Life in the open ocean.

For me, working in research is like the open sea.

The waves pull you up, down, and sometimes completely under...

At moments you are in the middle of a white squall

in which you are just trying to keep your head above water and survive.

This is often followed by suspiciously calm waters & blue skies.

But no matter how calm the water, there is always some threatening deadline...

This is often like being very slowly, but surely

 hunted by a great white.

A menacing fin is looming in the distance, as you anxiously await

the moment that the shark will actually attack!

This week the waters are eerily calm, &
my godforsaken Master's thesis is forever looming in the distance.
It's my last week at UCLA.
& a very uneventful one in comparison to weeks past.
[the calm before the storm]
I am filled with mixed feelings about my new future in Portland....
But there is no changing it now,
because this northbound train leaves the station in
 T-minus 2.5 weeks!
[& i have SO much to do between now & then!]
Until then I will continue to waver between
happy & sad, relieved & nervous, excited & tired...

on a lighter note, here is a cute picture of Bug!

He always makes everything okay :)

& i promise i will have plenty of posts in the coming weeks...
xoxo

Havasupai Falls

Backpacking.

10 miles.

100* heat.

3000' decline.

30 lb pack.

Who me? NEVER.

Well that is precisely what I said until I saw a picture of 

Havasupai Falls 
in the Grand Canyon:

(taken by yours truly, July 2011)

The falls are located on the Havasupai Indian Reservation,
A place that seems like a 

mirage in the middle of the Grand Canyon desert.

Towering red rock cliffs, lush greenery and aqua blue water.

Perhaps it has stayed this beautiful is because there are
NO roads directly to Havasupai.

Only a 10 mile dirt hiking trail, traversed solely by natives, backpackers,
pack mules & the local wildlife.

Long story short,
J&J had all the backpacking equipment,
made reservations in advance 

& were taking me along with them...
like it or not.

& I must say....

it was totally worth it!
Even the long drive.

The longer, tortuous hike in.

The blisters, sore muscles, sleep deprivation, bug bites,

heat stroke, dehydrated food [which i tried for the first time..pretty good!], 
& the altercations with GIANT spiders....
But all of that was okay, because we got to
camp, swim & hike in paradise for 2 days :)

Who would have ever thought I would do something like this?

& not even complain! [not that much anyway...]

I am truly thankful for this experience.

 It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been,
with two of the people I love the most.

& the treacherous hike made it that much more rewarding :)

up at dawn, ready for our hike!

 we hike gangsta style...

Sun rising over the red cliffs....

Love.

Our tour guides, wild horses.

Havasupai Falls

 chillin' out, maxin, relaxin, all cool.

Sisters :)

 That box of wine was [literally] worth its weight in gold...



The local watering hole.

Descend at your own risk....we did not take this seriously...at first.

 Into Middle Earth!

Scaled down a 200' vertical wall to Mooney Falls :O

Mooney Falls

The "Grape" Valley

Up to my ears in grapes....

Hiding behind the water fall in our top secret swim hole.

Paradise!

xoxo






Oh, did I forget to mention that we took a HELICOPTER out of the canyon?!

[None of us had ever ridden in a helicopter before!]

What a truly amazing and memorable experience.
I am so glad that this was how I spent one of my last weekends :)

Mossa's 17th Annual 4th of July Horseshoe Tourney

Please excuse my absence, its been a crazy couple weeks!

But, now...I am back...with a fun blog post :)

We are talking about the:

That's right.  Over 100 people, over 100 degrees

[& possibly over 100 beers to myself...]

This event defines the fourth for pretty much the whole family, & I attended my first horseshoe tourney more than 10 years ago! I will admit that I have previously only made fleeting attempts at actually throwing the horseshoes, but this year my effort [& actual legitimate entrance in the competition] paid off with a few ringers, although my team did not quite win the buckle...

The event went down as usual with delicious roast pig, plenty of kegs of Coors, & a few more of my friends than usual :)
[including some from middle school, high school, college & LA!]


I look forward to flying in from Portland next year to enjoy the 18th annual horseshoe festivities!

If you would like another [probably more clever] perspective on the day, you can check it out here.

xoxo