Today is our last full day in Amsterdam, and we are at the "Wash & Coffee," at 8:15 a.m., wearing the last clean items we own...athletic wear, which is funny because it is really far too cold to be running around in this little.  But, free wifi, and I have a cappuccino, and so I thought I'd do an update. I have been keeping an electronic journal on the netbook, so I thought I'd post a few days worth of notes (abbreviated version) about our adventures so far.....
( behind here )

This morning was the last day with the students - everyone passed, I handed out some books, got a few hugs, and said goodbye to two students who are moving this summer. One is transferring to a different college to play football, the other got a job in LA and is going to go move in with his girlfriend's parents who have a pool...and where he can live in a place where he can go around without a shirt.  Sounds good to me!

After this I headed out on the home stretch for vacation. Minor errands, gassing up and cleaning the car, for example, and then I've been home being totally anal retentive. Stuff like changing the sheets, and washing all the towels - cause you know dirty towels will make your house smell if they are locked up for 3 weeks. I took a break this afternoon for some girl time: facial and a pedicure. All I have left really is to clean off the dining room table so the birds can go there tomorrow, and I should sweep the floors.  I pick up Geoff at 5, we are going to have a simple supper which is mostly cleaning the frig of all perishables (most perishables, some stuff may get tossed, but not much), then grab a beer and pack those suitcases.

Now the last two trips I was seriously stupid and forgot major things - this time I have a list, and I have everything aside and ready to get packed, so hopefully I won't forget something. Yeah cause we left our digital camera behind when we went to Italy...NOT going to do that again!

Tomorrow we both work until noon and then head out. I am packing a picnic for us to eat at some nice spot in the redwoods on the way down, then we are at the Radisson in Brisbane taking advantage of the park-n-fly deal. We fly out on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on Royal Dutch Airlines, and then 10 hours later (or 9 a.m. the next day) we land in Amsterdam. Typically the first day is a wash because I get very sick from jet lag. I have a plan though, and a special neck pillow and fuzzy socks and am hoping to get a few hours of sleep on the plane so maybe it won't be so bad this time.

We are staying at 'Hotel Washington,' in an economy room with a shared bath - probably on the 4th floor with no elevator, but that's okay, we've been working out at the gym, plus, good way to burn off the calories of all the food I am going to eat!

We are in Amsterdam from May 10th through the 17th, when we take a train to Paris. It is a 3 hour and 20 minute trip, and then we stay in Paris until Saturday, May 26th. In Paris we are in a better hotel, 'Hotel Devillas,' right in the heart of the Latin quarter with our own bath and a small balcony. We have some plans about what we are definitely going to do - like visit The Hague, tour the canals, visit at least two museums, and see the tulips in Amsterdam. In Paris, back to the Louvre, then also the modern art and L'Orangerie, plus trips to Les Halles, tour a crypt - Geoff wants to do a poetry reading, and we are going to do a day-trip to Chatres.

There is also going to be a LOT of just wandering around, trust me!  Now we are bringing a netbook, and we will have wifi, but I don't expect that we are going to be online much. In fact, we decided to only check email every 3-4 days, not check work email at all. I will probably post to Facebook, but won't take the time to blog. So this is it.....my last post for the next three weeks!  You all take care. Nothing bad can happen to anyone while I'm gone okay? We all have to agree.

Private to tlv100
( you are.... )

Things are winding down at work. I gave the finals, everyone passed! I got some good news regarding work for Fall (looks like I may have some, yay!), and I've tried to have the two faculty I hired for summer get their paperwork in. That sounds easy enough right, but both managed to leave off some required paperwork so I got a call from the Vice-Provost and I had to track them down. I'm a bit not happy with their level of professionalism on this - but as Geoff says, it's Humboldt, why are you surprised?

I have also been very successful getting all the necessary stuff done for our trip. There are so many little things, but I think I got it actually. All I have left now is to get an address book together, print out flight and hotel information with instructions on how to get to where (must be done in advance because I will be useless from jet lag later), and then we start packing.

Okay, so the other thing is I broke down and had my hair highlighted. I know, I know....such a girl thing, and totally unlike me to spend any money on my hair. I am a "stick it in a bun" kind of gal.  But damn guys my hair looks good!  I was afraid of it looking all streaky, but it doesn't at all - it is perfectly blended in it looks totally natural. It is also darker than it has been in a while. She used my natural brown color as a base for the low-lights so it won't show much when it starts to grow out. Rachel thinks this could last 2.5-3 months, and hide the grey way better than me just dying it out of the box at home. Oh, and Geoff didn't recognize me - how funny is that!

