AJ and I are pleased to announce that we are now holders of official U.K. Drivers Licenses! Hooray! (If you look closely, you will see that they're pink...AJ's favorite color!). So now, brave friends & family members can enjoy a delightful drive with us in the British countryside without the fear of running into hedge rows, a herd of sheep, or 3-wheeled milk trucks.
Friday, October 24, 2008
We Passed!
AJ and I are pleased to announce that we are now holders of official U.K. Drivers Licenses! Hooray! (If you look closely, you will see that they're pink...AJ's favorite color!). So now, brave friends & family members can enjoy a delightful drive with us in the British countryside without the fear of running into hedge rows, a herd of sheep, or 3-wheeled milk trucks.
Dr. Quinn!
Was anyone else enamoured with the series Dr. Quinn - Medicine Woman? I remember looking forward to experiencing the next adventure with Sully & Dr. Quinn! Well, my co-workers just informed me that THE Dr. Quinn (Jane Seymour) lives just 10 minutes east of here in a town called Bath. Now I can't wait to peruse the city streets looking for my childhood hero! (anyone want an autograph?!)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Exmouth
Okay, so it's been a while. We know this and we repent. With that said, though, we're still going to keep this one ever so short. Sorry, but it's a taster.
This past Saturday we went to Exmouth. It's right below us as the crow flies, though it's also on the bottom coast of the island. The reason for our going is because, frankly, I wanted to fish for sea bass, which we can't do by Bristol (the wretched Severn river dumps too much mud in the water). So we went south. It's our new playground, as Exmouth offers a cute little sea town, trails, and fishing. You'll notice Andie's not in any of the pictures. This is because she was busy working on engineering stuff. She said she'd rather come along and work outside. So work she did while I brought home the bacon, or sea bass as it were.
Exmouth coast.
More coast.
Also coast.
My first sea bass! I got the little bugger out on a rocky finger at low tide. He was in shallow water feeding on crabs. After looking thoroughly professional and untangling an enormous line-mess made by the wind, I cast one of my new sea flies and--wham! Sea bass are supposed to be really good eating, so we're excited to try!
This past Saturday we went to Exmouth. It's right below us as the crow flies, though it's also on the bottom coast of the island. The reason for our going is because, frankly, I wanted to fish for sea bass, which we can't do by Bristol (the wretched Severn river dumps too much mud in the water). So we went south. It's our new playground, as Exmouth offers a cute little sea town, trails, and fishing. You'll notice Andie's not in any of the pictures. This is because she was busy working on engineering stuff. She said she'd rather come along and work outside. So work she did while I brought home the bacon, or sea bass as it were.
Exmouth coast.
More coast.
Also coast.
My first sea bass! I got the little bugger out on a rocky finger at low tide. He was in shallow water feeding on crabs. After looking thoroughly professional and untangling an enormous line-mess made by the wind, I cast one of my new sea flies and--wham! Sea bass are supposed to be really good eating, so we're excited to try!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Camping in Wales!
Hello Everyone! It's been ages since we've last updated the Blog...thank you for checking in!
AJ and I are BIG fans of our close neighbor Wales. It is a BEAUTIFUL country, and we're thankful for the opportunity to see some of its hidden treasures!
In early June, we set off on our first group camping trip to the Gower Peninsula with some lovely Trinity College friends. This area is absolutely stunning, and it's just a short 1.5 hours' drive from Bristol. :)
Here's a photo of some of our friends (we like to think we have friends). If you check our Blog on occasion, you may have become familiar with 'Big Dave' in the car. Such a jokester!
AJ and I on the beach, just before the tide rolled in. As you can see, AJ took advantage of the moment to fish!
A view of Rhossili beach from above. I was almost overwhelmed by the beauty!
Another view of Rhossili.
Ladies in blue! Here's Lauren and Emma, loving our weekend adventure!
After visiting the beach, we ventured out and walked along the rugged coastline. Here's a photo of the group having a picnic on the edge!
Here's another shot of the sea, looking west. Can you tell we're enamoured with the ocean?
I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the setting sun near our campsite.
If you're able, please come visit! We'd love to return to the Gower!
AJ and I are BIG fans of our close neighbor Wales. It is a BEAUTIFUL country, and we're thankful for the opportunity to see some of its hidden treasures!
