Archive | June, 2019

A Celebration and a Road Trip

16 Jun

I have forgotten how tiring Commencement Day can be, after all I am a dinosaur and things of the past (my Commencement at NAU) sometimes elude my memories. We got to campus by 9.30am, looking for M1 in queue for a quick photo before making our way towards Reser Stadium and it was already packed.

We couldn’t get a spot at the lower section we wanted which was right behind School of Agriculture but we managed to get that same area at one level up. It was quite a challenge to find M1 but her decorated mortar board helped.

The ceremony took so long because there were so many speeches, several times the three of us dozed off. We learnt that this commencement, OSU has 7,492 students graduating! Wow. This figure is inclusive of their other campus and online programs, on top of all the three degrees – PhDs, Masters and Bachelors. However on the field today, there’s slightly over 4,000 graduating students in attendance to receive their certificates. Very impressive numbers nonetheless for the 150th Commencement.

We got home at 3.00pm and then we had to go out again for a private tea party celebration hosted by M1’s professor. Spent a good two and a half hours there before we had to excuse ourselves for our family celebratory dinner. We had tapas and dessert which were all bursting with strong flavors. Loved the choices we selected.

Our tapas and drinks

Dessert was oh so yummy!

When all obligations are done and checked off the list, we had to pack for tomorrow as we will start our road trip! Yay. It will be fun because they are places that we’ve never been to before and M1 will play host to show us. After all the excitement died down and packing done, it was 1.15am before I called it a night.

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Class of 2019

16 Jun

A proud day for us and words are not necessary today…

Procession coming into Reser Stadium

Graduating students all seated

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Marys Peak

15 Jun

The drive to Marys Peak took 50 minutes and we did a short hike, not to the top but midway to a good spot to catch the sunset. It was indeed lovely but it sure was cold for us and this is only Summer! I can’t imagine visiting during a colder season. Brr…

We stayed a little longer after the sunset to catch some stars too. And some bright ones we did see including the Big Dipper.

We staked out this tree stump to catch the sunset

Join the stars!

Thank goodness the hike was short for when we got home, my Mi Band2 recorded slightly over a thousand steps more, so in total I, or rather we all walked 14,539 (9.0km) today. Good workout I’say.

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Campus Tour, Part 2

15 Jun

I think the body has not quite adjusted because last night I slept at 1:20am and got up at 9:45am this morning. But it’s okay, we didn’t have to rush.

We had bagels at home for breakfast before we embarked on a more comprehensive campus tour. The weather was lovely to be out walking but it got a bit warm by noon. And what a day it was for we walked and walked and walked.

The college is beaver land. There’s beaver on the wall and on the doors, it’s pretty cool.

Beaver on the wall!

Beaver on the door

By three, we went by the FST department for their little mini celebration honoring the graduating and outstanding students. I must say we felt most proud when M1 was called upon several times to receive her certificates. That’s one smart cookie right there.

Receiving her certain with a huge smile

When we got back, I had registered 13,010 steps equivalent to 8.2km and we are not done for the day! Later we will head to Marys Peak to hike and catch the sunset. I am sure by then my legs will be like jelly. A good night’s rest after that should suffice, for tomorrow is THE day, Commencement ceremony!

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Seeing New Things

14 Jun

When evening came, we drove our ‘new’ car to go in search of dinner. We ended up trying Mexican – Tacovore, which was very flavorful. After our meal, we checked out the local grocery store.

Our ride, a Cadillac XT4

Herbivore Taco, Chips & Salsa, Carnivore & Seafood Taco and Seafood Stew

American food items on the shelves are huge which makes me wonder, cheaper by the bulk? We were amazed at some of the oversized items like cereal, peanut butter and chips which we don’t get back home in terms of the sizes. It’s quite an eye-opener.

Huge, huge, HUGE!!!

Biggest bag of chips ever!

The day ended with meeting parents of some of M1’s friends who are also here for the big day on Saturday.

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Campus Tour

14 Jun

I woke up at five this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I think the body have adjusted but more so because sunlight came through the blinds, unlike back home where the bedroom had black-out curtains.

We had breakfast at home before taking a stroll to campus. The morning started out cool but got warmer and we worked up a sweat walking around campus and admiring the buildings and architecture.

M1 took us to meet some of her co-workers at her workplace, all of whom were such nice people who had only good words and high praises of her. How sweet. Then she went off with hubby to get the rental car while M2 and I walked a bit more to see more buildings.

By the time we walked home, we have done more than 8000 steps and it’s only two in the afternoon. Initially I thought I had adjusted but before I knew it, I zonked out again.

I think we covered only a small section of the campus, so we will do another walkabout tomorrow.

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Greetings From the US

13 Jun

Finally by noon, we arrived yesterday after that delayed last leg departure and what a long and tiring trip it has been for us. If I counted from the time we left home for KLIA at six in the evening on Tuesday, and arrived at PDX airport by Wednesday noon in the US, meaning it’s 3.00am Thursday back home (not including the journey thereafter), the total travel time would be 33 hours. And during that time, hardly any good sleep, one can only imagine the tiredness.

