Emi's Journal

Word of advice to rookie drivers: Never drive long distances after dark for the first time on a holiday weekend. It's just asking for trouble.
 

Case in point: In Newport for a goodbye part for Donnie and Linda ( Sad). Coming home from said party. I was feeling pretty good for the first part. Getting a bit tired, but hanging in there. Made it to Philomath alright. I got a little confused as to where the road turned off, but managed OK. And then I was looking at street signs, because I was going to stop by and pick up rats from Teresa (for Indie). And then I saw a law enforcement vehicle behind me. With lights on. Uh oh.

So I pulled onto the next street, and pulled over. I don't know what they're stopping me for, but we shall see.

It was the county sheriff, and apparently I was "driving erratically". Or something. I explained I wasn't used to driving at night, and that I was tired. And almost home. Then he mentioned my nystagmus. Thank you, genetics. So I explain my situation. Complete with references to a former employer that was also a reserve deputy, who told me I might someday run into this problem. Thank you, Andrew. So I explain my nystagmus. He asks what I was in Newport for. I try to come up with something that sounded better than "I was at a party", but later realized that "I was at a pizza party" just kind of sounds ridiculous, under the circumstances. And the fact that I was freaked out and shaky probably did not help matters at all.

So yeah, he runs my license and all that good stuff. Asks ONE MORE TIME if I'm sure I haven't been drinking, or taking any drugs/medication. And then let me go.

Of course it's Labor Day Weekend, and they are on high alert. Of course.
 

Part 2 of this story is just another nice little tidbit that was just a bit nerve wracking at the time. I missed the street I was supposed to turn on, so I was doubling back. I turned onto Main St. which I know is a 1-way. But for whatever reason, a Philomath police car (with lights on and all) is facing the wrong direction. Why, who knows? So turning onto Main St. I kind of panic, thinking maybe I was confused again, and turn into the far lane. I subsequently realized that it was indeed 1-way, and that I had just turned into the wrong lane in front of a police car. Which at the time I thought might have been the car that pulled me over…..

Of course it wasn't, and they were busy. And probably understandable, considering I was turning onto a 1-way with a car facing the wrong direction. But remember, I wasn't thinking entirely clearly, as the adrenaline was still coursing through my veins.
 

But all is well that ends well. For most people that know me, Emi getting pulled over for drunk driving makes for a pretty amusing story. 

Was amazing.
 

So first off, I went last night. My friend was working fair, and was able to get me backstage for a while. I did the meet and greet with The Guess Who, and I still don't know who they are. Somebody out there hates me right now. Ah well. Then I wandered around for a while, checking out some of the stuff in the arena, and then watched some of the rodeo. Watched some of the The Guess Who concert, and was highly entertained by the rockin' out older folks. And kids too. People from 5-60+ rocking out, and then after the concert, fighting to get autographs. 50 year olds yelling and pushing and shoving each other…. Hysterical. Best people watching ever.
 

I went again this afternoon, and had a truly amazing time. Connie and I watched a bit of the rodeo (and there were some quite impressive rides), and then got Kerry and hit the rides! After a brief stop for an elephant ear, one of the few things I indulge in at the fair. We all got ride bracelets, and had a blast. We hit the rides twice, once before dinner and once after dark. So I am yet to tally up what I did, and I shall attempt to do so now….

Before dinner:
1x Galaxy 3000 (the anti-gravity spinning thing)
1x Snow Land
1x spinning thing who's name I don't recall
1x Orbiter
1x Ferris wheel
1x Typhoon
1x Super Slide

Also, as we were walking up to the ferris wheel I heard my name, and turned to see Alex from ODFW, which I thought was pretty funny. He was there with his family. So I talked with them while we waited in line.

We went to dinner at American Dream. And then went back to the fair to hit the rides some more. After walking through the 4-H small animal barn, and making fun of some chickens with afros. And admiring a guinea pig that looked like Gizmo. At least I did.

Then after dark…..
2x Galaxy 3000
1x Wacky worm roller coaster
1x lamest merry-go-round ever (NO MUSIC???)
1x Mardi Gras (harder than you'd think mirror/glass maze)
2x Orbiter
3x Octopus
1x Typhoon
1x Snow Land
1x Ferris wheel (after too many spinny things in a row, when I couldn't stand up any more)
1x Super slide

So by my count, if I didn't forget anything, that's 21 rides for $25, not a bad haul. My throat hurts from yelling and laughing so much. Now it's almost 1 AM and I better head to bed if I'm planning on going to the car show tomorrow…. Which is much more of an if than I thought it would be. We shall see. The adrenaline is wearing off and I'm about to crash here. So here ends an amazing day. One of those days that you wish could go on forever.

So I'm not very good at updating daily. I know.

Anyway, awesome day. Slept in in the morning, ate biscuits for breakfast. Cuddled with kitten, who I have not yet posted about. Strange. Went to county fair with friends. Again (went last night too). Lots of rides and craziness, enough so to be worthy of its own post. Just got home. 

