Good thing I got new shoes . . .

Right after I posted last night, I decided to take a walk.  This time, I went west, instead of east like I'd mostly done the day before.  This was around 7:30 p.m, I believe.  I took 61 pictures before I got back to the room, including some pictures of the hostel.  I discovered that, if I leave the camera on/open while I walk to the next place I want to take a picture, the next photo will not save, and I'll end up with a blank file on the SD card.  So I've gotten into the habit of closing it after each picture--or group of pictures.

Anyway, I got back around 9:30 or 10 p.m.  Wasn't it dark by then, you ask?  Not even close.  The sun sets very late here.  I think around 10:30.  It's certainly starting to get dark now, and it's just past 10:15, so I guess that's it.

Why did I walk so long?  Why, to see the windmill, of course.

Yes, I know that is the first picture I've posted on this blog, and I've been in this country four days already.  However, I've taken at least two hundred pictures already, and I'm posting them on Facebook as I go.  Before I even think about posting anymore here, I want to make sure that 1) they're all turned right-side-up, and 2) I can get them on PhotoBucket and into their own slideshows, so I'm not cluttering up blog posts with just pictures, pictures, pictures.  Make sense?  I thought so.

Anyway, on to today's adventures.

I think I got a sunburn with all the walking I did in the sun today.  I haven't passed a mirror yet, so I can't check though.

I got up and had the free breakfast here at the hostel, and then brought my computer down so that I could get directions to the various places I planned to go today.  After that, I walked to Rotterdam Centraal train station.  It didn't take long, and I was able to board a train for Den Haag.  You know, those train schedules are a lot easier to understand when you're not sleep deprived and jet lagged.

Got there around 1 p.m, and then walked to Madurodam, which is this theme park-type place.  It's a city, but the entire thing is built in miniature scale.  There are also educational videos (I only saw a couple of these) and some interactive bits, like "How many cheeses do you weigh?"  I weigh five cheeses. :)

I thought about getting the stroopwafels, chocolates and cheese that everyone wants back home in the Madurodam gift shop, but then I remembered that it would all have to stay in the guest kitchen until I'm ready to leave, so I figured it would be better to wait until probably Wednesday afternoon, just so I don't forget it on Thursday morning.  Instead, I bought an umbrella (so I wouldn't be caught without one here when it rains) in a pattern of Delft blue, and a set of three souvenir pens.  I almost bought a deck of souvenir playing cards (I like decks with different backs) but I couldn't decide which design I liked better, and I couldn't afford them all.

After having walked 30-45 minutes from the train station to Madurodam, and then all around Madurodam itself, I decided to take the tram back to the station.  I needed to sit down for at least a few minutes.

From Den Haag Centraal, I then traveled to Amsterdam Centraal for even more walking.  I walked to the Anne Frank house, but the line to get in was so long I decided not to wait.  I did take pictures of the outside though.

Next stop, Dam Square.  I had hoped to find a hot stroopwafel vendor here, but no dice.  I did, however, finally get some poffertjes!  I was so excited, I even took a picture before I started eating it.  Silly, huh?

I also so a lot of herring carts, but there's no way I was going to have some of that.  I can probably stand the saltiness, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.  Besides, before the poffertjes, I'd already stopped at a hot dog stand, so I was pretty full anyway.

From Dam Square, I headed to the Rembrandt House Museum, but it was closed when I got there.  Looks like it closed even before I left the Anne Frank house.  Took pictures of the outside there too, and then headed back to the station.

I hopped on a train back to Rotterdam Centraal, and got there about twenty-six minutes too late to catch the tram back to Vasteland, which is the tram stop closest to the hostel where I'm staying.  So, I walked.  I got back a little after 9 p.m, and called Grandma over Skype before uploading pictures to Facebook and typing up this post.

Tomorrow, I think I'll see if I can catch the Peppels at church--if I've got the right building.  I just hope I wake up in time, since I was hoping to use my phone as an alarm clock on this trip, but it won't even tell time here since it's outside its service area!

Ah, well.  I've at least been getting up on time for the free breakfast, which is between 8 and 10 a.m. every morning.  I think their ward meets at either 9:30 or 11:30, so if I get up for the earliest part of breakfast I will hopefully make it.

So . . . many . . . STAIRS!

I didn't go to Amsterdam today.

Tell the truth, I didn't even leave the hostel.

I'd done so much biking yesterday, that this morning, I had trouble getting back up to my room after breakfast--I was that sore, and it wasn't just my legs.  Besides, it rained right after breakfast, and I'd forgotten to grab my umbrella while I was getting my suitcase out of the Bug.  I'm not sure I could afford to buy one here, but I'd do it if I was caught out in the rain--and could find a place nearby to buy one.

So, what did I do instead?  I caught up on some reading, of course.  That seems to be the default Darcy relaxation technique, after all.

Anna had told me about the two Sookie Stackhouse novels I hadn't read yet a couple of weeks ago, and I had my Kindle with me, so I downloaded them both.  I just finished the latest one a few minutes ago.  I can't decide whether to a) lament the apparent death of the Sookie/Eric thing (he was sooo much cooler than Bill), or b) cheer on the Sookie/Sam thing Harris has pretty much been setting up since book one.

