Doings

A is for……….

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So I had to go to this college town for a graduation, and I must say it brought back a lot of memories of being a university student. (I am currently a college student again, but this school started as a commuter college, so it doesn’t have this vibe).

Where I live now there are a lot of chain restaurants and they all seem to be somewhat pricey. But in a college town there are lots of poor students, and inexpensive, good places to eat. (I am amazed that a student hangout from my first uni is now listed as must see place in current city guides). So this place was a small strip mall with a tinier parking lot, We didn’t go to the hamburger joint, we ate at the Mediterranean fusion place next door. It was fabulous and cheap, just the sort of place my town lacks (one can get a hamburger anywhere).

This was what passed for a kitchen in an Airbnb rental and it has the sort of essentials that a student might need (although you have to admit, an ironing board kitchen is unique). I don’t remember cooking much when I was previously a student, booze and snacks were much more important.

But there’s not much room for anything in this compact kitchen, although it’s probably big enough.

This college town has the other prerequisite, a football team, and there are images everywhere in case one forgets the mascot. Several folks were wearing team shirts when we went out for a late night snack (also inexpensive).

There is a large supply in this town of the sort of funky student housing that I remember so well. Nostalgia only carries one so far however. Would I actually like to live like this again? Probably not, but it was great fun to relive this for a brief moment, and to appreciate that I am not a poor college student any more.

Toys

K-Toys

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As I was sorting out my enormous collection of wind-up toys, I noticed that I had somehow (yes, I bought these and completely forgot I did it) acquired a small collection of Korean wind-up toys. These are the rarest type of toys that I buy, mainly because they are only sold in one local Korean grocery store.

The exact translation from Mr. Google is “Tayo minicar”, but it is obviously a bus (and what else are you mis-translating?). He has his own cheery song and this package includes vitamins.

I couldn’t find the song that goes with this creature (I’m not sure if he is a friendly alligator of if he is a dinosaur, he has an outfit with gloves, so I guess alligator). The song is all about counting in native Korean numbers, and is again quite cheery and colorful. He (I really don’t know if he is male, after all it’s an animated gator/dino) seems to be the sidekick to the other character.

This is just the sort of cartoon character to get children to take their vitamins, and that is what came with the toys. When I was small, Flintstone vitamins were sold for children (they are still sold, even though I don’t know if the show is still available). These were vitamins shaped as the cave persons from the 60’s cartoon riff of a 50’s sitcom.

This one seems to be the leader (note the P on his helmet and the goggles) and possibly has a name, but I was unable to find it. Perhaps he is so famous everyone knows it, like the Flintstones. Now that I have heard their song, and can count from 1 to 10, perhaps I shall acquire more of them. (Really, I hope never to hear their song again).

Town

Neighbors

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As good neighbors we mostly live anonymous lives. As long as the grass is mowed (and you do have a nice lawn, don’t you?) and the house is painted, most people will assume respectability. But there are a few folks nearby that want more than just a nice lawn.

What to do about that dead tree? Why get a chainsaw artist in to create art, I’m not sure if this beggar is a gopher or a marmot, but it’s a lovely addition to the neighborhood. (And this beast wore a mask during the Covid time, which was very responsible.)

Here’s another creature of the neighborhood, a maneki-neko bestowing good fortune on all who pass by. Good job, unknown artist.

Then there is this person’s seasonal displays, which defy categorization. It includes mannequins, stuffed animals and props. This is only half of the current display, and I admire their commitment to their art. I imagine that they must have a warehouse somewhere to keep the unused bits.

I admit that this is my favorite piece. The resident formerly had an additional dragon for the front yard, and fought a lengthy battle against the homeowners association to keep this. But sadly, home owners associations only care about the state of one’s lawn, not about how art improves the neighborhood.

Doings

More student ID

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Well, I’m finally getting more bold about attending student events, so, when I got a message about this event I decided to show up.

I whipped out my student ID at the door (because of course I am not even close to college age) and they gave me this lovely tee shirt. I had missed out on the food, which was gone in minutes (or less). (It pays to get there early). 😉

This event was put on by the university for the Asian-Pacific Island Students Association(a DEI organization) . I missed the marital arts demo, but these ladies were playing Japanese Taiko drums. They made everyone get up and dance at one point, so it was quite hilarious.

The next group also had drums and added cymbals. They promised to be loud and they did deliver on this.

And they were playing for these Chinese Foo Dog dancers. A Foo Dog is a guardian lion ( yes I know this is a contradiction) and is a symbol of protection and prosperity. I suppose I had never considered how much work goes into this, they need to be strong, athletic and fit. The back person spends a lot of time tail wagging, but then has to lift up the front person, which was impressive.

