Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Stats
Ok, so i went to stats study, and the lab's been pushed back a day because the school networks down and no one can get to the website to do work. I had the info, so mines done XD. Then I played fech outside with some other girls. someone throws the stick, we run, we find, we wrestle for it. fun. I'm going to bed now. night.
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   ....
So....I have to do my stats lab today. Oh well. Guess thats what I get for putting it off......Also, I really need a new game to play. Rebirth 10 was good. Cliffe ending again, mores the shame. I got to go. ttyl later.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004

artical
Ok, so I wrote an artical on subs vs dubs for the site. I got to responces and one was by someone I doubt read the artical. that pisses me off. I didn't promote either on, just stated what was good and bad in both. That's it. my opinion was only that people should try both. The person told me to Stop complaining, tell me how is that complaining? I only said their were really bad ones of both, and english was usually edited. thats it. nothing bad about it. That really hurts.......
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Rebirth
I just got rebirth ten!!! I'm gonna go read it now!!!! Also, got mealworms for willy (my fish). I gtg. ttyl people!
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Monday, October 18, 2004

Staying up late to watch gungrave
Yes thats what I'm doing! HAHA!! I know I should work on my WR fanfic, wolf song, but I'm tooo lazy, you know? Sides I finnished writing my religion and am suffering from writers fatige. Lol. I want to post some of my art on the site, but it isn't really fan art, just anime style animals and such.....oh well...maybe I'll resubmit my greating.
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Religion 2 and japanese!
My religion teacher specilizes in buddism, and speaks japanese appantly. I really should finnish up my work, but I cant rember what a Stupa is....
also, I just wanted to say I read a little from the book "where are you going?" its in japanese, (rajin and kanji) and I can almost say it pronouncing the rajin without killing the language.
anyone know what a stupa is?
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Religion
I really should get started on my religion midturm, but I lost the paper for it and the person I'm borrowing it from is missing from the dorm.........
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Sunday, October 17, 2004

   Well, people wanted to know what happened so here it is! How I got rescued by the coastguard!!
I’ll admit, I was a little wary at fist going kayaking. I had never really been on one, and though the thought of propelling myself across over 30 miles on Lake Superior sounded like a blast, I naturally anticipated sore muscles and poor sleep. Oh the joys of tent camping! Ok, I’ll be honest; I was looking forward to it. Ice-cream is defiantly a great motivator for trying new things.

The first day was spent sleeping in and heading out around 8. It was nice. The sad thing was the people in charge of the Outdoor orientations forgot about us, so we had no food. No problem, according to Jean-Paul (JP) and Matt, our leaders, they just went out and bought stuff. Next time I’ll remember to tell people that I’m allergic to nuts. I swear all we had to eat was cheese and Gourp! Gourp, if you didn’t know, is a trail mix that is mostly nuts, and even though I’m not allergic, I will not eat nuts. They taste like wax, for crying out loud!

So we finally left the collage. We drove about a half hour away to pick up our kayaks, get wet suits and gear. I’d just like to say my wet suit was too big, and it was the smallest they had available. Oh the joy of being short. After we got our gear we headed to our first camp site. But first we stopped for ice-cream. It was really good stuff from Bayfield. I’d like to say at this point I was taking care of a nanopuppy during the trip. Just a side note. Now on with the story!

Ok. So the camp site was on the side of a cliff. No lie. It was about a 30 degree slope with lots of trees and rocks. And what’s even better is to get to the campsite we had to unload the kayaks and carry them across a bridge at the bottom of some stairs along with all our gear. Kayaks are heavy Plexiglas or plastic. It was less then a blast. At this point it was noon. We all grabbed a bite to eat while setting up the tents. There were two of them, both being 4 people tents, and 5 girls and 4 boys. It was a bit of a squeeze, but we were all in high sprits so it worked. At that point we decided to build a fire for the night, later of course.

Right after lunch we played a game. We each picked a piece of gear and tried to figure what it was. It was a lot of fun. We came up with the underwater child sleeping bag and other really bizarre things. We then learned the correct names and uses, followed with how to get into a wetsuit, spray skirt and life jacket. After a while of figuring this out, we all got into bathing suits and our gear. I had to wear a shirt underneath my wetsuit to make it fit. While the kayaks were still at camp we learned how to get in and out. I decided to be in the single kayak, mostly because no one else wanted to be alone, and I figured it would be easier to learn by myself first.

Well, after we all teemed up, or not, we had to bring the kayaks down to the shore. Joy! See, there was this really narrow trail and we had to carry the kayaks down it. Each kayak required 3 people; at least 2 to carry it and one to watch for trees. It took about 45 min to get them all down. We brought them to this little stream and launched from there. I got to be the first, being by myself and all. Before they launched me, Matt told me that Singles were easier to flip, and if I fell out to just pull off the spray skirt, which is attached to the kayak to prevent water form getting in, and swim out from under it. Launching was easy. I’m going to say that I handled myself pretty well. I don’t do the stoke quite right, but I can get the kayak to move. Apparently being by yourself is harder because it’s only you moving your kayak. Stopping makes it tough to start again. So after a while everyone else was out. We paddled about for an hour or so, drifting terribly down the coast.

