me. Plus I'm not super-duper interested in classically based departments; I prefer a scientific approach.
I've also emailed my professors here about advancing to candidacy, but they all seem to be busy too, so next Monday I need to send off more emails asking when we can meet and discuss my options in person. Stupid budget cuts, making my life difficult!! Universities should be the LAST thing to get cut...well okay, maybe social security and healthcare should be cut last, but they're all top three.
Tomorrow I have to go and look for a nice plate because I'm baking cookies to take to my cousins' place on Thanksgiving, and of course they need a decorative plate to sit on. And then, I need to bake the cookies. But that shouldn't be so bad, although I am worried about baking in this oven, which I've never actually done beyond meat, potatoes, and the occasional broiled seafood.
I am SO excited for Christmas - and the holidays. Oh well...time to cook dinner!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday Night Football
Where on earth has all the time gone? How has it been 2 weeks since I updated this blog? This is ridiculous!
I am currently sitting at my desk, watching the Patriots - Jets game out of one eye and keeping another eye on my fantasy football games while keeping two eyes on the screen while I write up this blog. Yes, I am that awesome.
I've just been so ridiculously tired and busy lately. I always have tests the same week in both of my classes it seems; and studying for both at the same time is exhausting, and it totally derails my graduate school applications and my thesis. Although, I got a 96 on my Remote Sensing test (yesssss!) and when I asked Dr. Lee about a point I missed (because the page just said -1, there was no red line or red writing anywhere) he said, "Well with tests as excellent as yours I just get a little bit nitpicky!" He did explain what I missed, but I was concentrating on being rather swelled up with my test being described as "excellent" because that class is HARD!
My thesis is not going well...I get more stressed whenever I think about it. Last night I was lying in bed (utterly exhausted after having spent a long and stressful shift organizing the setup for the gala/charity auction at Bowers in addition to my regular duties) and I started thinking about my thesis and I got so stressed I nearly threw up. I didn't sleep at all well either; kept waking up and tossing and turning and getting some water or going to the bathroom or stretching and turning over...I felt like an underdone loaf of bread at work today, and was so relieved that it was a slow day and I didn't have to dash about constantly.
Yesterday I had to throw out THREE weddings! The thing about Bowers is that we have a really beautiful courtyard and if you fill out ONE sheet of paper and put down a $30 deposit then you have an official reservation to take pictures there - and it's really popular. The problem is, there are a lot of cheapskate, idiotic photographers who think they can photograph in our courtyard any time they want without paying. So we have to kick them out and it really upsets the brides. (Which is very understandable.) But that's why you shouldn't go with the cheapest photographer, in my humble opinion.
Well, the first wedding decided to fill out the paperwork and pay the deposit - although they seemed a little annoyed they didn't get a copy, which I found ludicrous considering the circumstances.
The second wedding I had to kick out twice. The bride and some of her attendants came in to use the bathroom (which is allowed; anyone can use our bathrooms as long as they don't wander around and look at the exhibits, or trash the bathrooms) as I was walking past, so I went out to the courtyard and tried to explain they'd need to be outside the walls to take photographs, but unfortunately all the people left out there only spoke Spanish, and my Spanish is limited to, "No hablo Espanol" and "Buenos dias"
So I warily went back inside, but I got a call on my radio three minutes later saying, "Carla, go kick that wedding out!"
I stormed back to the courtyard (and it was starting to rain too and they were still taking pictures!) and go up to the photographer (who spoke English, thank goodness) and said, "Excuse me, but I've already told your group that you must leave the courtyard if you're going to take pictures."
And he said, "Oh yes, we're just leaving." and I think "Yeah, and I'm Courtney Cox," right as he says, "I can take this last picture, right?"
And I am SO pissed at this point (wet, tired, and thinking of all the work I had to leave undone inside to go kick this party out) I just say sweetly and poisonously, "No, I'm sorry, if you haven't paid I simply can't allow that."
And I stood there in the rain, arms folded, scowling portentously until every last one of them vacated the premises.
I kid you not, not even an hour later there was ANOTHER party - not quite sure if this was a wedding, because the center of attention was in a pink dress, but you never know - and I stormed out again and politely asked them to vacate the property immediately. Which they did, but clearly they lacked common sense as a party, because all the women walked across the soaking wet grass in their pale satin stiletto heels, totally ignoring the wide, dirt-free pathways! I just stood and stared; I would never treat satin shoes in that manner.
I left a little after 4:30, when the gala was entirely set up except for small things like glasses on the tables, and the models wearing all the gorgeous jewelry Christie's had donated for the auction were still in the dressing room. That bit stings; I desperately wanted to see that jewelry! If I'm ever a rich person, you can bet just about anything that if there's a gala where I can go bid on jewelry to benefit some charity, I will do it!