Talked to Anna on the phone last night, and tried to call Grandma, but I guess she was out or something, since I only got the answering machine.

I'm kind of on the fence about calling Grandma's friend in Hellevoetsluis, even though she's pretty much the only person I actually know in this country.  I mean, it'd be kind of wierd, if she doesn't even know I'm here, to just all of a sudden call up a friend of my grandma's I'd only met once or twice, right?

Tomorrow though, I'll definitely go into Amsterdam, no matter how hard it is to climb the stairs back to my room.  Maybe I'll walk to the train station (it's only about five blocks or so, straight north from here anyway) instead of biking there.  Perhaps, if I feel the need, I can rent a bicycle when I get there--and get a map of the city, since the one I have is only for Rotterdam.

Other places to see this trip include:

• In Amsterdam
• The Dam
• The Anne Frank House
• The Rembrandt Museum
• A Canal Tour
• In the Hague - Maybe I'll just stop here on my way to Amsterdam tomorrow, get two cities done in one go.
• Madurodam
• The Arnhem Open Air Museum
• The Keukenhof
• The Delta Works in Spijkenisse - would take about an hour by bicycle, and Spijkenisse looks like it's on the way to Hellevoetsluis.  I'm still not sure I'd want to bike that far though.  I still can't find any information about public transportation to either of those places.
• The Arboretum Trompenburg, which is here in Rotterdam somewhere - Looks like about a 15-minute bike ride, but I think I'll wait until Tuesday, and have lunch in the tea house.
• Kinderdijk, which would take about an hour and a half, even with public transport.

I still have yet to have a stroopwafel, hot off the press too, so that's still on the list.  There are also walking tours of Rotterdam from the hostel every Wednesday night, so I'm going to try and get to the one next Wednesday, which is the night before I leave.  I have to make sure I have enough time to pack everything back up either before I go to sleep or before I check out.  The IcelandAir website says that particular flight doesn't leave until 2 p.m, and checkout has to be before 11 a.m, so I'll be all right, I guess.

Is this day one, day two, or day three? I'm confused.

Any way you count it, it's the first full day I've been in the Netherlands.

Last night, I went to sleep very early, and only got up once to check the time and answer the call of nature.  I couldn't find my watch, and my cell phone doesn't even show the time here--so it's useless as an alarm clock--so I went downstairs to ask someone in the lounge what time it was.  It was midnight.

Woke up around 8:30 a.m. (that's 1:30 a.m. back home) and got dressed before going down to the lounge for the free breakfast.  No poffertjes or lamatjespap (not sure how to spell that one), but it's summer, so I figure they wouldn't make those right now anyway.  They did have cereal, bread (plus toasters), coffee, various juices, jam, chocolate/hazelnut spread (a.k.a. Nutella), CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES, and some sort of cakey square thing which I'm sure tasted familiar but I can't quite remember the name of.  I didn't have one of everything, but I ate enough.

After breakfast, I went up to get my money and stuff before heading to the supermarket.  I needed bottled water and some lip balm.  I'd lost the tube of Blistex I keep in my backpack--and found it again after I'd been to the market anyway.  Started taking pictures on the way to and from.

Back from the market, I got my stuff together and rented a bicycle--8 euros, plus a 50 euro deposit per day--then headed out to see the cube houses.

I forgot to mention yesterday that, in all my frienzied, Monday night packing, I knew I was going to forget something.  Odd thing is, it wasn't something I missed until I got to Rotterdam Centraal yesterday: the Netherlands road map Grandma lent me.  It would have been nice to have, but I can live without it, even though the Rotterdam City map the receptionist at the hostel gave me isn't nearly detailed enough to be 100% comprehensible.

Anyway, saw the cube houses, then went back to the hostel for lunch.  Ate that, and then brought my computer downstairs to look up directions to the Peppels' house.  Walking would take over 5 hours, and biking about 1½, so I'm not sure I want to do even that.  Instead, I looked up where their ward meets for church.  Turns out, they're in the Rotterdam 1st ward, and their building is just a 9-minute bike ride away . . . if you don't get lost 3-5 times along the way, that is.

The biking directions I got online (at http://www.fietsersbond.nl/fietsrouteplanner/) were so convoluted, and I couldn't see many street signs when I went past a block or two, so I kept getting lost on the way to the church.  I finally got there though, and took the straight route back to the hostel.  Now I know how to reverse it and get to the church without trouble.

I decided that was enough biking for the day (it was 3 p.m), so I turned in the keys for the bike locks (got my 50 Euros back, too) and decided to bum around the hostel for the rest of the day.  I've been on the computer since about 4, and got my list of NPCs for the RPG I'm going to run this summer typed up.

I thought of typing up the new scenes I'd written for my fantasy story, but this chair is hard, and I need some dinner anyway. Right after I hit the "Submit" button on this post, I'm logging off.  Pictures are in my "Vacation in Holland" album on Facebook!