I left after the end of the performance and as I walked to the car, I noticed that several of the cars had parking tickets, these probably belonged to these performers. So I hope that they don’t remove their good wishes for the students, the university is on it’s own.

Life

Student ID

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Yes, I have rather neglected things as school has taken up my time and I actually have to study this time around. But, there are benefits to having a student ID. And I have endeavored to try to use a few of the benefits.

This was a fun event, they are trying to encourage students to eat healthy foods, so they have occasional cooking classes, and I decided to try this one. I felt totally out of place as I was the oldest person there and I didn’t know anyone, but I decided to treat it as an adventure.

I had never made tofu tacos and those were okay and not bad. But this recipe was surprisingly good, so it was a useful experience to attend this and I may even possibly use this recipe in the future (I do know people who have weird diets).

As a student I can get free theater tickets, and this was one of the ones I went to. I don’t suppose I would have paid money to see this, (I’m not really a theater person) but free is good.

And I also went to a lecture from a political science professor that I know at an old farmhouse on campus. Again I was possibly the oldest person there. Oh well.

The other benefit of having a student ID is free admission or reduced price admission to events. This one is free to students with an ID and although I don’t fit their expectations of what a student looks like, the ID still works. 🙂

I also went to a soup cookoff at the International Student Center and learned a new way to make chili, with anchovies of all things. So I baked them some oatmeal cookies in return, and because these students (especially the vegans) worry about what’s in food I included the recipe.

Altogether, this has been an interesting experiment, so I guess it’s an example of “live and learn”. I’m not dead yet.

Doings

Back to school

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So I found out right after the New Year that the local university offered a class in Korean. Classes hadn’t started yet so I decided to go back to school, after all I had gone there previously, how hard could it be? As it turned out, it was a bit of work, my university said they had no record of me, yet I have a diploma, a ring and get the alumni magazine. Someone had merely typed in the wrong date of birth and if I show up with two forms of ID they will correct this. But I did eventually get enrolled and here I am a college student once again.

And here is the campus. The site was once home to a tuberculosis hospital back when there was only pure mountain air to breathe and with a lovely view of the mountain (the mountain is unchanged). There were also coal mines somewhere nearby, and the mine entrances are now gone (I hope).

This bit is the old TB sanitarium. The windows were formerly just screened in, so that one could have fresh air all year long on the theory that this could cure one. And sometimes it did.

Most of the newer buildings look something like this, rectangular boxes with lots of glass, stuffed with classrooms and faculty offices.

And this is what one can look at, if one is lucky enough to have a view. My classroom is in a small (I guess that administration didn’t think Korean would be this popular) interior room.

Oh yeah, there are all sorts of activities and clubs to keep students amused. And now that I have a student ID I can get a discount at the movies, etc,

I don’t think that these birds had bothered to register, but they were clearly in control of this patch of lawn, so I went the other way. (There’s always some sort of school bullies! Some things never change.) It’s an interesting adventure.

City

Cuppa

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I really don’t drink tea or coffee on a regular basis (I don’t like to make them for myself), but both are nice to have on a special occasion. And as I needed to plan a special event for my group, I decided to check out the new tea room in town.

A century ago, there were lots of tea rooms, because this was considered to be a suitable place for women to meet, tea was a the beverage of choice, and little cakes and sweets were always on the menu. This custom expired 50 years ago or so (which is before my time!). But I do enjoy a cup of tea every now and then.

The very best places to enjoy a nice cuppa are in London. This one is located at Foyles, a lovely bookshop that I always try to visit. One can eat and read or just look out over the masses of books and pick one for later.

I also like going to Peter Jones, a department store, for a cup of tea with a view over the city. And after all that shopping, one deserves a break.

So getting a cup of tea in London is no big deal, grab a tray, stand in line, and the tea comes out of a big urn. But it’s a different matter to have tea locally.

The group had previously scheduled tea at the former mansion of the town founder and it was quite elegant ($$), and featured all sorts of different teas. The founder had built this mansion to entice his missus to move here. She came out from back east and looked at it, then decided to go live in London instead (she probably moved there for the tea, or perhaps it was the shopping).

So this what is available at the new place ($). They do have all sorts of lovely china in floral patterns that marks this as a feminine space. The scones were a bit different than the ones in England and were quite sweet, rather like a soft cookie. There were a large number of different sorts of tea to choose from, but I had the plain one.