Today was simpler, the gala was over, and the night shift and the early shift cleaned it up between them, and it was a nice, slow day so I wasn't rushed off my feet. I had hoped to get on the roster for the National Geographic filming at the museum tomorrow (when it's closed to the public, as it is on all Mondays) but the shifts are 6 am - 3:30 pm and 3:30 pm - 9 pm, and I have class at 3:30 pm so I couldn't take either. Oh well...I'll just have to get onto a NatGeo special some other way!
When I was in the Spirits and Headhunters gallery I ran into one of our docents: she's being interviewed by NatGeo tomorrow and had to choose 15 pieces to talk about, so she wanted to know which pieces I liked most, so we spent nearly an hour in the exhibit looking at everything and talking about Papua New Guinea and the Pacific rim cultures and all that sort of thing. We also started talking to this one gentleman and it turns out he's a conservator (for a living!!) who mostly works with metals and he's had an absolutely fascinating lifetime.
I know my life is nothing to sneeze at; born in South Africa, live in the United States, have traveled to England, France, Portugal, Canada and Ethiopia as well as returning to South Africa several times...I've been on safari, ridden an ostrich, and taken an elephant for a walk; I've eaten lunch in a Parisian patisserie, drunk Madeira wine in Madeira and witnessed an Ethiopian coffee ceremony; I've seen fantastic paintings by Monet, Hopper, O'Keefe, and so many others in real life; I've been to ballets and plays and concerts, I've dug up an archeological site in a volcano perched on the Afar rift; I can flintknap stone tools, cook almost anything you'd care to mention, spent 7 years learning to sing from a maestro, and I know the basics of silversmithing.
But the man we met - we didn't get his name - spent 9 months traveling from Saudi Arabia to Nepal in the 1960s by bus, train, and the occasional small airplane ride. He made silver-plated miniatures for mosques in Mecca and Medina, and met a sheik and stayed in his palace.
In some ways it's frustrating that there are so many things I haven't yet experienced...in some ways it's challenging...and very, very exciting! There are so many interesting and wonderful things out there in the world. One gentleman I met at the museum (he and his wife had questions about the scrimshaw exhibit that I was only partially able to answer) told me sternly that I should make the most of my young life, and when I replied that I had a very long bucket list he said I was too young for one of those. I said I just wanted to be sure I did everything in plenty of time - because I'm sure I'll think of new things to do by the time I'm old.
Some of the things on my bucket list are very silly - like wear an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini and eat a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia - and some of them are very awesome - like float in a gondola in Venice and see Much Ado About Nothing in either the Royal Shakespeare Theatre OR the Globe Theatre.
But then, it wouldn't really be my bucket list if it didn't have silly and serious hand-in-hand, would it?
I am currently sitting at my desk, watching the Patriots - Jets game out of one eye and keeping another eye on my fantasy football games while keeping two eyes on the screen while I write up this blog. Yes, I am that awesome.
I've just been so ridiculously tired and busy lately. I always have tests the same week in both of my classes it seems; and studying for both at the same time is exhausting, and it totally derails my graduate school applications and my thesis. Although, I got a 96 on my Remote Sensing test (yesssss!) and when I asked Dr. Lee about a point I missed (because the page just said -1, there was no red line or red writing anywhere) he said, "Well with tests as excellent as yours I just get a little bit nitpicky!" He did explain what I missed, but I was concentrating on being rather swelled up with my test being described as "excellent" because that class is HARD!
My thesis is not going well...I get more stressed whenever I think about it. Last night I was lying in bed (utterly exhausted after having spent a long and stressful shift organizing the setup for the gala/charity auction at Bowers in addition to my regular duties) and I started thinking about my thesis and I got so stressed I nearly threw up. I didn't sleep at all well either; kept waking up and tossing and turning and getting some water or going to the bathroom or stretching and turning over...I felt like an underdone loaf of bread at work today, and was so relieved that it was a slow day and I didn't have to dash about constantly.
Yesterday I had to throw out THREE weddings! The thing about Bowers is that we have a really beautiful courtyard and if you fill out ONE sheet of paper and put down a $30 deposit then you have an official reservation to take pictures there - and it's really popular. The problem is, there are a lot of cheapskate, idiotic photographers who think they can photograph in our courtyard any time they want without paying. So we have to kick them out and it really upsets the brides. (Which is very understandable.) But that's why you shouldn't go with the cheapest photographer, in my humble opinion.
Well, the first wedding decided to fill out the paperwork and pay the deposit - although they seemed a little annoyed they didn't get a copy, which I found ludicrous considering the circumstances.