Maybe I should do some more Rosetta Stone tomorrow . . . nah.  I'd look silly talking to my computer in the middle of the lounge (wi-fi doesn't reach to the 3rd floor).

Well, I'm here.

. . . I'm absolutely exhausted, mostly confused by the Netherlands train/tram/metro system, and somewhat dehydrated, but I'm here.

Yesterday, I got off work and changed clothes.  Then I went to the employee parking lot and got my luggage out of the Bug before going back to the terminal.  I was hoping to check in right away, but no one was at the IcelandAir ticket counter, so I watched an episode of Stargate: Atlantis on NetFlix before trying again.  Still no one.  By that time, it was about 2:30 or 3 p.m, and I was starving.

So, I got some "lunch" which was really dinner for me, and went back to the counter.  There were two girls there, but they were from Lufthansa (a German-based airline).  They told me that IcelandAir doesn't usually get to the ticket counters until about 5 p.m, so I was kind of bummed.

I went and changed my money over to Euros, and then just sat up in the lobby area for a while.  Around 20 minutes until 5, I went back, and there they were!  So I got my boarding pass, handed off my extremely heavy luggage (after all, I had packed food in it since I can't afford to eat out for eight days in a country where I don't know the fair prices for anything) and went to the Employee Checkpoint.

I was so concentrated on making sure my laptop got out of the bag that I forgot that I still had my cell phone and iPod in my pockets!  I should know better, since I'm constantly telling people that they should take those items out of their pockets myself.  Bit of a blonde moment there.  Of course, a couple of the p.m. guys laughed at me for it, and we had a good chuckle.

After going to my gate (A19) and changing from heels to socks and sneakers, I walked down to the opposite end of B gates and got a massage.  I soooo needed that!  After the massage, I took the train to the terminal, then the shuttle to D gates, where I got a manicure.  Never really got one of those before.  It was interesting.  Finally, I walked over to the C gates and took the train back to A.

The weather was bad.  They couldn't finish fuelling on time, because of lightning, and they couldn't board us until after the fuelling was complete.  We didn't start boarding until about 10 minutes before the plane was originally supposed to take off (8:40 p.m).  Then, some people decided they didn't want to go after all, and the baggage handlers had to take their luggage off, so we sat there even longer.

Finally, we took off--at 10 p.m!  I was extremely worried that I was going to miss my connection, since I technically only had about an hour and a half of lay-over in Rekyavik.  But we got there just in the nick of time, and took off for Schiphol on schedule.

I didn't think to take my camera out of my carry-on until after we took off, and the seat belt light was still on.  Also, a pregnant lady asked me to switch seats with her (so she could get up to pee whenever she needed--living with Anna, how could I refuse?), so I was at the window instead of the aisle and couldn't get out without asking two other people and their baby son (the husband used to teach Spanish and French at FCC--small world!) to move out of the way first.  Plus, my carry-on was stowed across the aisle anyway.  The same happened from Rekyavik to Amsterdam, only this time, it was a lady not wanting to be separated from her son by a row, and the bag was a couple of rows behind me as well as across the aisle this time.  I'll try to remember to take pictures on the way back instead, though the views last night and this morning were awesome!  Plus, the configurations of the two foreign airports are so interesting!

I think the food I'd bought at Dulles for my "second dinner" on the flight went bad or something because I didn't eat it right away, because about an hour before we landed at Rekyavik, I was feeling extremely oogy.  That, combined with my allergies attacking me with a vengeance and my inability to find a comfortable seated position after more than 5 hours in economy class made me extremely light-headed when I went to the bathroom before landing.  I got in there, and puked, yuck!  (Though you probably don't need to know that, but who cares?)

Anyway, got to Schiphol just fine, and found my way around.  I had to exchange Euro bills for Euro coins--the train ticket machines don't take bills--and then find which platform and which train to go to.  I can understand some Dutch, but not when there's not really a key for the different symbols on the train schedule and I have no idea how to read them (format and structure-wise, not the actual letters and words) in the first place.

A nice middle-aged lady helped me find the right train, and a girl sitting in the same car as I was helped me get off at the right stop.  Then came the chaos.

I desperately needed to pee, but I also had to find out how to get to the hostel I'm staying at (ROOM Rotterdam, Van Vollenhovenstraat 62).  I decided to at least get directions first, and found a machine which prints a map out for you if you type in the street name.  I had to get the information desk lady to help me interpret it--she was kind of curt about it, as though I should know what all those symbols are when it's my first day in the country.

Then, I went in search of the W.C.  It was upstairs, but thankfully, there was an escalator--though those are treacherous unless I get the luggage balanced just right.  It costs half-a-Euro to use the restroom at Rotterdam Central!  So, I had to use the vending machine and get a coke (which was 1.5 Euro) so that I could go to the bathroom, which I did.

Then I had to get more bills changed to coins, because I needed to purchase an OV-chipkaart for the tram to get near the street I wanted.  It took three or four tries, but I eventually got two chipkaarts, each with 10 Euro, and got on the tram which took me to Vasteland.