After a while JP and Matt told us it was time to learn to rescue someone who’s fallen into the water. Since singles are easier to flip……..at that point I paddled like mad. It didn’t work. So I paddled backwards. That didn’t help. I got hemmed in by the two of them. So I got flipped, and slapped the sides of the kayak and pulled the skirt and surfaced. It then took what seemed like an eternity in ice cold water for them to righten my kayak. I tried to get back in the fist time only to have it flip before I got in. Another eternity passed and I actually got in the second time. Then a double, or Tandem, was flipped and while being rescued, the rescuers dipped as well. We got to see a double rescue. I also flipped again. Too much water in the kayak. Around 5 we all headed back in. We drifted about a mile down from our entrance point. We dragged our kayaks back on shore and camped for the night, eating cheese, gourp and stuff.

That night we had a nice campfire. We all tried to dry out our shoes and re-pack our water proof bags to prevent sleeping in wet sleeping bags and wearing wet cloths. I turned in a little early, after spending most of the night stretching out my arms and other body parts. Good thing I did, because everyone was really sore the next morning. Of course the gods of newbie’s are cruel, so it rained early that morning. The best part is that some of the girls had decided to sleep outside. Needless to say, they came running, and our mostly dry shoes got soaked all over again.

The next morning we all overslept. We actually managed to head out at noon, instead of 9 am. So we paddled away. I teamed up with Mona, and we didn’t do so badly. We kept up for the most part, which was harder then you think because we were the smallest people. Around 3 we were told that we were a mile away from land. Didn’t look that far to be honest with you. Our options were to head to shore and grab a late lunch before continuing on, or to just push forward. None of us wanted to get out and get back in, and besides, it was raining, so we all wanted to get to camp as soon as we could. Can you really blame us? After another hour of going against the current Mona really started to tire. I wasn’t doing so great myself, but I kept paddling, which when you’re the only one doing that is really hard. So finally JP and Matt took pity on us and JP and John, the guy in the tandem with him, switched with us on the water. I stayed in the kayak and John joined me while Mona went with JP. None of us even got wet, well, wetter. About that time Matt had to relieve himself, so we all moved on to give him some privacy. Not hard because the lake was all misty. Apparently he peed over the side.

Well, after a really long time paddling, like another two and a half hours we hit our next camp site. I was exhausted, so no use in carrying up the kayaks. I took the paddles instead, and slipped in the mud. Oh, I should probably say we went up a 45 degree hill in the rain when the path had half collapsed from the last group of kayakers going up it, from a rocky little strip of beach. No surprise that a lot of us slipped. I helped with the first Kayak and then went back for the paddles. When I slipped, one of the paddles banged the ground and broke. Luckily no one was mad at me for it. I couldn’t help it, each paddle is over six feet long and I was really weak at that point.

After we got the kayaks up the hill we grabbed our stuff and walked all the way across the camp grounds to our tents. It was 3 to one tent and doubles for everyone else. Not bad. I slept in the threesome one in the middle. I wanted to stay dry! We all got changed into cloths that had stayed dry. I was feeling really good about myself, in part because the day before we had played rose and thorn and hope. It’s a game where you say one good thing about the day, one bad and a hope for tomorrow. My answer was the most pragmatic. I said: “My rose was joking around with everyone about falling in, my thorn was falling in the water, and my hope is that no one falls in tomorrow.” My wish came true. I know it seems very disagreeable, but I didn’t want to have an impossible hope, and laughing at people who fell in was fun.

After drying up I went to help Emily (yes there was another one) and Kristen make The STEW. Yes capital letters. Since I’m a really bad cook I chopped up the tomatoes and helped cut cheese. I ate a lot of the tomato reject pieces. During this a group came over to us. It turned out to be the other kayaking trip, a 12 day one. We chatted and such and they invited us to roast marshmallows at their camp that evening. Time passed and the rest of our group meandered over. The Stew was almost ready. We started cooking noodles and had to do that in a separate pot. We had too much in the STEW pot. One of the guys started making grilled cheese. I had two sandwiches and a bowl and a half of Stew.

I’d just like to say that, after I added a little seasoned salt, it was one of the best stews I’ve ever had, and it didn’t even have meat in it. It was made out of potatoes peppers, carrots, noodles, cheese, tomatoes, and anything else we could find. That night we all went to the other campsite and joined in with watching a fire. We told stories and introduced ourselves. It turns out that they had seen us the day before and thought we were actually that pathetic, what with our constant flipping. They did not however offer to help. Well, at about 8 JP and Matt went to dairy queen with a professor that had shown up. I had vanilla and hot fudge. DQ out here do not believe in chocolate hot fudge sundaes. After I ate, I went back to camp. Everyone else stayed for another half an hour. I went to sleep.

