7.28.2007

Let me rant for a moment:



Why can't chargers and USB cords be universal? I'm so sick of having to keep up with two or more freaking cords for every electronic device I own.
I have a cell phone charger,
a cell phone USB(but apparently I don't need that because I have bluetooth),
a bluetooth headset charger,
a camera battery charger,
a camera USB, a video camera charger,
a video camera connector to the TV,
a video camera USB connector,
an ipod charger,
an Ipod USB connector,
and my MacBook Pro charger(which they sell for $80.)

I don't even consider myself that high tech, these are just the things I had to take with me on the trip. Somehow, I came back with one that I have no idea what it goes to and missing the one for my video camera, because apparently none of the three cords I can find for that are what I need to load the movies I took from the trip. AAah. They make such a huge profit off all these stupid cords, because people have more important things to worry about than keeping track of 15 chagers and after wasting time looking for the right one, they go out and buy a new one. The old one will eventually turn up, but the company has already made extra profit for making things difficult.

I had to plea a similiar argument when my last cell was broken. Under the insurance, they had to replace my phone, but thy couldn't replace it with a phone of the similiar line, nope. It had to be a totally different phone with totally different chargers that I had to buy seperately. Luckily my Marine brother convinced them to include the chargers and they gave me a phone that was at least equivalent to the one I had, but that's another story. ;)

I'm off to look for that freaking video camera USB charger. Stay tuned for video from Glacier Bay and the women who nearly made all of us jump ship just to avoid having to hear any more of her lecture.

7.25.2007

Why couldn’t I just stay there?



I wouldn’t want to miss out on the amazing educational experience that Portfolio Center has to offer. The idea of kayaking in front of a glacier every morning is incredibly intriguing though. Maybe I could really follow Alissa’s advice: make a living from blogging and freelance and then live wherever I want and travel whenever I have the urge. Just a thought, although I think I’ll stick to my set plan of becoming a copywriter then creative director in five or so years. We will see.

With that said, I love Alaska. Last I wrote, I was on the boat, just getting into glacial waters, not sure exactly what to expect from the excursions we signed up for or the towns we were set visit. I thought nothing could top the view from the ship:


The farther inland we went, the more massive the mountains appeared. As a petroleum engineer with a love of geology, my dad would have been like a kid in a candy store looking at all the geological evidence from millions of years of seismic activity and glacial movement. Here's a great example of that from the next day. This is somewhere between Skagway, Alaska, and the Yukon in Canada. (Did I mention we also went to Canada? I'll save the horseback riding and canoeing stories for my next post.)


We docked in Juneau on Tuesday morning, Andy and I set off to Kayak by the Mendenhall Glacier. I still need to get those pictures developed from my waterproof camera, but here’s a side view from a river my mom floated down during her excursion.

On the lake in our two person Kayak, we were joined by an adorable seal. He just followed us around and floated by our group. We were also lucky enough to see three bald eagles, soaring overhead. Before racing the other couples back to the beach(we really got a hang of kayaking together), Andy and I decided we needed to move to Alaska one day, or at least get a kayak.

7.24.2007

Five Blogs: Assignment

Five Blogs worth checking out:
1. http://www.theliberalslies.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
3. http://www.neptunuslex.com/
4. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/
5. http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/blog/

Random note: I have a great specific blog topic, but I have to get engaged first...or maybe not. Hmm

7.16.2007

25 Knots to Alaska

Sitting on the deck of the Norwegian Pearl, traveling 25 knots to Alaska, I'm in heaven — or at least on my way there. My dad always wanted to go to Alaska and had been planning to as soon as he got better. It's been three months since he passed away and I realize now, more than ever, how important it is to not put things off. Carpe Diem.

In that spirit, my mom and I jumped at the last-minute chance to accompany Andy and his family and church on this trip. There were two cancellations last week. After debate and careful consideration, we decided we couldn't turn the offer down. This is for dad. I, more than anyone else in the family, shared his love of mountains, snow and cold. That's my heaven and I know he's looking down and enjoying the same view as me right now.

I'd like to make a shout out: *Thanks to wireless internet ($.75 per minute) for making this cruise possible for me! Without you, I'd be sitting in PC with no AC, blogging about blogging and missing out the chance of a lifetime. :) With you, I can get all my work done and have fun, too!