I got all turned around looking for Van Vollenhovenstraat, and asked a lady with a baby where it was.  She kindly pointed it out to me, and I walked along it a while, but ran out of street before I found the right number.  I asked an older gentleman where I could find the right building, and he pointed to the opposite side of the street from where I'd been walking!  *facepalm*

I almost walked past the hostel again, but then I saw the sign on the corner of the building.  Then I had to get my exhausted self--and my extremely heavy luggage--up the stairs and down the hall to the reception desk.  Got that taken care of, got my room key, another guy was kind enough to tote my luggage up to the third floor (which, in America, we'd probably call the fourth floor).  From there, I got organized, used the ladies again, and brought my computer downstairs so I could text Anna through Skype and get a glass of absolutely necessary water.

I think I'll at least wait until my computer's recharged (I used it without an outlet in the ticketing area yesterday because I couldn't find a working outlet) and get some more water before I go upstairs for a shower and a nice, long nap.  Then I'll think about toting all the food I brought down to the guest kitchen.

If anyone needs to contact me, get in touch with Anna (emergencies only, please).  The only people who should be doing this will know how to get a hold of her, so I'm not going to tell that here.  I'll be calling her via Skype either every evening or every other evening, and will be able to get back to you then.  I don't know where any other free wi-fi spots besides the hostel's lounge are, so I'll be keeping my computer here while I go sightseeing.

I do not have an international calling plan, so calling my cell phone will get you nowhere until I'm back in the States.

Tomorrow, I think I'll go see Amsterdam--gotta rent a bike first though, those trains and trams are expensive, so I'm going to keep them to minimum use.  I plan on seeing at least the Anne Frank house, the Dam and the Rembrandt Museum.  Maybe I'll take a canal tour too, but I'll have to see how much time the rest of it takes up.  I also have to find out when the peak times are, so I don't bring the bicycle on the trains then.

Maybe I'll just stay in Rotterdam tomorrow, and visit Amsterdam later.  After all, Grandma told me about this row of houses that were built on their corners, and that sounds interesting.  Then there's Futureland, and Arboretum Trompenburg.

I'm going to call Grandma's friend, Suzanne, in a couple of days and see if she'd mind me coming by to say "hi."  Maybe I'll go to church with them on Sunday, if I can figure out what public transportation will take me to her house before their ward meets.

Anyway, that's it for now.  Until tomorrow, tot ziens!

Whew!

Okay, now that all the non-fiction is posted, I get get down to explaining where I've been all this time.

Scratch that.  You can pretty much figure it out: school, work, Haven, etc.  How about I describe my plans for the summer and next school year instead?

Oh, I've pretty much given up on listing all the books I read for the 50-Book Challenge--keeping track of them as I go is extremely tedious, so when I get around to writing the list, I can never remember all of them.

Anyway, next week, we have a new shift bid at work.  Due to the nature of next Fall's school schedule (one class on Monday/Wednesday, plus two music lessons on either Monday or Tuesday, and two online courses), I'm hoping I finally have the seniority to get the shift with four ten-hour days and three days off--specifically Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.  Failing that, I'll try either to get the overnight shift with any days off, since my classes are all after that shift ends, or the same shift I have now (0430-1300) with Tuesday/Wednesday or Monday/Tuesday off, which I will then ask to be split to Monday/Wednesday like last Fall, in order to accommodate my class schedule.

A week from this coming Tuesday, I will be accomplishing a goal I have had on my list for over two decades: I'm going to Holland!

I've wanted to go ever since I found out 1) What countries are, and 2) Grandma and Grandpa S. were born and raised there.  In fact, I decided years ago that the first time I was able to afford to take a vacation outside the country, I would go to the Netherlands.  Everywhere else could wait until after that.

I will be staying at a hostel in Rotterdam, and might go to at least say "Hi" to Grandma's friend in The Hague.  I will definitely be visiting The Hague, as well as Amsterdam, the Kinderdijk, and some other places around the country.  I plan to travel by train from city to city, and by bus or taxi within each city.  I might rent a bicycle for in-city transportation as well, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford it.

My plane leaves around 5 p.m. on the 29th, so I will be working that day before changing clothes and going to get my luggage from the car.  After that, I will check in and go back through the checkpoint.  I have a layover of about an hour and a half in Rekjavik going both directions, but I figure that will only be enough time to eat, if I need to.

The return flight lands back at Dulles around 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 7th, so if I still have the a.m. shift then, I will not be able to get home in time for a shower and enough recovery time from jet lag in order to function properly at work the next morning.  So, I am taking off Friday, June 8th as well, and returning to work on Saturday, June 9th, which is actually Mom's birthday.

No matter what schedule I have this bid, I should have July 4th off (or at least the day after, so I don't have to worry about going to bed on time), so I'll be able to be in the Haven's annual group picture this year.  That's good, because I had to miss last year's photo.

