It's snowing again today. At one point we had a lull where the snow seemed to stop just as the plow came. We moved the cars, swept the decks, played with the dog and could see the sun creeping out from behind a cloud. Then suddenly it was as if someone shook our snow globe and snow was swirling and whirling in a frenzy. The deck is once again covered, the sun can no longer be seen and aside from the wind it would be a great day to be on the mountain skiing or snowboarding.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to be bothered to go. Instead, I'm watching it fall, contemplating a hot beverage and enjoying my nice warm slippers. I want to be more enthusiastic about getting out there on the hill and recreating in the fluffy, powdery snow. Earlier in the week I was even thinking about how great it would be to get out on the mountain and enjoy the incredible snow fall we have been having. But the truth is, on this Saturday, I don't want to deal with the traffic, the cold or the tourists. I don't want to hassle with badgering my husband into going, finding parking or waiting for the bus, renting equipment (mine has long since died), or getting our passes. At the same time I feel that I should go, and endure these things, because I live here and this is what people do! What is the point of living in Colorado's playground if I don't go out and play?
The snow has just slowed down again, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. Maybe I'll motivate to drag out all the gear and take the dog snowshoeing this afternoon or evening. Especially if the weather is beginning to clear. Most likely though, I'll sip guiltily on my nice hot beverage and wait for the snow globe to be shaken up again.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Snow Musings
I grew up in Maryland where snow was welcome at certain times of the year, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, but then wished away as soon as possible. Most people had no idea how to drive in snow or how to manage it so everything came to a standstill. At the first prediction of snow people would rush to the store for necessities like bread, milk and toilet paper, cancel all plans that might coincide with fluffy white flakes falling from the sky, and huddle inside their homes until the terror had passed.
When I was in elementary school we had 36 inches of snow in a day or two and school was closed for the week. For the first few days the neighborhood was transformed into a magical snowy wonderland. We built snow forts and snowmen during the day, came in for hot chocolate and went back out after dinner to sled with friends and parents alike. Everyone enjoyed it until the isolation started to sink in. The neighborhood never got plowed and people had a hard time getting out of their driveways. My mom walked my sister and I to the High's convenience store with our sled in tow for supplies, only they were out of everything we needed. Apparently the county had difficulty plowing the main roads too.
The attitude towards snow in the High Country of Colorado is a bit different than that of the east where I grew up. Here snow is white gold and without it our community would bankrupt. Snow is essential to winter recreation and that is our primary commodity. People come from all over the world to recreate in Colorado's Playground (the state's slogan for our fine community)and if they arrive between Thanksgiving and March they expect lots of fluffy white snow.
Snow is celebrated here on a grand scale, not just for a few days but for at least six months. We have a festival to Ullr, the Norse god of snow, parades and pub crawls, snow sculpture events, fireworks and frivolity each winter in order to entice people to come and experience the best snow mother nature has to offer. The type of snow is described in detail, it can be powdery (the best to ski or board on), or corny (it looks like Styrofoam balls falling from the sky), or wet (east coast snow, high in water) but it is always welcome here. The towns know how to manage it, the buses don't stop running, school is rarely closed or delayed and locals can be found on the mountains at daybreak to get at it.
Today a winter storm is wrapping up and another is supposed to hit tomorrow. Nothing is at a standstill, schools are not closed and the grocery store has plenty of toilet paper, bread and milk. It's funny how different attitudes can be across the country regarding snow. If your lively hood, or vacation for that matter, depends upon it falling, it is embraced as a magical elixir or enchantment. Otherwise, it's just a nuisance that interrupts daily life and complicates getting around.
When I was in elementary school we had 36 inches of snow in a day or two and school was closed for the week. For the first few days the neighborhood was transformed into a magical snowy wonderland. We built snow forts and snowmen during the day, came in for hot chocolate and went back out after dinner to sled with friends and parents alike. Everyone enjoyed it until the isolation started to sink in. The neighborhood never got plowed and people had a hard time getting out of their driveways. My mom walked my sister and I to the High's convenience store with our sled in tow for supplies, only they were out of everything we needed. Apparently the county had difficulty plowing the main roads too.