Today Geoff has to work. He says about 5 hours and he'll be wrapped up and ready to bail. I have a few hours worth of work myself, and then I have got to get started cleaning the house up for the trip...trying to concentrate and not think about Paris is hard!

Just realized I forgot to post a review of this....'Beginners' is a really nice movie. Recommend to everyone. Oh wait, how about this...watch the trailer, and if it seems a bit sentimental, maybe you won't like it.  I did though.

So I just gave my last lecture today - we wrapped up 'The Hound of the Baskervilles,' and I did my best to prep them for finals. I also told them that the new series 'Sherlock' starts this Sunday, and the episode on May 13th is the reboot, called "Hounds of Baskerville.'  I am going to be in Europe, but will get it on Hulu when I get back. Here is the trailer for that, cause you KNOW you want to see it!

Okay, so today I have to head out to HSU this afternoon, and I owe my sister a letter. Tomorrow I see my doctor, Thursday I record my presentation for the conference in June and I have a meeting with my Chair, Vinnie, then on Friday I am getting highlights for my hair.  Those are the appointments anyway, betwixt and between I'll be grading finals, more errands, and I have to do something about the script (cause I haven't really looked at it since the last read through). Busy busy, but nowhere near as frantic as Geoff so no complaints there.

I know you are all very skeptical, but the test run of Ex Officio "give and go" underwear was very successful. I wore a pair for a full 24-hours, and even though they are 94% nylon/6% spandex, they were very comfortable, stayed dry, washed in the sink with regular hand soap quickly, dried in 3 hours and emerged looking and smelling like they came right out of the package. Swear. Oh, and they roll up into practically nothing in the suitcase.

Geoff was so impressed that we went online and got two pairs of men's undershirts (saving the suitcase space of at least 5 bulky cotton undershirts, two pairs of men's underwear, and an additional pair for me. Helps that we had $40 of free coupons for amazon.com   and hey, if it doesn't work out while we are there, there are worse ways to spend my time than shopping for cute panties in Paris, right?

12 days until vacation and Geoff and I are both feeling the crunch but can't seem to get very motivated to get caught up.  We have kept up our goal to hit the gym 5-6 days a week and have upped the workouts, just to get our stamina up for the all day walking excursions we'll be doing. We also both found some good walking shoes - turns out that Doc Martins fit Geoff like a glove (who knew?).

I also picked up a pair of Ex Officio underwear that supposedly you can use for your entire trip.  They advertise it as "one pair, 17 days, six countries....okay maybe you want two pairs." I had seen these before and turned my nose up at them, cause yeah, kind of gross. But they are a special microfiber with built in anti-bacterial stuff, and super quick dry. The idea is that each night you can wash them in the sink with regular soap, rinse, roll up in a towel, then hang up and they will be fresh as ever in a few hours.  The only reason I got a pair is because the local travel shop has them for half off --- apparently they weren't moving off the shelves, surprise surprise.  I am wearing them now, and if they perform as advertised I may pick up a second pair because really, if this is going to work, you need a pair to wear while the other one is being cleaned. They aren't very sexy, but they are cut well enough and are comfortable. I'll report back with my findings :D

What else, oh, had to get an adapter for our electronics. We are not going to take our Droids with us because international data transfer rates are so expensive, and without the cool apps there really isn't any point. Just a digital camera and a flip for video, and maybe a netbook so we can check in every three or four days and update our FB status and post some pictures. Maybe not even that. I am looking forward to going dark and not following the news. 

We are hiring someone to come by the house each week and water the plants and take care of our birds. She is coming over for dinner on Sunday actually, and we'll give her the tour then. That is about the only plans we have for the weekend apart from a half-day of work and hitting a yoga class.

So last week. We did try to watch the film 'Carnage' during the week but turned it off after 20 minutes. It was very "staged," so obviously based on a play, and the characters were awful...like people that you would not like. Like the horrible people in front of you in the Starbucks line talking too loud about boring things on their cell phones but seeming really smug about it at the same time. It might be a great movie, but damn I was not in the mood to watch a bunch of yuppies work through a psychological meltdown. Skip.  This weekend we have "Beginners," the film that got Christopher Plummer his Oscar for his role as a father who comes out as a homosexual after his wife of 50 years dies, and how his son deals with the revelation. I'll let you know how that goes.