In early June, we set off on our first group camping trip to the Gower Peninsula with some lovely Trinity College friends. This area is absolutely stunning, and it's just a short 1.5 hours' drive from Bristol. :)
Here's a photo of some of our friends (we like to think we have friends). If you check our Blog on occasion, you may have become familiar with 'Big Dave' in the car. Such a jokester!
AJ and I on the beach, just before the tide rolled in. As you can see, AJ took advantage of the moment to fish!
A view of Rhossili beach from above. I was almost overwhelmed by the beauty! 
Another view of Rhossili.
Ladies in blue! Here's Lauren and Emma, loving our weekend adventure!
After visiting the beach, we ventured out and walked along the rugged coastline. Here's a photo of the group having a picnic on the edge!
Here's another shot of the sea, looking west. Can you tell we're enamoured with the ocean?
I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the setting sun near our campsite. If you're able, please come visit! We'd love to return to the Gower!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Speaking Horse to a Pony
It seems the animals here don't like me. Normally, I'd think it was just a misunderstanding, but Andie's noticed it too. It began early in our time here, when on a hike I tried speaking Horse to a pony. 'Neehehe' I said to the little fellow. He ignored me, so I said it again a little louder. 'Neehehe.' Well, that little pony let out a slew of profanity like you've never heard. I'd rather not repeat it here, but it was to the effect of 'Don't you come talkin' your Horse-talk to me, boy. I ain't no horse, and I'm not having you talk to me like I was. Do it again and I'll come stamp on your face.' 'Alright, buddy,' I said, and we walked away to his cursing. Terrible little creature.
It wasn't long after that we met another pair of ponies. They were in a pasture we needed to cross to get to my trout stream and to continue to Andie's trail. Well, as you can see Andie was loving up on them. She kissed and petted their soft little muzzles, and they followed her around like ducklings. At one point I came up to Andie to give her the camera. The boy pony must've taken offense to me moving in on his women, so he bit me. Fast and sharp on the back of my arm, he nailed me. When I wheeled to see what the heck had just attacked me, he trotted away snorting. Evil beast.
Every now and again we babysit our housemates' ferret. His name is Koo-koo, and probably not by accident. Typically, we have the little weasel up to our flat and try to keep him from doing too much damage in the requisite exercise time. During this time, he runs around trying to pull over, pry open, and fit into everything that either contains food or stinks. Here read laundry basket, fridge, and garbage cans. He's usually successful. Sometimes he even leaves us a little poop-present in the corner. Well, this past weekend he was doing his thing but, for some reason, kept trying to climb up to our open windows. Being that we live on the fourth floor, I didn't think dear Koo-koo would survive the educational experience. So I kept shoeing him away from the windows. Eventually, I just closed the windows and locked him out of that room. Well, he was none too happy and showed it by raring up on his hind legs and hissing at me. I just ignored him and kept reading. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the demon ferret came flying from the side and attacked my leg. He bit me and ran off. Koo-koo and I have filed for separation on grounds of irreconcilable differences.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Doing What I Do
People again have been asking what it is that I do on a daily basis. It's a fair enough question, considering UK PhD's look very different than US ones and, further, that nobody seems to know what a US PhD looks like anyway! So, upon the request of inquiring minds and of my wifey, I here divulge the mysterious and enthralling details of my daily life. Buckle up, it's going to get wild.
Observe me in my habitat. We PhD's are a rare and illusive species, as you can see by the picture. This is the library, where I do my work. It's empty, quiet, and cold, and probably the reason I got pneumonia. If you're looking for the training vicars, who make up the bulk of the college, you'll find them in the common room drinking tea. Perhaps I chose the wrong field.
Ah, how beautifully this passage speaks. Don't you think? Well, it actually says something like 'and these are the names of the sons of Israel...' The title of Exodus in Hebrew is 'And these are the names', which follows the protocol of naming books by their first two Hebrew words. Not too exciting. Of course, when it comes to Leviticus and Numbers, I think the Hebrew titles are a steep improvement: 'And he called to Moses' and 'In the wilderness'. You win some, you lose some. Either way, the point here is that this is the Hebrew text, which I read for an hour to begin each day (to keep my Hebrew-brain muscles big and strong).