Case in point: While walking between pools on the upper Rickreall today, Toby Keith's song Dreamwalker randomly popped into my head…. And immediately morphed into this:

Stream walkin'
Pool hoppin'
We're counting the fish again
Lunch break and I ain't wet enough
I'm jumping in!
I'm on a roll now, I gotta know where fish use ends.
 

Uh, yeah. But I thought it was kind of funny, so here it is.

The ones who've got this whole thing figured out…..
 

Today at work I tagged along again to the deaf/hard of hearing camp to sample macroinvertebrates. I went last Tuesday as well, and had a pretty good time.

It's an interesting group. A combination of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing kids. The hearing kids have family members that are deaf or hard of hearing. So there's quite a range.

Today we had a couple really good groups. They were interested and really engaged in both the splashing around in the river (and who doesn't like getting in waders and splashing around in the river?) and the identification part. I spent the bug hunting part picking up caddisflies by the handfuls, which impressed the kids. They then wanted to find caddisflies, which meant we got an awful lot of caddisflies….. They're also big and awesome looking, so that helped. The second group was particularly caddis-centric, and we got way more than we needed.

My favorite kid was a completely deaf kid in the first group that did not want to stop bug hunting. I kept having to tap him on the shoulder and attempt to signal that it was time to get out of the water. He just wanted to stay and look for critters. Which I completely understand, and it was fun to see.

I also had a pretty cool experience with the second group. I was hanging out by a bucket that had a ton of caddisflies in it (as most of them did). I like to take one or two out of their encasements, and show the kids what they look like. So I did that, and ended up with several hard of hearing kids hanging out with me, checking out the caddisflies. We were enjoying watching them walk around, and taking them out so they could walk on our hands. This was all done with very little communication, as most of them could not hear very well, and were difficult for me to understand.

It came up at one point that sometimes these kids are hard to read, because you do not get the verbal feedback that you get with other groups. But I don't really think that's true. You can watch them playing in the river, and you can tell. And while they seem to be a pretty quiet group, when they do communicate, you can hear it. I had one girl in the second group that had a laugh that you could practically feel, just because she was enjoying a bucket of aquatic bugs. How cool is that?
 

I've been enjoying working with kids, but this group seems particularly cool to me. Why? Maybe because part of me thinks they should be different, but they're really not. Maybe because it's harder to communicate with them, so there ends up being less structure in what we are doing, and more of just having fun. Isn't that what it's all about? That's why I love my job, after all. Because I get to have FUN! I wonder if I can communicate that better with this group, because we communicate through activity, and not through speech. Here, I can't really tell you why this is fun, but I can SHOW you! I think that's it. Talking doesn't do a lot of good, it's the actions that count.
 

Yep, they've got this figured out. It doesn't take a lot of words, all you need to do is allow them the opportunity to enjoy it themselves. Show them the joy, and they will get it. You don't need to tell them, they understand.

Another month today. Crazy.

I started work today. Lots of running around figuring stuff out, and working out logistics. Plus riding along on a trip up to their video fish tracker… Thing. Then off from work, and to a nice long shift at Chintimini. Things are crazy there, but I'm settling in more. I got to catch green herons.

Now home. Popsicle, some Netflix, and bed.

Today I worked on my project for Dan for a while, then I went to get my passport renewed. That took some time, but the application is in and in 4-6 weeks I should have a shiny new passport! Worked on my project some more, and got ready to start work tomorrow (which is now today)!!!! Got my new backpacks, and had to decide which to keep. I like the bigger one, except that it's too big, so I decided to stick with the REI.

MAde some cookies, hung out with Teresa and Matt for a bit, and now it's time for bed. I report to the office at 8:30! Woohoo!

I ran around campus some more today. And I got my hair cut. And I did some work. That's really about it.

I missed a couple weeks. That's what happens when you get teeth taken out. I guess.
 

So today I went to the hand specialist first thing in the morning. Of course he wants to send me to someone else. Meh.

Then I worked on a scholarship application, went to campus, worked on the app some more, got that in the mail. Went to talk to financial aid about some stuff. And formulated a master plan.

That's about it for today. It was busy, but doesn't appear so in text.

Today was full of new experiences, all stemming from one event: having my wisdom teeth taking out.

First IV, first sedation, first prescription pain pill. Only two teeth, so it wasn't too bad. Glad I was sedated, though. The last thing I remember is the room spinning around, and then I was waking up in a recliner. Weird. And 13 hours later, my mouth is STILL numb. Which is strange. But it's almost better. After getting home I read for most of the day, except for a 1 hour nap around dinner time. So I think it went pretty well. And the pain pill didn't make me go crazy or anything. I'm living in Jerry's recliner at the house for a while longer, and will hopefully make it back to Corvallis on Thursday to work at least part of my Chintimini shift.