Last week had some hard stuff in it... I learned some news about work that made me pretty angry. Two things actually, and for about two days I was stressed but I think I am over that now. You all have been there though and I know you understand what it feels like to have that moment when whatever blinders you had on about the other people you work with, or your job in general, stripped away and then you know in your heart that it really, probably, was never going to work out, and you pretty much don't want or need it to anymore. That is where I was this week Tuesday and Wednesday. Not fun....but again, going on vacation soon, will regain perspective and come back ready to do the work, kick ass in the play, and make it a fun and happy summer in Humboldt.

Ripped, but didn't watch 'Carnage,' will get to that some time in the week ahead.  Saturday I had a really good and long workout while Geoff got his MUCH needed massage, and then, as the weather was suddenly really lovely, we went downtown, stopped into a wine bar for a glass of chard, then to dinner and the play, "Much Ado" at North Coast Rep. That is the same theatre I am going to be doing a show for over the summer.  I knew four members of the cast: Hero, Benedick, Leonato, and Dogberry. Two were AMAZING!!!!  One was just fine, and the other, alas, struggled....that would be Ed who played Dogberry. Timing was off and I am pretty sure he forgot a line and ran over other actor's lines twice. Ouch.

Geoff "won" the KEET28 game. KEET is our local Fox affiliate, and they are on Channel 28 here...and he was the 28th person with a ticket, or something. What did he win?  Oh, this is good:

• Tote bag from "Howdy's Market" from a show called "Raising Hope," which I have never heard of - and it contained....
• "That '70s Show" black lightbulb
• "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" boxer shorts - they are super cute on me, but who is Andy Richter?
• "So You Think You Can Dance" plastic water bottle
• "American Idol" cheer megaphone
• a t-shirt that has a tuxedo on the front, and "Married By America, you match, you vote, they marry" on it (I am not sure if that is a show or if this is for "The Bachelor" or something)
• a mousepad for "The Wildest Shows on Earth," with pictures of 'The Simpsons,' 'King of the Hill,' 'Family Guy,' and 'American Dad' on it, and it shows different pictures if you move it back and forth
• "Terra Nova" badge/pin
• and my favorite, a post-it cube for the show "24" with pictures from the show on the sides

So I am keeping the boxers and the post-it cube, but if anybody wants any of the other stuff let me know.

Today we hit yoga and then met friends up for a movie, "Raid: Redemption." This is a really intense gun-fu/kung-fu movie. Now I know not everyone is a huge fan of the action-packed kung-fu genre...but if you are, this is seriously fun! Bit bloodier than I usually go for, but you don't see much really.. I thought for sure when the machetes came out we'd be having fingers and ears and such flying everywhere...but nope, I mean you have to work harder NOT to cut off a finger when you have that many machetes in a fight, and yet they managed. There were also two plot twists that I didn't see coming, and neither did Geoff when I asked afterwards, so that was surprising, cause I mean kung-fu movies aren't actually known for their brilliant writing.  On the other hand, early on I whispered to Geoff, "why doesn't he just change clothes?" and Geoff says he didn't know. Later, a character tells him to change clothes so he could escape (cause, DUH!!!), and he says "no" because his uniform "just fits."

Oh. My. God.  Worst writing....popcorn tossing at screen bad. 

Okay, one last note on the film. It is Indonesian with English subtitles. We are in Eureka, which means nobody is going to see a kung-fu movie with subtitles, probably because most of the 14-25 year old men around here who would be interested in a kung-fu movie can't read that fast....just saying.  So the film is playing only 2 shows a day in the tiniest room in the movie complex. Seats maybe 60 people?  The audience was Geoff and myself and the coworkers we asked to join in, and then behind us were 6 Mexican migrant workers.  They were speaking in Spanish during the film, which was a bit annoying. Not that the conversation was going to ruin the film for me, but I already am listening to people in front talk in Indonesian, and now I have another conversation in Spanish, while I'm trying to read!  It dawned on me afterwards they were probably asking each other what the HELL was going on, and why did that guy kill that guy, or, why did that guy NOT kill that guy, WTF? I can't even imagine what they must have thought, cause there is no way this film makes sense at all without the script.

The week went as planned: massage, work, board meeting, etc.  Finished my last lecture this morning - great one where the students really came together and made some AMAZING deductions about the characters in the story (so proud at their accomplishments!), and then I ran errands. You know, shopping for dinner, banking, picking up bird food - cause they were giving me the evil eye as their levels of millet spray shrank dangerously low.