The attitude towards snow in the High Country of Colorado is a bit different than that of the east where I grew up. Here snow is white gold and without it our community would bankrupt. Snow is essential to winter recreation and that is our primary commodity. People come from all over the world to recreate in Colorado's Playground (the state's slogan for our fine community)and if they arrive between Thanksgiving and March they expect lots of fluffy white snow.
Snow is celebrated here on a grand scale, not just for a few days but for at least six months. We have a festival to Ullr, the Norse god of snow, parades and pub crawls, snow sculpture events, fireworks and frivolity each winter in order to entice people to come and experience the best snow mother nature has to offer. The type of snow is described in detail, it can be powdery (the best to ski or board on), or corny (it looks like Styrofoam balls falling from the sky), or wet (east coast snow, high in water) but it is always welcome here. The towns know how to manage it, the buses don't stop running, school is rarely closed or delayed and locals can be found on the mountains at daybreak to get at it.
Today a winter storm is wrapping up and another is supposed to hit tomorrow. Nothing is at a standstill, schools are not closed and the grocery store has plenty of toilet paper, bread and milk. It's funny how different attitudes can be across the country regarding snow. If your lively hood, or vacation for that matter, depends upon it falling, it is embraced as a magical elixir or enchantment. Otherwise, it's just a nuisance that interrupts daily life and complicates getting around.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
TCCOR 1E
Ok, we have finally reached tropical cyclone conditions of readiness (I found out what TCCOR means) of 1 emergency. This means that we have to stay indoors and abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages. Dawn, mom and I have decided to drink margaritas and run out into the rain naked after the children go to bed. There are plenty of trees for us to dance around and since the visibility is low, we shouldn't annoy the neighbors too much. Maybe the MP's will come and take us away since we are going a little stir crazy anyway. Of course once they find out that we are entertaining 5 children they will run from the responsibility and here we will still be. Oh well.
John (brother in-law) and Matthew (son #2) are in the states so they are missing the Kompasu experience. Evidently there hasn't been a typhoon of this magnitude in Okinawa since 2007, gee aren't we all lucky. The sky is getting darker and we have to listen to AFN (Armed Forces Network) The Wave for the latest updates. This is the STRANGEST radio station. They have a special typhoon broadcast interspersed with music from Eminem to Gretchen Wilson. When Dawn and I went to the video store we heard "Play that Funky Music White Boy" and then on the way home REM. We sang "It's the end of the world as we know it..." in between many giggles.
The children alternate between laughing and crying, they must have assigned turns because it's never simultaneously. It's almost 7:00, the girls should be going to bed soon. I'd better go get those margaritas ready!
John (brother in-law) and Matthew (son #2) are in the states so they are missing the Kompasu experience. Evidently there hasn't been a typhoon of this magnitude in Okinawa since 2007, gee aren't we all lucky. The sky is getting darker and we have to listen to AFN (Armed Forces Network) The Wave for the latest updates. This is the STRANGEST radio station. They have a special typhoon broadcast interspersed with music from Eminem to Gretchen Wilson. When Dawn and I went to the video store we heard "Play that Funky Music White Boy" and then on the way home REM. We sang "It's the end of the world as we know it..." in between many giggles.
The children alternate between laughing and crying, they must have assigned turns because it's never simultaneously. It's almost 7:00, the girls should be going to bed soon. I'd better go get those margaritas ready!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Typhoon Kompasu
Ohayo Gozaimasu! (Good Morning)
Well my nice beach vacation in a tranquil hut on Torii beach has been cancelled, for the time being. Mom and I were looking forward to some tasty margaritas on the front porch of our little cottage and some quiet time, instead we are gearing up for a typhoon. Oh well, mother nature has her own twisted sense of humor sometimes. It's interesting that we didn't even know a typhoon was approaching until we visited the commissary on Sunday and they had a TCCOR (what does this stand for anyway?) 3. The storm was due to hit in 48 hours and was still referred to as Typhoon Eight. We turned on the news (what passes for news here anyway) and found no information. We checked the Kadena Air Base weather readiness website and nothing was being reported there either. So we went to weather underground on the web and finally found a bit of news. By Monday, the thing had a name and we were at TCCOR 2, which is basically batten down the hatches, or secure anything outside, high winds may arrive in 24 hours. So we went to the South East Botanical Gardens, which is fortunately only 5 minutes away from Dawn's because as soon as we arrived the torrential rain began and we decided to head to the Hundred Yen and the Do It Yourself Store instead.