The A330 aircraft being readied for the journey

Crying toddler who sat in front of me in the plane could be heard in the Immigration Hall when we all got there. And he cried all the way pass the officers. Poor little fella. Passport clearance was slow because there was only one counter opened for International passport holders but customs was a breeze because we declared everything. When we stepped out to greet our firstborn, all that traveling time and tiredness were forgotten. The family unit was complete again and the heart felt whole. What a feeling!

Then when we stepped out of the terminal, a wave of hot air greeted us. Dang it was hot! 37 degrees. Are we in the US? It felt just like arriving at KLIA only that it’s not but it’s PDX.

Our first stop was Woodburn premium outlet to keep us awake, to walk and adjust to the local time. But it was too hot to walk around outdoors so the outing was shortened. We decided we needed to eat and opted for Jack in the Box. And the premise was equally hot because there was no air-conditioning. Only the bathrooms were air-conditioned but can’t stay in there! Haha…

The food portions were huge especially the chicken fingers! Can’t be fingers when they are so huge as I don’t remember them being this size before from our last US trip. We couldn’t finish and saved them for later.

Jack in the Box

M2 and I succumbed to our tiredness and had a good power nap in the car on the way to Corvallis. But it was still early, and we had to still stay awake, otherwise it would take longer to adjust. The town is typical of any college town and it reminded me of Flagstaff and my college and those dinosaur years.

We settled down quickly, unpacked and made ourselves comfy in her room, big enough for the four of us. But by nine, after dinner we were ready to crash. Might as well for the exciting days ahead await us and we need to adjust and be ready to enjoy ourselves during this time together.

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Anxious Wait

13 Jun

It was so stressful waiting to hear from M2. I was tired, anxiety was eating at me and the headache was kicking in. The body was going into reserve mode to stay calm. We arrived at six whilst she’s due to arrive at 8.35am. Two and a half hours of anxiety instead of a leisurely paced four-hours wait before the next flight.

Because she flew domestic from Dublin to Amsterdam, M2 arrived at a different terminal. So when we finally heard from her, we quickly made our way over to the designated departing gate. Relief and happiness took over when we finally saw her.

There was a delay for the connecting flight to Portland. Instead of departing at 10.00am local time, it was retimed to 10.20am. Further delays saw us eventually taking off at 10.50am. Another long journey ahead but this time there’s no night for us as the flight was scheduled to arrive before noon. I’m so messed up by now with time, time zones, day and night.

I decided to take a painkiller to suppress the headache and try to sleep it off. With the cabin lights dimmed to simulate night, I decided to sleep but the crying toddler in front of me was just too disturbing. On top of that, there were occasions of a foul whiff coming from the front. Stinky diaper! Eewww…

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In Transit

12 Jun

We arrived at Schiphol Airport at six local time. The flight took 12 hours. I had a restless night, so ended up watching two movies, ate when I was not supposed to and now, I can feel a headache developing. Uh Oh…

Behind the smile lurks a headache developing

We had to go to the Transfer Hall for further security check, going through a body scan and the carry on luggage scans. And of course, I had to remove my Blundstone boots, all part of the process.

As we are sitting here having a coffee and juice, M2 has flown this morning as scheduled. Yay.

Next flight is in three hours’ time, a slight 20 minutes delay from the original 10.00am local time. Maybe I can sleep better on the next leg.

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Long Long Night

12 Jun

It rained and poured like crazy thus we had to leave home a little bit earlier to beat the traffic to get to the airport. What would normally take slightly under an hour took us an hour and a half.

But we had to leave early because sometimes when the timing is off by a mere five minutes, the consequences are very stressful. In this case, anticipating the traffic heading towards the airport.

But luckily we managed to arrive early despite a 45-minute crawl at one stretch on the highway. Oh well, we didn’t mind. Better early than late. We waited for an hour before the counters opened for check-in. And within a short time, we were checked in and all set!

We then went to the Premium Lounge to have a light dinner and a nice cold Carlsberg, chilling for an hour before heading to the gate. Everything was smooth sailing.

However, departure was slightly delayed because the runway was congested and we took off at 11.48pm, a 28-minute delay. We are finally on our way.

Within a short while, dinner was served! My goodness, talk about a midnight snack, it was a hearty Briyani Chicken rice. I ate whatever I could, which was not much, and tried to sleep. Not easy though.

Throughout the long long night, it was very uncomfortable. The seats were very narrow. I turned left, I turned right and couldn’t find a comfortable position. Needless to say, I hardly slept and we have another ten plus hours journey to go after the transit.

I dozed in and out of sleep. Somehow time went by pretty fast and soon, day was breaking and I couldn’t sleep anymore. My watch showed 7.45am, KL’s local time. And the first thing that came to my mind was my Candy Crush Soda! Hah! Still can’t let go.

The phone and the iPad could register Day 1024 because both are in flight mode and not updated with the time zone that we are in. Heheh… maybe the next leg, I won’t be so lucky.

Next I checked my MiBand2 and I actually only had 40 minutes of deep sleep and five hours and 21 minutes of light sleep. Yeah, I’m tired.

As I am jotting my thoughts now, the screen is showing another 23 minutes to arrival. Yay.

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