Home, I filled out one job application for a full-time position - that one is due tomorrow, but I beat that deadline by 36 hours. The next one is due on 5/21, but they don't take electronic submissions, so I am heading to campus to print out all the forms, my CV, coverletter, equivalency paperwork, letters of recommendation, transcripts.....have I ever mentioned what a pain it is to apply for tenured positions?  Well it is. And then I will have to package them all up and send them certified mail....annoying. Email is free, better for the environment, get with the program peoples!

I am ripping 'Carnage,' the 2011 Roman Polanski film that good but not 'great' reviews, and starring Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet. That is for the weekend. We are also going to see North Coast Rep's production of 'Much Ado About Nothing,' featuring my friends James and Jennifer (I worked with them on 'Antigone' back when, and Jennifer and I hang out at 'Neo-Futurist' events). Saturday is Geoff's massage day, and we are going out to dinner prior to the show as well, so nice night out. Still going to have to do some work over the weekend, but will try and keep it down to a low roar.

Okay so apart from King Corn, we also watched the Gary Cooper film (Ball of Fire) which was VERY good in the first hour (grammar jokes, I LOVE them!), and then sort of got strange and went nowhere after that. Still had fun though, not sure I would recommend.

This week apart from work, tomorrow I am getting a massage followed by a trip to the steam bath...this is to help me recover from last Wednesday's medical drama. Then on Wednesday I have a training session online, a board meeting for the theater in the evening. And we rescheduled the Hoopa visit to this Friday. Apart from all that, Geoff and I are planning on hitting the gym more, and watching more episodes of  'Battlestar Gallactica.'  And that will be the week!

This is going to be an odd review because I have more to say about the subject of the documentary than about the film itself, so first, here are a few notes on the film, "King Corn."  You can watch it for free on Netflix, and here is a 20 minute excerpt they posted as well, just if you want a preview:

The film itself is well made for a couple of college students - they needed to do some editing. Geoff and I agreed that they only kept in 90 minutes for commercial release. This probably should have been about 70 minutes, max. There is one very disgusting part that happens about 50 minutes in involving the inside of a cow - truly stomach churning - we both looked away and I refused to look back until I could "hear" that they had left that scene.  You have been warned - when you get to the part with a cow trapped in a sliver box (her head is sticking out one end), go to the bathroom, check your email, get a snack. DO NOT WATCH!!!!

Little back story here - back in 2005 when they put me on some fairly toxic medication, I was told I had to be careful for my liver - watch my diet, and I get blood drawn every other month to check for any funky liver results. This was when the first studies were coming out suggesting that corn syrup was processed by the liver differently from other kinds of sugars, and there was evidence that it could lead to damage, and possibly even be the link to the huge uptick in diabetes that we've been seeing across America. Based on this Geoff and I gave up all food with corn syrup in it - everything, which basically was all processed foods that weren't 'organic' (there is no real organic corn syrup due to how it is processed).

This film convinced me with utter certainty that that was the right decision, and here I am trying to spread the word. Not just against corn syrup, although yeah, that - but against cheap processed foods. What this film really does is explain how the government shifted their agricultural policies in the 70's to produce the cheapest food possible. Economically it makes sense. 40 years ago Americans spent on average twice what we spend now (as a percentage of income). The reason is not that we are eating less, but that the cost of food has gone down so much. We take our extra money and use it to consume other things, thereby strengthening our economy and leading to a sense of heightened prosperity.

The problem is though, that at no other time have we made food that has so little nutritional value. Hamburger made from corn-fed cows has 65% of its calories from fat. Grass-fed cow's meat is MUCH leaner and contains vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids, so the hamburger that your parents ate in the 60's was much, much better for them. Is it a coincidence that this current generation is the first that is expected to live a shorter lifespan then their parents?

Oh, and not just that, your parent's burger wasn't saturated in antibiotics. Our meat is because the grain-fed cows are so sick because their diet, designed to get them up to killing weight in 5 months instead of 1.5 years, is poisonous, and is killing them. Literally. As one man in the documentary noted, it is just as well we slaughter them when we do because in three more months they'd all be dead.

Now I was aware of a lot of the information presented - but not all of it. But the way the film makers lay out their evidence and tell their story is very effective, and apart from the one gross bit, pretty darn entertaining as well. I highly recommend...and I also recommend that everyone reading this go through your cupboards, read labels, and throw anything with corn syrup in it into the trash, and then raise your left hand to heaven and put your right one over your heart and swear right now, "I will only eat grass-fed beef from now on!"