You have never seen a more organized hardware store in your life. All of the plumbing fixtures are neatly arranged in bins, I'll see how mom's pictures turned out and post them on Facebook. It was interesting to see all the space saving furniture, the cabinets and toilets. They have a toilet that you wash your hands under the faucet that fills the toilet back up! Talk about eco-friendly. They also had the most beautiful orchids, which sort of made up for the botanical gardens being rained out. After that we went to the Hundred Yen store which the kids always enjoy and then home for lunch and naps. We attempted the botanical gardens again in the afternoon and were worried that we might get rained out again, but it managed to hold off. We got to see some beautiful flowers and HUGE lily pads. After dinner and putting the kids to bed we had a girls evening of scrabble and margaritas, not quite the same as the beach but we still had fun.
This morning we have moved to TCCOR 1, which is fill up the bathtub, sandbag the doors and wait, we might have high winds in 12 hours. I guess they move through several phases of TCCOR 1, one of which is not going outside, so we are kind of stuck here on base. With our luck we would leave and not be able to get back on! We'll see what happens with Typhoon Kompasu. The kids are a little anxious but it looks like just another hot and sunny day outside with a slight wind.
Well my nice beach vacation in a tranquil hut on Torii beach has been cancelled, for the time being. Mom and I were looking forward to some tasty margaritas on the front porch of our little cottage and some quiet time, instead we are gearing up for a typhoon. Oh well, mother nature has her own twisted sense of humor sometimes. It's interesting that we didn't even know a typhoon was approaching until we visited the commissary on Sunday and they had a TCCOR (what does this stand for anyway?) 3. The storm was due to hit in 48 hours and was still referred to as Typhoon Eight. We turned on the news (what passes for news here anyway) and found no information. We checked the Kadena Air Base weather readiness website and nothing was being reported there either. So we went to weather underground on the web and finally found a bit of news. By Monday, the thing had a name and we were at TCCOR 2, which is basically batten down the hatches, or secure anything outside, high winds may arrive in 24 hours. So we went to the South East Botanical Gardens, which is fortunately only 5 minutes away from Dawn's because as soon as we arrived the torrential rain began and we decided to head to the Hundred Yen and the Do It Yourself Store instead.
You have never seen a more organized hardware store in your life. All of the plumbing fixtures are neatly arranged in bins, I'll see how mom's pictures turned out and post them on Facebook. It was interesting to see all the space saving furniture, the cabinets and toilets. They have a toilet that you wash your hands under the faucet that fills the toilet back up! Talk about eco-friendly. They also had the most beautiful orchids, which sort of made up for the botanical gardens being rained out. After that we went to the Hundred Yen store which the kids always enjoy and then home for lunch and naps. We attempted the botanical gardens again in the afternoon and were worried that we might get rained out again, but it managed to hold off. We got to see some beautiful flowers and HUGE lily pads. After dinner and putting the kids to bed we had a girls evening of scrabble and margaritas, not quite the same as the beach but we still had fun.
This morning we have moved to TCCOR 1, which is fill up the bathtub, sandbag the doors and wait, we might have high winds in 12 hours. I guess they move through several phases of TCCOR 1, one of which is not going outside, so we are kind of stuck here on base. With our luck we would leave and not be able to get back on! We'll see what happens with Typhoon Kompasu. The kids are a little anxious but it looks like just another hot and sunny day outside with a slight wind.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Okinawa, our first few days.
Today marks the end of our first week in Okinawa and I can't believe how much we have done and seen already. On our first day here we had to get passes for the military bases that we would be frequenting and my sister (Dawn) confiscated our passports. She has to show them at the guard gate every time we return to Kadena Air Base from an outing or any time we are in the commissary or BX. After we got that sorted out we were off to the 100 yen store with the kids. Dawn mentioned that it was similar to the dollar stores in the states but I have to say, I think they have a much better selection of crazy junk. My favorite things were all of the bento box paraphernalia and the school supplies, I have an odd obsession for school and stationary supplies!
