Simon's Cat

I found this not too long ago - it made me laugh. Mostly because there is far more truth in it than I would like to admit.

 

There are several more episodes if you want to check it out. The YouTube page is here.

Happy-ish thoughts?

It's funny what kind of things you can learn about yourself at random times. Like today, when I realized how much of a sub-conscious optimist I really am.





I have a relatively large collection of books - and I add to that collection on a regular basis, buying whatever strikes my fancy. One day I was browsing through my collection looking for something to read, and came to a startling realization. I did some math, and was surprised to find that I purchased over 1/3 of my books specifically for my kids.


Yup. All those kids that I don't have.


I guess if all this positive thinking doesn't pay off, I had better live near my sibs so that my future nephews and nieces can benefit. Otherwise I will have to find some other way to use all those books...

Bob's Kitchen

Just wanted to say that no, I have not been slacking - I have just been investing my blogging energy in other directions. Feel free to explore and enjoy Bob's Kitchen.

Braddock Bay Bird Observatory

Look where I get to play!! I am such a nerd - I love it :) Today was my first day at this location, and I already know it will be my favorite part of this quarter.



I even met a few of the people from the video today.  I love my job!!

About time...

It has taken me a while to get some of my pictures uploaded, but oh well - I have really been enjoying these last few lazy days of summer before going back to work. Anyhow, now that I have finally sorted through the hundreds of pics I took in Kosovo, (plus some from the internet and from a friend to cover the time after my camera died) I can share them - enjoy getting a visual taste of my trip!

View from my apartment, first day and on my last night in Kosovo.

Flags in front of The American University in Kosovo: USA, RIT, AUK, Kosovo. Below: The village of Racak and monument for the massacre that happened during the war.

Most of the mines have been removed, but the warnings are still up near hiking trails.

Safety standards in Kosovo make me giggle and think of my Dad.

I love seeing the old style haystacks, they are pretty common - even in town. Damage from the war is still quite prevalent, but there is a lot of rebuilding going on too.

Most people use wood for heating and cooking - means lots of firewood stacked up!

Old entrance sign for a Turkish bath. 

Detail on the top of a Mosque

Serbian Orthodox Monastery at Decani.

Grounds at the Monastery at Decani.

Filigren, or filigree, is a traditional handicraft still practiced by a few jewelers, mostly in Prizren. Silver wire is hand twisted and soldered to create amazing pieces of art.

Traditional gate and old window.

Elbasan Tave on the left and stuffed zucchini with a yogurt sauce on the right.

Peppers are used in most local cooking, and roasted corn os a snack food sold on nearly every street corner.

Traveling to and celebrating a traditional wedding.

The landlady, Hova, and an older Albanian Kosovar - the white felt hat is called a Plis.

Good Advice

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

I like it.

And for some extra fun, you can read Eric Snider's hilarious blog post about Apple here, and a fascinating look into Steve Jobs and Apple culture here.

Lessons learned

There is an old bit of wisdom that says “In school you are taught a lesson, then you are given the test. But life gives you the test, then lets you learn your lesson.”

Life obviously has a wicked sense of humor, because midterms began while I was out of the country.

Lesson 1: Never look around and enjoy the view when walking down the streets in Kosovo. Always keep your eyes on the ground and watch where you are going.

Meet kapanxhë. Kapanxhë is a very friendly manhole – but sadly, someone stole his hat. He looks innocuous enough, doesn’t he? Be warned – he is overly friendly, and VERY sneaky!

People regularly steal manhole covers in Kosovo, because they can sell it for scrap metal. Websites about the country warn of this practice, and advise tourists to be on the lookout. But in spite of this being a common sight, it is hard to remember all the time. Especially when some adorable puppies are chasing a laser pointer on the grass strip next to where you are walking.

So yes – I watched the puppies, and while my attention was diverted Kapanxhë snuck up on me and gave my leg a great big manhole hug. Everyone walking nearby was horrified, and came rushing up to me exclaiming all kinds of things in Albanian that I could only assume were expressions of concern for my wellbeing. Luckily I was uninjured, and thought the whole thing was funny. Surprising, and more than a little embarrassing, but very funny. So I laughed. I laughed a lot. People probably thought I had hit my head on my way down. I wiped the dirt from my pants while I showed that there was no blood, and continued on my way – rather anxious to disappear (just not down another manhole.)

Lesson 2: No matter how far you may have to hike, or how hot it may be outside, never, NEVER place your water bottle in the same bag as your electronics.

Because I had no car in Kosovo, if I wanted to go to church I either had to pay for a taxi or walk. Of course I decided to walk every week – about 2 miles in blasting heat and lousy shoes. And of course I had only one bag. In it I carried my camera (of course), my local phone (for emergencies), my iPhone (for the maps/GPS) and my iPad (SO much lighter than carrying my regular scriptures.) My last Sunday was Fast Sunday – but with the heat and the long walk, I knew I would get dehydrated and headachy before I was halfway there, so I made sure to grab my water bottle (drinking tap water is a bad idea in Kosovo – so there are no water fountains.) I did pretty well, drinking just enough to avoid the headaches, but not enough that I felt I was breaking the ‘spirit’ of the Fast.