After my vacation, I'm going to be running an RPG at the Haven, probably on Tuesdays, based on Anne McCaffrey's Pern.  I'm currently tweaking the Cinematic Unisystem rules to accommodate that setting, and I hope the game goes well, because I'm extremely excited about it.  It's going to be set about 500 Turns after the events in The Skies of Pern (in other words, approximately 3,000 After Landing), and I'm not going to say anymore about it, because I don't want to give any spoilers to the people who may be interested in playing.

Next Fall, my classes are as follows:

EN203 with Ted Taft (the same instructor as for EN205 in Fall 2011 and EN204 in Spring 2012): American Literature from the beginning to the Civil War.  EN204 was from the Civil War to modern times.  Mondays/Wednesdays 1100-1215.

LF101 with an as-yet-unnamed instructor: Introductory French - I took French in Middle and High School, but when I signed up for it, the A.P. French class was cancelled, so I could not take it for college credit.  Therefore, I have to start back at the beginning for French at FCC.  Online Course.

MU103 with James Hontz: Fundamentals of Music - I've been trying to take this course for ages, since it's the prerequisite for the Music Theory and Music Composition courses, but never had the time to take it when it was offered before.  Online Course.

MU178A with John Pursell: First Year Brass (Trumpet) - I'm way out of practice with the trumpet, and I want to get my lip back, so I'll be taking weekly ½-hour-long lessons.  Schedule unknown until August, will either be Mondays or Tuesdays.

MU184 with James Hontz: First Year Guitar - Since I only know one real song on the guitar ("Merelan" from The Masterharper of Pern Soundtrack Songbook), and can't really play it at tempo, I figured I'd get actual lessons.  The class I had signed up for in senior year of high school started out with just theory, so I dropped that class in favor of Show Choir, and hadn't gotten around to getting personal lessons yet.  Now, I will have.  These lessons, unlike the trumpet lessons, will be hour-long sessions.  Tuesdays, 1430-1530.

After next semester, I will only need two more Literature courses before I can graduate and get my A.A. degree in English/Literature.  Those courses are the second half of British Literature, EN202, and the second half of World Literature, EN206.  If one or both of them is not offered in the Spring of 2013, my academic advisor, Dr. K, said that we could substitute any other 200-series Literature course, though I don't know what that could be, since I've already taken all of the other 200-series Literature courses I know of.

Anyway, after I get that degree, I plan to go back to FCC and change my major to Music.  I hope to later transfer to a four-year school and get my B.A, so that I can teach music.  That way, if I can't find a position teaching at a school, I'll at least be able to give lessons in my spare time.

I also started writing a story back in November. It's nowhere near finished yet, and it's already over 13,000 words (48 pages, Times New Roman, 12pt, typed and double-spaced or 14 pages, Times New Roman, 6pt, typed and double-spaced). There was no way I was going to do it for Na-No-Wri-Mo though, since I have trouble writing it in anything other than fits and spurts. It doesn't have a title yet, and I'm not going to write a description of it here. I want to finish it before I send it out to the world in general, though a couple people have already read earlier parts of the story.


My original plan was to finish it and send it to the Writers of the Future Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers Contest (which used to be judged by Anne McCaffrey, who as most of you should know was the author of the Pern series--among others--and my favorite author of all time), but they have a word limit of 17,000 words. Given that I'm maybe half-way through the story at more than 13,000 words, I'll probably be way over the limit by the time the story is finished. If that is the case, and I can do it well enough, I'll abridge the story so that it's under the limit and submit the abridged version to the contest. Then, I'll send the long version to a publisher after the contest is over, no matter whether the story gets a prize or not.


If I cannot abridge the story and still keep the major plot intact, I'll just send it to a publisher.


Lots of plans, lots of stuff to fill my time.  I'm also watching my way through all of the Stargate serieses and movies.  I'm currently nearing the end of Stargate: SG-1 season 9 and Stargate: Atlantis season 2.


No new knitting projects lately, but can you blame me, busy as I've been without them?

Non-Fiction Works by DSDragon

The following were all done for one class or another during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years at Frederick Community College, or for classes from Fall 2013 on at Ashford University.  I don't really feel like digging through old computer files to find essays and such from middle school or high school (or from my earlier semesters at FCC) right now, but I might do that eventually.  The essays are sorted by semester and class.  I will include the teachers' comments at the end of each piece.

Fall 2011

EN102: English Composition and Literature

NOVEL PROJECT: I read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, and wrote four different papers on it.

• Summary and Response
• Critical Synthesis
• Character Analysis
• Theme

POETRY PRESENTATION: This was a PowerPoint presentation I did on the poem "Spliced Wire" by Jimmy Santiago Baca.

UNDERSTANDING GENRE: We were to describe a photograph involving blackberries (which I have included in the post), and then do something creative related to that photo.  I wrote a poem.

PLAY REVIEW: We were supposed to see the play "American Buffalo" at the Maryland Ensemble Theater, but I could not attend any of the performances without taking time off of work.  I was allowed, instead, to watch the video version, and that is the version I reviewed.

HI101: History of Western Civilization

For this class, we were to choose 2 out of 3 essay prompts and write those essays.  We could have done all three (the third would be extra credit), but after I wrote notes for the third essay, I did not have time to actually write it.  I have included both the first and second essays, but not my notes for the third.