The weather here is hot and humid, just what one would expect from the tropics and this summer they have been getting quite a bit of rain. One the second day we were here, the power went out right before we headed out for the day, I guess this happens frequently. We weren't too concerned about it since we were leaving for the day but I was relieved to find it back on by the time we got home. It was so hot out I actually could feel parts of me melting, ok I was probably just hoping that parts of me were melting away but it was hot!
On our second day we went up to Ocean Expo Park in Motobu Penninsula. The drive on the expressway was quite interesting. First, they drive on the left hand side of the road here. I'm glad I am not the one driving, the motorcycles are able to weave in and out of traffic to pass by slower moving cars, which is a little crazy when you aren't expecting it. There are tons of tiny little cars here, which is good because the roads and parking areas are quite narrow. It took us close to an hour to drive up to Ocean Expo Park, 4 adults, 6 kids, a cooler and beach toys, all packed into two Toyota mini-vans.
Ocean Expo park is huge and amazingly most of it is free. They have an Ocean Culture museum, a Native Okinawan village, several
arboretums, three different play areas including Kids Adventure land and the Churaumi Aquarium. It was beautiful and we didn't even go inside the aquarium. We watched the sea turtles and the manatees and the headed to the dolphin show, which is actually dolphins and false killer whales. The animals were beautiful and I felt a little guilty that they were performing for our pleasure. After our dolphin show, we headed to Emerald Beach to cool off a bit in the warm China Sea. The beach was gorgeous but it was missing sunbathers. Evidently Okinawan and Japanese women don't lay out in the sun, no wonder they never look old! In fact, when they weren't in the water, they were under umbrellas or wearing huge hats, sleevelets (like long gloves that reach above the elbow) and long skirts or sarongs. Definitely different than the american ideal of a bronze beauty.
The weather here is hot and humid, just what one would expect from the tropics and this summer they have been getting quite a bit of rain. One the second day we were here, the power went out right before we headed out for the day, I guess this happens frequently. We weren't too concerned about it since we were leaving for the day but I was relieved to find it back on by the time we got home. It was so hot out I actually could feel parts of me melting, ok I was probably just hoping that parts of me were melting away but it was hot!
On our second day we went up to Ocean Expo Park in Motobu Penninsula. The drive on the expressway was quite interesting. First, they drive on the left hand side of the road here. I'm glad I am not the one driving, the motorcycles are able to weave in and out of traffic to pass by slower moving cars, which is a little crazy when you aren't expecting it. There are tons of tiny little cars here, which is good because the roads and parking areas are quite narrow. It took us close to an hour to drive up to Ocean Expo Park, 4 adults, 6 kids, a cooler and beach toys, all packed into two Toyota mini-vans.
Ocean Expo park is huge and amazingly most of it is free. They have an Ocean Culture museum, a Native Okinawan village, several
arboretums, three different play areas including Kids Adventure land and the Churaumi Aquarium. It was beautiful and we didn't even go inside the aquarium. We watched the sea turtles and the manatees and the headed to the dolphin show, which is actually dolphins and false killer whales. The animals were beautiful and I felt a little guilty that they were performing for our pleasure. After our dolphin show, we headed to Emerald Beach to cool off a bit in the warm China Sea. The beach was gorgeous but it was missing sunbathers. Evidently Okinawan and Japanese women don't lay out in the sun, no wonder they never look old! In fact, when they weren't in the water, they were under umbrellas or wearing huge hats, sleevelets (like long gloves that reach above the elbow) and long skirts or sarongs. Definitely different than the american ideal of a bronze beauty.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Okinawa Adventure 2010
Although I have been wanting to travel to exotic places and interesting locales, I never really had Japan on my radar until my sister moved there with her husband and six children about a year ago. They had a wonderful opportunity with the government and jumped on it so of course I felt compelled to come for a visit. I mean, how often does a person have an opportunity to take advantage of visiting a foreign country and not have to worry about hotels, transportation and going broke before returning to the states? I renewed my passport, told my mom what I was planning and she decided that she'd like to go too. I have no idea how my brother in-law reacted when my sister told him we wanted to come and stay for three weeks, but I must say, the man is a saint to put up with us for that long! What is that saying about fish and house guests...they start to stink after a week? After a few months of planning, our departure date arrived before I could learn much Japanese or worry about the extremely long plane ride that we would endure. This was going to be an adventure on several fronts. First, my mom and I have never travelled together internationally (she has never been out of the United States). Second, my sister has six kids and is pregnant with her 7th, they range in age from 12 to 22 months (I have no children) and we are staying in their home for 3 weeks. Third, we're visiting a country I know very little about, with language that is not close to English in any way and a list of venomous sea creatures a mile long. Let the adventures begin!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Oil Spills
Last night I had the opportunity to see the documentary, Black Water on Planet Green. It's about the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in 1989 and I highly recommend watching it if you get a chance.