So walking home from church I still had more than half of my water left. Silly me – I stopped to take a picture, and my camera must have hit the water bottle wrong when I put it back. About half a block later I noticed that my bag felt damp, and when I looked inside, to my horror there was a pool of water in the bottom of the bag, leaving all of my electronics at least half submerged.

After a week of sitting in bags of rice, I knew that my local phone was dead. My other three devices showed signs of life – so I kept them in rice until I got back to the states, where I promptly transferred them to a bag of silica gel. A week later, and I was able to resuscitate the iPad and camera. My iPhone was beyond all hope. 50/50 success rate - it could have been worse I suppose, though I would have preferred to swap the camera and the iPhone so I would have an excuse to upgrade my camera...

Lesson 3: Never buy from the first street vendor you meet who has what you need.

I learned this rule a very long time ago from my parents while shopping in Mexico. No matter how desperate you are to obtain that item, always check with the next few people. You will get a better feel for what things are actually worth. I have lived by this rule for a long time, and shared it with others I have traveled with.

After my local phone died I found myself in need of a new one. Work had provided me with that one, and I was going to replace it before I left, come hell or high water. Friday was my last chance to remedy the situation – I was flying out the next morning, bright and early. I was wandering the streets with a friend and we were tired and hungry – ready to go to dinner and be out of the sun. Feeling guilty for making her follow me around, I was more concerned with replacing the phone than with the price asked for it – so I broke my rule, and bought from the first guy who had a phone that looked like what I needed. €25 and half an hour later, I learned that the phone was an American phone, and did not work with the local phone service.

I ran back to where I had found the guy to start with hoping to swap for an ‘IPKO’ (local) phone, only to find that he had packed up and skedaddled as soon as I was out of sight, leaving me back where I had started, with an expensive paperweight to add to my collection.

So another €20 was paid out to yet another vender, but only after verifying that it actually worked with the appropriate sim card. Very expensive lesson, but perhaps next time I will actually remember it.

Lesson 4: Never pack your toothbrush in your checked luggage. Or anything else you might need when you get home.

Common sense, of course – but as long as I have one free checked bag, I would rather carry as little as possible through security and passport control. So I packed as much as I could in my checked bag. So of course when I arrived in Rochester after 20 hours of traveling and 48 hours without much in the way of sleep, I was delighted to find that when baggage came off the cart, mine was nowhere to be found. Seems it was delayed in customs back in DC, at least that is what the airline representative who showed up an hour later was guessing. So an hour and a half after my ride was supposed to pick me up, I finally made it out and found her – and had to make do with what I could scrounge from around the house until my bag showed up the next day.

Lesson 5: Do not store ANYTHING in the great big basement of your rental house.

Coming out of the airport Saturday afternoon a massive storm slammed Rochester, dumping sheets of water, bruising hailstones, and a series of jaw-cracking explosions of thunder on us. I’m not sure how we made it back to the house – visibility was next to nil. But make it we did, and just in time too. As I walked into the house, one of my roommates came up from the basement with the news that water was rushing in from a crack in the wall.

The race was on and we were hauling soggy boxes of storage upstairs as fast as we could, while at the same time running to fill as many 5 gallon buckets and garbage cans as we could find, and dumping the dirty water outside, away from the house. 100’s of gallons later, the basement was empty and we were beyond exhausted. We finished mopping the floor – ate some pizza, and collapsed.

The next afternoon I was jerked out of my slumber by another crash of thunder over my head and so I was awake to watch the next storm break, and I was downstairs to watch the water start pouring in again. Luckily the basement was empty, and all of our stuff was still filling up our kitchen and living room. I was so tired, and so very, very sore. So I gave up and just sat and watched the water rise for a second time.

Lesson 6: Never trust your landlord to do any more than he legally has to.

Enough said - you will only be disappointed if you expect more than an “I told you so” (he didn’t) and an “I can’t do anything about it.”

Lesson 7: No matter how bad things get, don’t give up hope.

Two weeks without a phone was long enough – I went to the Verizon store a few days ago, hoping they could do something, and prepared to pay another $300 to replace my dead iPhone because I hadn’t had the foresight to buy insurance. Instead, they looked at me with pity and informed me that it would cost me $600 to replace – full retail value rather than the new contract price. As shock filled my eyes, they advised me to go to the Apple Store first, as they will occasionally take pity on poor souls and give discounts on replacements.

I had resigned myself to paying a good chunk of money and was at peace with that piece of bad news – but to be offered a bit of hope, along with a big piece of really bad news (I could NOT afford $600) felt almost cruel. Sometimes it hurts more to have a little hope revived, especially with the luck I had been enjoying of late – because the whole way there I was just feeling that hope being slowly crushed by my pragmatism.

So, with much trepidation, and very little hope I made my way to the VERY busy Apple Store, half an hour away. I squeezed through the crowds and waited in the appropriate lines. I handed over my very expensive paperweight and told my story, and then did a lot more waiting while it was autopsied.

Imagine my shock when I was told that although there was no hope for the old phone, they could help me out with a new one. For various reasons they were able to set me up with a new phone for very, very cheap, and they were extremely nice about it all. So I am finally in touch with the world again, and so very happy. (Plus, Apple has very firmly solidified my loyalty. Smart company.)
Lessons learned? I really hope so. Even though they all make great stories, and provide lots of laughter either at the time or in hindsight, I would very much prefer not to take these ‘tests’ again.