The next morning we all got up and the other two girls from my tent, Emily and Kristen, got out while I pulled on my bathing suit and a shirt and pants. The tent nearly took off with me in it. I rolled up my sleeping bag and packed away my stuff before heading to breakfast. It was bagels with cinnamon sugar butter glaze. Not bad at all, but they burned a little. We quickly broke camp and stuffed the kayaks while the other group took off. I discovered that, if we don’t count the drifting, the day before we had covered 12 miles. Well, anyway, we watched the other group launch and dragged our kayaks down the slope. It was COLD and WINDY but not raining so we were all feeling confident. I pulled on my light purple fleece and my wet suit, as well as a wind breaker. I didn’t want to freeze.

The other group was pulling way in the distance as we brought our kayaks down the slope of doom. The banana boat, which was Emily’s and Kristin’s Tandem was launched first. John and I decided to go together again, because we got along well. So we launched next and paddled out to the banana boat. As the other boats started to come out we noticed something weird. Our boat kept turning around and around. Naturally we tried to keep going strait, but we kept listing. John discovered that he couldn’t reach the peddles to move the rudder. That was when we knew we were in trouble.

The rest of the group kept pulling farther and farther ahead, and John and I kept circling the same spot like a hungry shark. We did manage to go strait for a little bit, but we wound up going further out into the bay then we wanted to and nearly flipped when the bigger waves hit. After a while JP and Matt came over. We explained the problem and they tried to tow us along. Unfortunately we broke the tow line. After a little longer floundering we discovered that if we paddled backwards we could go strait. How, I still don’t know.

Matt told us to keep paddling backwards till we reached shore. He stuck by us. His theory at that point was if he could get us to shore we could switch spots and try again. I was less then thrilled about paddling backwards. It hurt and took much more energy than paddling forward. I did start to cry a little after a while when my arms really started to hurt. Both John and I decided that we would NOT get back into the kayak after we got to shore. We were already exhausted and still had 7 miles to cover. It wasn’t going to happen. I told matt I would PAY him to get a taxi to come and bring us back to Ashland.

Well after a half and hour of paddling backwards and getting NOWHERE at all, Matt called the Marine in Washburn, the nearest town, on his walkie talkie. He asked if someone could come tow us to shore, or to the marine. Their response was the wind was to strong to get a small vessel out, which was ironic considering nothing is smaller then a kayak and we were out. This went on for a while and then the Bayfield coast guard got involved. They said they’d be right over.

After about an hour of sitting in a kayak going nowhere fast the coast guard appeared. They circled us a few times and then pulled up along next to us. They pulled me out first by grabbling one end of my paddle and after I had released my spray skirt, lifting it and me onto the huge orange bumper of the boat. John came next and then they pulled Matt on too even though he didn’t need a ride. I’m not exactly sure how they got the kayaks on, but during the process my water bottle fell off. I moved from the front of the boat to the back to sit in the cabin. The coast guard boat then zipped us over to Washburn’s marine and plopped us onto a dock.

Matt asked if we felt up to going back and meeting up with the others and we both told him we were exhausted but if he really wanted us to we would. After we brought his kayak over to where he could get in, he decided to just let us stay put. He said he’d go get everyone. John and I stayed near our Kayak and watched him leave. Then we opened all the hatches on the kayak looking for food. We found candy along with all the cooking supplies. Naturally we ate some of the candy and settled in to wait.

We must have been their for a while because my wetsuit was nearly dry when we noticed a single kayak coming towards us. As it entered the marine we noticed it was JP and Matt. They had come back for us, since everyone else was back at a little beach about a hundred yards from where we had launched. Apparently they hadn’t made much headway while we were floundering and had gone to shore and called northland to come and get us. As a group we lugged our heavy kayak over to a lunch place and took off. I was still in the evil non turning kayak, with JP this time. As we left, I told him that we decided that the kayak must be listing because we had had no problems the day before. After a min or so he said it did feel like it was listing. Well, it only took us a little while to reach the others, in part because we were going with the current.

We helped bring the two kayaks up a slope and settled in to wait. In a short while the Northland Van came and rescued us, and we loaded up the kayaks and rushed into the van just as it started to rain. Naturally we retuned the kayaks and cleaned them before going back to camp. We all went and unpacked in our dorms and came back to the Outpost, which is where all the gear is kept. While the others set up the tents to dry I washed all the dishes. After a hearty dinner I went to bed, exhausted and with a tale to tell.

That, my friends, is how I discovered that the coastguard patrols Lake Superior. It is also how our trip will never be forgotten. People already talk about it on campus. It was fun, when I look back on it, but I don’t think I’m going to go Kayaking any time soon.

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Work
Workingworkingworking is so much fun!!!!
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Friday, October 15, 2004

Tests!
I have a test in Psych today.....Wish me luck.
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