And another fickle language: German. I'm currently spending a good deal of time learning German. After the hour of Hebrew, I spend a couple in basic German grammar. So why learn German? Good question, one that I ask myself at least two hours a day. If you ask my sister Summer, she'll tell you it's because I need to read ancient German manuscripts of the Old Testament. I like this explanation because it's mysterious and exciting. The problem is that it's entirely untrue. I actually have to learn German because a vast amount of scholarly material has been written in German. But why not read those things that are translated? Because only an itsy bit has been translated, most of which is not helpful for research. Those are the cold, boring facts about German.
Okay, so we're now 3 hours into my day and all we've done is study languages. Apparently this is normal. The rest of my workday is spent in reading and writing. I don't have a picture of my recent reading, so please imagine a few books on the psychology of memory. Yep, that's my most recent endeavor. Basically, my advisor Gordon has me do readings and then essays on particular areas, in hopes of turning some new stones. The reason I'm now reading in psychology of memory is because it might help frame my particular interest in memory and community formation. I really do think it's going to be valuable. Thus far it has been incredibly interesting as to how our memories work. Let's do an experiment: imagine two things, the first your most recent trip in the car and the second your earliest childhood memory. Searching, searching, searching...Got 'em? Okay. If you think about how you view those memories, you probably see the recent one through your own eyes and the older one from a bird's-eye persective (that is, you see yourself in the memory). Is this true? This is the tendency of remembering: we see old memories through an observer perspective and new ones through our own eyes. Interesting, isn't it?
At the end of the workday I go home and prepare dinner for my lovely wife. After that, I work on a whole variety of things, including preparing talks, completing job applications (for CCU!), or composing articles for either outdoors our academic journals. Anywho, I know this isn't nearly as exciting as our other posts, but felt it'd be good to do nonetheless. I promise more exciting posts are coming soon!
Observe me in my habitat. We PhD's are a rare and illusive species, as you can see by the picture. This is the library, where I do my work. It's empty, quiet, and cold, and probably the reason I got pneumonia. If you're looking for the training vicars, who make up the bulk of the college, you'll find them in the common room drinking tea. Perhaps I chose the wrong field.
Ah, how beautifully this passage speaks. Don't you think? Well, it actually says something like 'and these are the names of the sons of Israel...' The title of Exodus in Hebrew is 'And these are the names', which follows the protocol of naming books by their first two Hebrew words. Not too exciting. Of course, when it comes to Leviticus and Numbers, I think the Hebrew titles are a steep improvement: 'And he called to Moses' and 'In the wilderness'. You win some, you lose some. Either way, the point here is that this is the Hebrew text, which I read for an hour to begin each day (to keep my Hebrew-brain muscles big and strong).
And another fickle language: German. I'm currently spending a good deal of time learning German. After the hour of Hebrew, I spend a couple in basic German grammar. So why learn German? Good question, one that I ask myself at least two hours a day. If you ask my sister Summer, she'll tell you it's because I need to read ancient German manuscripts of the Old Testament. I like this explanation because it's mysterious and exciting. The problem is that it's entirely untrue. I actually have to learn German because a vast amount of scholarly material has been written in German. But why not read those things that are translated? Because only an itsy bit has been translated, most of which is not helpful for research. Those are the cold, boring facts about German.
Okay, so we're now 3 hours into my day and all we've done is study languages. Apparently this is normal. The rest of my workday is spent in reading and writing. I don't have a picture of my recent reading, so please imagine a few books on the psychology of memory. Yep, that's my most recent endeavor. Basically, my advisor Gordon has me do readings and then essays on particular areas, in hopes of turning some new stones. The reason I'm now reading in psychology of memory is because it might help frame my particular interest in memory and community formation. I really do think it's going to be valuable. Thus far it has been incredibly interesting as to how our memories work. Let's do an experiment: imagine two things, the first your most recent trip in the car and the second your earliest childhood memory. Searching, searching, searching...Got 'em? Okay. If you think about how you view those memories, you probably see the recent one through your own eyes and the older one from a bird's-eye persective (that is, you see yourself in the memory). Is this true? This is the tendency of remembering: we see old memories through an observer perspective and new ones through our own eyes. Interesting, isn't it?
At the end of the workday I go home and prepare dinner for my lovely wife. After that, I work on a whole variety of things, including preparing talks, completing job applications (for CCU!), or composing articles for either outdoors our academic journals. Anywho, I know this isn't nearly as exciting as our other posts, but felt it'd be good to do nonetheless. I promise more exciting posts are coming soon!
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