In the wake of the recent spill in Louisiana, I am worried at the precedents set in Alaska. I didn't realize that it took twenty years to settle the lawsuits against Exxon and they ended up paying only $507 million dollars in punitive damages to the fisherman of Prince William Sound. The original award was $5 billion dollars, the equivalent to a years profit for Exxon at the time. Exxon earned $45 billion dollars in 2008. The fishing industry in the Prince William Sound has yet to come back, the cannery has never reopened and the community of Cordova, AK has suffered both economically and socially ever since the spill. The volunteers that cleaned up the oil have suffered numerous health problems and even death from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon toxicity that resulted when the oil was steamed and breathed in by the workers. Exxon has claimed no responsibility.
How is it that our country, our court system, values a corporation's interest more than a community? Environmental concerns not withstanding, how is it that we have so little regard for our people? Why was Exxon allowed to drag out the process after their appeals were repeatedly denied? How will this precedent now affect the Gulf Coast and the state of Louisiana? I am concerned that once again we will favor a corporation over people, in an area that has already suffered so much. BP has stated that they do not own the well that exploded, they merely lease it, does that then mean they aren't responsible? Exxon has been giving BP advice on how to orchestrate the cleanup. Perhaps we should be wary of their assistance.
Maybe this country's love affair with oil needs to end. We have the technology and the capability to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fuels like oil. Whether you believe in global warming or could care less about the environment, shouldn't we care enough about our people to stop putting them in harms way physically and economically?
To read more about the oil spill in the Gulf, click on the link below.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/exxon_valdez_a_glimpse_of_the.html
In the wake of the recent spill in Louisiana, I am worried at the precedents set in Alaska. I didn't realize that it took twenty years to settle the lawsuits against Exxon and they ended up paying only $507 million dollars in punitive damages to the fisherman of Prince William Sound. The original award was $5 billion dollars, the equivalent to a years profit for Exxon at the time. Exxon earned $45 billion dollars in 2008. The fishing industry in the Prince William Sound has yet to come back, the cannery has never reopened and the community of Cordova, AK has suffered both economically and socially ever since the spill. The volunteers that cleaned up the oil have suffered numerous health problems and even death from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon toxicity that resulted when the oil was steamed and breathed in by the workers. Exxon has claimed no responsibility.
How is it that our country, our court system, values a corporation's interest more than a community? Environmental concerns not withstanding, how is it that we have so little regard for our people? Why was Exxon allowed to drag out the process after their appeals were repeatedly denied? How will this precedent now affect the Gulf Coast and the state of Louisiana? I am concerned that once again we will favor a corporation over people, in an area that has already suffered so much. BP has stated that they do not own the well that exploded, they merely lease it, does that then mean they aren't responsible? Exxon has been giving BP advice on how to orchestrate the cleanup. Perhaps we should be wary of their assistance.
Maybe this country's love affair with oil needs to end. We have the technology and the capability to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fuels like oil. Whether you believe in global warming or could care less about the environment, shouldn't we care enough about our people to stop putting them in harms way physically and economically?
To read more about the oil spill in the Gulf, click on the link below.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/exxon_valdez_a_glimpse_of_the.html
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