22 July 2008
feast
Photos from my summer so far...
11 July 2008
stairways
The fires that are burning all over California are creating a smoky atmosphere here in Lee Vining. For the last few weeks there are has been smoke in the air, some days better than others, but today is the worst. You can actually taste it. I'm glad it's not my day off because I wouldn't want to go hiking with all the particulates floating around.
I just made hamburgers... in our dirty little kitchen! I bought organic ground beef yesterday and meant to make them at the cabin before I came back to LV last night, but I forgot about it so after lunch today I mixed up the meat with a diced onion, Worcestershire sauce and some seasoning and made ten patties. I keep them in the freezer and cook them individually. There is a barbeque here, but I feel a bit incompetent with barbeque equipment so I've successfully learned to cook a burger under the broiler. The last one I did tasted basically the same as a grilled one, so that is exciting. I also pretty much scalded my hands just now washing up the sink and all the dishes that had accumulated in it. The five of us are pretty good about doing our share about the house, but the kitchen gets so messy so quickly with five people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. It mostly works out that someone will wash up everyone's stuff, and sometimes it's you doing the work and sometimes it's someone else. I actually like cleaning so I don't mind.
I had a good time with my family. My dad was at the cabin for two weeks, Connor and Will were there for a week and my mom for only a few days. On my days off I would go over there and hang out; we would go hiking or into town or do nothing. It was nice having that place to escape to... although Dan is at his place all summer so whenever I want a break from Lee Vining I can always go over there.
On my days off I go hiking. I have a list of about twelve day hikes around here and my goal is to do every one of them before I leave. So far I've done Parker Lake, Agnew and Gem Lakes, Fern Lake, Mono Pass, and most of Lundy. So many more! I usually go alone since I'm off on different days than the other interns, so it's a good exercise in conquering fears. It's kind of scary going hiking alone, especially in bear country on a trail you've never done before. I haven't seen any bears yet, just lots of deer, and I hope it stays that way.
Yesterday I went to Mammoth to run errands and at the great independent bookstore I bought six new, beautiful books: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, My Sister, My Love by Joyce Carol Oates, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks, and Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. I love new books and don't buy them often, although I probably should. If I believe in literature then shouldn't I support it with my dollars instead of going to the library for free? I'm not totally sure but either way, I now have new books and I'm excited to read them all.
We're already well into July; it's 7/11 today, jeez. I'm still having a great time up here, but I'm starting to think about school and going back and I'm excited because it feels like ages since I was there.
I'm sitting here in the living room of our house, and Nora is playing the guitar. Its quiet and peaceful and lovely (and also not too hot due to the smoky clouds), and I think that after spending a few hours here I'll be ready to go back to work.
01 July 2008
overexclamations
It's July!
I completely failed at not burning or overboiling food for an actual meal so I just had the best dinner ever - a Haagen Daaz chocolate ice cream bar, Newman's oreo cookies and a bowl of shredded wheats with soy milk!
I took a 1.5 hour nap today!
My legs look superfine!
My dad is here and is taking me and the interns out to dinner tomorrow night!
My brother and Connor and mom come on Thursday!
I finally have a day off on Thursday after working eight days in a row!
I'm finally getting my hair done (colored) on Thursday!
I get paid soon!
I'm listening to my music alone in the house!
Thanks to my anarchist friend Forrest, I'm reading an apparently classic novel about anarchy and capitalism (do not fear, I am not actually becoming an anarchist)!
I'm going to sleep out in the meadows with Becky soon!
I love this summer!