ESSAY #1: Augustus

ESSAY #2: England - I did not find the subjects of either this or the third essay as interesting as the first one, so I did not do as well as I probably could have.

HE102: Nutrition in a Changing World

ASSIGNMENT #1: Personal Nutrition Assessment

ASSIGNMENT #2: Recipe Remake

ASSIGNMENT #3: "Fad" Diet Review - The Migraine Diet

DIETARY ANALYSIS PROJECT: We had to track our eating and exercise habits for a week, and then analyze how healthy we had been based on the nutrients we received, how much fat and calories we took in and used, etc.

EN205: World Literature - This was my favorite class last semester, and I loved writing the two papers that were required, as well as the class discussions.  Out of both semesters this school year, I am most proud of the Comprehensive Research Paper I wrote for this class, as it was a completely new idea, and although I had trouble finding sources to support my thesis, I had a lot of fun writing it.

SHORT PAPER: The Amarusataka

COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PAPER: The Odyssey and the Art of War

Spring 2012

I had two classes this semester which did not require any written work: MU118 (Choral Ensemble) and MU151 (Class Piano).  There is nothing I can post for the piano class, but I will eventually be receiving a CD of our choral performances, so I will see what I can do about posting that later.

EN201: British Literature

FIRST PAPER: "The Lady's Dressing Room" by Jonathan Swift

SECOND PAPER: "Sir Patrick Spens" (Scottish Folk Song)

FINAL PROJECT: "The Flea" by John Donne

EN204: American Literature

SHORT PAPER: "A Municipal Report" by O. Henry

MID-TERM EXAM: Feminism

COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PAPER: "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes - I had a lot of trouble even figuring out what work I wanted to write about for this paper, and by the time I did figure it out, I only had a few days left before the due date.  Therefore, this paper is only 2½ pages long, when the requirement was for 6-8 pages.  I still managed to get a B on it though.

FINAL EXAM: The Individual and Society - I just turned this in the day before I posted it here, so I have not (and probably will not) received any comments on it, nor do I know what grade I received for it.

PH101: Introductory Philosophy - This was an online class, and the instructor did not provide comments for any essays written, just grades.

ESSAY #1: Existentialism - Grade: 100/100

ESSAY #2: Utilitarianism - Grade: 100/100

MID-TERM EXAM ESSAY: Reality - Grade: 145/150

TEST #4 EXTRA CREDIT ESSAY: Contract Theory - I just turned this in a few hours before posting, so I have no grade for it yet.

FINAL EXAM ESSAY: Truth - Like the Extra Credit Essay, I just turned it in a couple hours before posting, and have no grade to share.

Fall 2012

EN203: American Literature

SHORT PAPER: Why Not? Equality in Two Lines

MIDTERM: Combining Religion with Secularism and GettingAmericans

FINAL: TheEvolution of a Concept: Freedom

LAR101-1: Introduction to Arabic - There were no essays for this course, only a project which I will not post here, because it is a huge PowerPoint file.

Spring 2013

EN216-ONL1: The Short Story

Essay One: Initiations

Essay Two: Compare and Contrast

EN224P: The Graphic Novel

Journals

Literary Analysis - Subtle is Better: Feminism in Comics

People and Trends - Reviving a Trend

SSR Response - “The Sky is Falling!”: A response to In theShadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman

Critical Lense - Not Understanding, but Appreciating, the Father: APostmodernist Perspective on Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by AlisonBechdel

End of curriculum at Frederick Community College--A. A. degree in English/Literature received June 2013.

Beginning of online curriculum from Ashford University--Credits transferred from Frederick Community College and applied toward B.A. degree in Applied Linguistics.

Fall 2013

PSY202: Adult Development and Learning

Considering the Present

Looking Toward the Future

Spring 2014

SOC120: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility

The Ethics of Gambling

ANT101: Cultural Anthropology

Tattooing in American Penitentiaries and Malaysia

BUS308: Statistics for Management - No papers yet.

Coming Soon: Non-Fiction by DSDragon

Yes, you read that right--I'm going to be posting non-fiction works on this blog in the near future. It's mostly going to be the papers I wrote for classes this past semester. There might be some papers from a while back, if I can find them. I'm going to try and polish the ones I like so that they're the best they can be before I post them.

50-Book Challenge

Okay, I wasn't planning on doing this today, but my Kindle's screen broke, so I had to get a new one, and there were books I've read that won't be transferring to the new device.

1. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
   
3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5. Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
6. Checkmate - A Beginner's Guide to Chess by Adam Stryvnski
7. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
8. The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
   
9. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
10. By Schism Rent Assunder by David Weber
11. By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
12. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
13. How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
    
14. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (for school)
    
15. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (for school)
16. Mutineers' Moon by David Weber (In progress)
    

Adventures in Knitting (and Other Stuff)

Well, I finally got my knitting project pictures from my camera onto my computer. They're not that great--the lighting was horrendous when I took most of them--but they'll do.