And it had an interesting decor, with sparkly chandeliers everywhere and old books glued to a wall. (I do think I like Foyles better, but it’s a long way for a cup of tea). At any rate, I think it will be popular with the group, and that is all I seek, along with a nice cuppa from a tea urn.

Ephemera

Ornaments

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Years ago I had the sort of standard Christmas tree as everyone else; glass balls, garlands, tinsel, etc. And then I started collecting odd ball ornaments that had a personal meaning to me, like a pink dragon (purchased in Berkeley), African lizard (purchased in San Antonio) or a wooden fox (purchased in St. Louis). So when I unwrap them, I also recall their acquisition, who I was with, and why we were there. And at some point I got rid of all the ordinary baubles and now my tree is just these personal trinkets. So this was this year’s addition to the collection.

I already have a number of dinosaurs for the tree as I love them and studied them in college. This and the following felt dinos are fair-trade ornaments from either Peter Jones or the Natural History Museum in London. They are rather adorable, aren’t they?

Besides dinos there was also these animal musicians, and well, they don’t really fit with any theme that I have so far, but, they were cute, so in the basket they went.

Dinosaurs are also available locally, these were the last two on the shelves, but there were plenty of ballerinas still available.

Oh yeah, this fancy dinosaur came from the Natural History Museum as well. I thought that the museum had dressed their animatronic T-Rex in a similar sweater last year, but maybe I only dreamed it.

I did tell you that I loved this tiny armadillo, and had to purchase one for myself, so here it is, hanging on my tree.

So now all of these ornaments have become part of my memories of this year. They will be appearing in my living room until January 1st. Then they shall join the others until next year, as part of the ghosts of Christmas past.

City, Doings

A Sunny Day

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So it was a sunny day, and I had gone to see a display of donated and decorated Christmas trees . This was for a charity, one buys tickets for the Christmas tree one wishes to win, and the money raised goes to a children’s charity. The trees are fully decorated and have presents under them and gift cards on them, but what I really wanted was the armadillo ornament on one of the trees.

And then as I was near the mountains it was onward to the overlook to admire the scenery with the tourists. They were freezing and I was wearing shorts.

On the other side of the road, there was a group of men dressed in identical camouflage hoodies with high powered binoculars and cameras looking at bighorn sheep that were on the mountain. Why bother, when there was this beautiful cement buffalo right here (and it’s not moving around).

So this was the view to the south, with the “secret” military base hidden inside the mountain (the Air Force does a broadcast from here every Christmas Eve that tracks “Santa” as he presumably flies over the country).

And as you look further to the north, why it’s a city park.

And a bit further is the classic postcard view of the city.

Yes, that armadillo was preying on my mind and I did not win the decorated tree, so I asked Mr. Google where this came from. Hooray, it was locally available and now I have one to call my very own.

Doings

Ladies Luncheon

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Let me state right off the bat that I am not really the ladies luncheon sort of person. I am not crazy about making small talk with people I don’t know well, and I have an idiosyncratic decorating style. The last one of these that I attended was years ago and I remember it as being no fun. So why was I here? A friend asked me to do a dinosaur themed table, and how could I refuse? What this meant was that we were to decorate a table in a festive manner for a Christmas luncheon and provide some sort of party favor.

This woman said it took her about 15 minutes to decorate from things that she had just laying about! (For some reason, I don’t have gold chargers and seasonal decorations to hand.) Those are little sewed pockets with candy to take home.

Here’s another person who just whipped out the seasonal decorations. It is optional, but encouraged to give everyone at the table a little present, so these people were getting a pumpkin.

This person chose to jump two holidays ahead to New Years Day, and again just happened to have gold and silver chargers to hand. But wait, what’s that in the background?

Why it’s the table for overthinkers/overachievers. Those are my personal dinosaurs. The fabric she chose had dinosaurs wearing hats and scarves and decorated with flowers. I will admit I did already have some tiny hats to hand, but for the rest I crocheted and knitted tiny hats and scarves. Under the nametag is a cinnamon dino ornament I baked and I provided a tiny dinosaur as a party favor. We baked and iced the cookies together and she made incomplete place mats from the dino fabric. The plates are paper. She forgot the Christmas tree and substituted a pineapple. The ornaments were from London.

This was massively stressful as I do not know the rules of ladies luncheons and I am disinclined to learn more about them. Instead I shall consider this as an anthropologic visit to another culture. And I shall endeavor to remember this and never ever repeat the experience.

However, I admit that the dinosaurs look splendid and they were fun to dress up. And I learned to make fancy cookies (special thanks to K for the lesson). And of course I think that our table was the finest, because the dinosaurs dressed for dinner.

random bits of life