The second wedding I had to kick out twice. The bride and some of her attendants came in to use the bathroom (which is allowed; anyone can use our bathrooms as long as they don't wander around and look at the exhibits, or trash the bathrooms) as I was walking past, so I went out to the courtyard and tried to explain they'd need to be outside the walls to take photographs, but unfortunately all the people left out there only spoke Spanish, and my Spanish is limited to, "No hablo Espanol" and "Buenos dias"
So I warily went back inside, but I got a call on my radio three minutes later saying, "Carla, go kick that wedding out!"
I stormed back to the courtyard (and it was starting to rain too and they were still taking pictures!) and go up to the photographer (who spoke English, thank goodness) and said, "Excuse me, but I've already told your group that you must leave the courtyard if you're going to take pictures."
And he said, "Oh yes, we're just leaving." and I think "Yeah, and I'm Courtney Cox," right as he says, "I can take this last picture, right?"
And I am SO pissed at this point (wet, tired, and thinking of all the work I had to leave undone inside to go kick this party out) I just say sweetly and poisonously, "No, I'm sorry, if you haven't paid I simply can't allow that."
And I stood there in the rain, arms folded, scowling portentously until every last one of them vacated the premises.
I kid you not, not even an hour later there was ANOTHER party - not quite sure if this was a wedding, because the center of attention was in a pink dress, but you never know - and I stormed out again and politely asked them to vacate the property immediately. Which they did, but clearly they lacked common sense as a party, because all the women walked across the soaking wet grass in their pale satin stiletto heels, totally ignoring the wide, dirt-free pathways! I just stood and stared; I would never treat satin shoes in that manner.
I left a little after 4:30, when the gala was entirely set up except for small things like glasses on the tables, and the models wearing all the gorgeous jewelry Christie's had donated for the auction were still in the dressing room. That bit stings; I desperately wanted to see that jewelry! If I'm ever a rich person, you can bet just about anything that if there's a gala where I can go bid on jewelry to benefit some charity, I will do it!
Today was simpler, the gala was over, and the night shift and the early shift cleaned it up between them, and it was a nice, slow day so I wasn't rushed off my feet. I had hoped to get on the roster for the National Geographic filming at the museum tomorrow (when it's closed to the public, as it is on all Mondays) but the shifts are 6 am - 3:30 pm and 3:30 pm - 9 pm, and I have class at 3:30 pm so I couldn't take either. Oh well...I'll just have to get onto a NatGeo special some other way!
When I was in the Spirits and Headhunters gallery I ran into one of our docents: she's being interviewed by NatGeo tomorrow and had to choose 15 pieces to talk about, so she wanted to know which pieces I liked most, so we spent nearly an hour in the exhibit looking at everything and talking about Papua New Guinea and the Pacific rim cultures and all that sort of thing. We also started talking to this one gentleman and it turns out he's a conservator (for a living!!) who mostly works with metals and he's had an absolutely fascinating lifetime.
I know my life is nothing to sneeze at; born in South Africa, live in the United States, have traveled to England, France, Portugal, Canada and Ethiopia as well as returning to South Africa several times...I've been on safari, ridden an ostrich, and taken an elephant for a walk; I've eaten lunch in a Parisian patisserie, drunk Madeira wine in Madeira and witnessed an Ethiopian coffee ceremony; I've seen fantastic paintings by Monet, Hopper, O'Keefe, and so many others in real life; I've been to ballets and plays and concerts, I've dug up an archeological site in a volcano perched on the Afar rift; I can flintknap stone tools, cook almost anything you'd care to mention, spent 7 years learning to sing from a maestro, and I know the basics of silversmithing.
But the man we met - we didn't get his name - spent 9 months traveling from Saudi Arabia to Nepal in the 1960s by bus, train, and the occasional small airplane ride. He made silver-plated miniatures for mosques in Mecca and Medina, and met a sheik and stayed in his palace.
In some ways it's frustrating that there are so many things I haven't yet experienced...in some ways it's challenging...and very, very exciting! There are so many interesting and wonderful things out there in the world. One gentleman I met at the museum (he and his wife had questions about the scrimshaw exhibit that I was only partially able to answer) told me sternly that I should make the most of my young life, and when I replied that I had a very long bucket list he said I was too young for one of those. I said I just wanted to be sure I did everything in plenty of time - because I'm sure I'll think of new things to do by the time I'm old.
Some of the things on my bucket list are very silly - like wear an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini and eat a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia - and some of them are very awesome - like float in a gondola in Venice and see Much Ado About Nothing in either the Royal Shakespeare Theatre OR the Globe Theatre.
But then, it wouldn't really be my bucket list if it didn't have silly and serious hand-in-hand, would it?
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