I started to get into knitting around the end of January. I just kept thinking that I wanted to knit something. Grandma S. had taught me how to knit at least twenty years ago, but I hadn't really gotten into it then. All of a sudden, I found myself wanting to knit though, so one day on the way to work (back when I was still on the p.m. shift) I stopped at the Michael's store in Leesburg, VA.

I didn't really know what I wanted to knit, and I'd forgotten how to cast on, so I got an "I taught myself knitting" kit--just so I could have an immediate reference should I need reminding. I also looked at yarns, and found a really nice red color. Remembering that Anna's and Tim's wedding colors were black and (apple) red, I thought to myself that I might just like to make a sweater for Anna in those colors--so I did.

It turned out pretty okay, for a first major project. I didn't really know anything about buying proper yarn weights at the time though, so the body of the sweater (the black) was thinner than the sleeves (done in red). I also hadn't tied in the ends properly in a couple of places, so when I washed and dried the sweater the first time in preparation for giving it to Anna, a few small holes showed up! Yikes!

So I called Grandma in a bit of a panic, and she said to bring it by her house when I could so she could let me know if it was fixable. Thank goodness it was, because I really didn't want to have to take it apart and make it all over again!

There are a few "yarn scars" where I had to do quick patch-ups, but they're mostly on the back. There was one on the front though, so I covered it up with a cute little frog patch that Grandma let me have, so it would be "prettier." Anna loved the frog.

When I first started making Anna's sweater, a lot of people at work remarked on it. One co-worker actually asked me to make a sweater for him too. I told him I would, and asked what color. He said blue--the same color as our uniform shirts, because he's a Carolinas fan. I couldn't quite get an exact match just by going to the craft store, so I bought a skein each of three of the closest shades, and had him choose. It ended up being Vanna's Choice Sapphire.

This sweater came out a lot better, since I was working all in one color (so I didn't have to worry about weight of yarn being different) and I knew better how to tie in the ends. Grandma also helped with a bit of confusion over the directions--I was having trouble figuring out how the pattern was telling me to sew on the sleeves. As you can see at the right, her advice helped. This particular picture came out really well, and it's probably the best picture of all the projects I've done so far.

After that, I decided to try making a pair of socks. I'd heard it was somewhat more of a challenge, since you have to use four needles at once. The first sock was kind of iffy--I'd gone the wrong direction when I started, so it has a bit of a "run" down the middle of the back where the rounds didn't quite come together. As a result of that, the first sock is baggier and looser than the second. By the second sock, I'd learned how to keep the tension on without pulling so hard that I couldn't move the needles.

Sometimes, I wear the socks when I'm just bumming around the house. But after a few hours, I start to feel the individual stitches digging into the bottoms of my feet. Unfortunately, the yarn I made them with is hand-wash and flat-air-dry only, so I can't put them in the machines to soften them up a bit. I wonder if there's a way to soften them up by hand?

The socks are black, so you're not really missing much with the uber-darkness of the picture.

Now that I'd finally knitted something for myself, I decided to go back to knitting surprises for other people, namely my bestest friend, H. (Hiya!)

What to make her, though? She lives in AZ, where it gets extremely hot, so a sweater probably wouldn't be all that useful. However, it does get at least a little chilly at times, and she has to take her dogs out to go potty too. So I figured a shawl would be just the ticket. I had bought a book of shawl patterns, and chose one with lots of lacing, so it would be warm, but still light-weight.

Without telling her why, I asked for confirmation of her favorite color, and she told me royal blue, so the picture to the right is lying to you if you're seeing black.

I also thought about putting a tiny knitted swatch onto one of those make-your-own button badge things (you know, the pins that people wear that have things like smiley faces and such on them?) so that she could have detachable buttons for holding the shawl on while she walked the dogs also. But even the lighter-weight yarn I used for the shawl was too thick for my tiny button maker. Ah well.

After that, I tried my hand at pattern making. What I wanted was a sleeveless dress with a V-neck, and a slight slit about 4 inches up one side like my favorite skirt has. Only, I couldn't find a pattern with exactly what I wanted. So I took my measurements, chose the yarn I wanted to make the dress with, made some gauge swatches, and calculated all the stitches I'd need, all the increases and decreases, and where they would go, in order to make that dress. I knitted it in the round (with needles connected at the center by flexible plastic, instead of two separate straight needles), which made the calculations a bit more complicated, since my measurements diagram could only show one side of me at a time.

Over all, I did pretty well with the calculations, except between my bust and armpits, where it came out baggier than it should have been. I just sewed little gussets to the inside of the dress under each arm to get rid of (or at least hide) the excess, since I wasn't about to take apart half of the dress's top just to fix it. I'll fix the pattern by looking at exactly how many stitches those gussets hold and making sure the necessary decreases happen before I make another dress like it--if I ever do, that is.

I bought a solid blue belt (to break up the pattern a bit at the middle of the dress) and some high-heeled backless brown sandals with blue, suede opened toes on to go with the dress. The sandals are my favorite shoes, but I don't get to wear them very often now that it's getting colder and I've got somewhere to be seven days per week (work and school). I did wear the shoes on the first day of the semester though, and that nearly killed my legs. I'm never wearing high heels to FCC again!

I plan to make a solid-colored bolero-style jacket to go with the dress (which will only be worn in the winter, once I've bought a slip--the sun tends to shine through all the little holes between stitches) in one of the darker middle shades of blue that is in the verigated yarn I used for the dress. I also plan to make solid-colored pockets slightly at an angle on the front of the dress about where pants pockets would be. I just don't have time for that project at the moment, what with my crazy-insane schedule.

I had also planned to teach a few people at the Haven how to knit, and actually had planned and scheduled the class. I had planned to have them make potholders during the lesson, and give them some yarn too. I would also let them pick their next project from one of the few books I had--or help them look up patterns on the internet for whatever they wanted to make, as well as give them advice on how to choose yarn and needle sizes.

However, the people who were interested in learning to knit could not make it to the Haven on the day I'd chosen for class, and I could not make it any other day either, so the class was cancelled. Maybe I'll try to have the class again during the break between fall and spring semester or something.

To the right is a picture of the example potholders I made to go with the class flyer on the bulletin board at the Haven. The first two were from patterns in the "I taught myself knitting" kit, and the third is an adaptation I made with cable-stitching. I think I need to adapt that pattern so it's a better square with the cabling, though--it turned out a bit long and thin compared to the other two.

The yarn I used for the example is also not good for potholders, since it's not very heat-resistant and would probably melt if you tried to put it on the table under a hot pot of food, but since these are only for show, it's all right.

That's about all the knitting news for now. On to this year's Renaissance Festival, and then I've really got to get some homework done.

Earlier this fall, I asked Anna and Tim if they would want to go to RennFest with me, if I could get off work one Sunday (the only day both Tim and Anna are off from work during any given week), and they said yes. So I got the 2nd of October off, and saved all the money I could from two paychecks for the RennFest.

On October 1st, the forecast called for cold and rain, however. Anna and Tim, fearing Dylan would get a cold--or otherwise become ill--in the weather, had to back out of our Faire plans at the last minute. I couldn't blame them--I don't want Dylan to get sick either.

So, I posted on Facebook that I was looking for Havenites (or other people) to go to the RennFest with the next day, but I guess no other Havenites were online between the time I posted and the time I got up to go, since only H and one other person (who also lives out-of-state) replied. I went to RennFest by myself, but I had a fun enough time.

The first thing I did was get my name on the list to have my hair braided, because I didn't want it blowing in my face all day. While I waited, I stopped in the nearby pewter shop and bought something to hold my cloak closed in the shape of wolves' heads. Everything else I bought at RennFest (except for some beeswax lip balm), I bought for other people (just the people I found at home when I got back, though):

Anna and Tim got matching wooden boxes, with red stain, which are just small/big enough to hold small things (like change or keys) on a nightstand. I also got Anna a necklace with a green stone in the middle of a round silver pendant with snakes on it.

Kimba got a nifty RennFest magnet. She was doing laundry at my house when I got back.

I got Dylan a RennFest sweatshirt (size 4T, I think, so he can grow into it) and a picture book about bees and honey from The Bee Folks.

I also bought 50 honey sticks in two different varieties to share.

I took a picture of what I looked like with the dress and the cloak (the "sorcerer's robe" Dad made me for Halloween 2000, left open except for the new cloak clasp). I also wore the belt I bought at the Faire a few years back (which I wear to work every day), as well as the belt pouch I bought from the Haven that Erika made a few years ago. The necklace is a medallion that I bought at RennFest also. It's got a sailing ship on one side and Pegasus on the other.

I was the only one home at the time I thought to take a picture, though (and I wanted to change out of the constricting dress), so I had to take the picture in the mirror. My left hand (remember, it's a mirror image) is cropped out of the picture, because that's the hand that was holding the camera, and it looked kind of incongruous.

I have yet to find footwear to go with the dress that I find acceptable. Not only that would match the dress well, but would be comfortable to walk in for hours.

Whoops! Where'd the time go?

Yikes! I had no idea I hadn't posted since New Year's! So much has happened since then, I don't know where to start.

I do have a list of books I've read this year going, but it's rather short--I took up knitting at the beginning of the year, and am now back to school, so I don't really have much time for reading, other than for school. I am reading a novel for one of my classes though, so that will be included on the list--once I get the list up. I'll also post all the essays I'll be writing for school as well.

To sum up the last nine months (and one day) of the year so far:

I still work at Dulles Airport, and I'm doing pretty well there. I switched to the a.m. shift (4:30 to 1:00) back in the spring, thinking that it would make it easier to go to my morning classes on my days off. Little did I know that my night-owl self wouldn't be able to even attempt to get to sleep early enough for a 1:30 a.m. wake-up.

A couple weeks ago, I was so physically and mentally exhausted, the sheer force of will it took to stay awake made me clench my teeth so hard that my entire jaw ached for days afterward. And then one morning, I woke up aching all over too, so I called out from work and went back to sleep until I heard Anna and Tim downstairs around 9:30.

I've managed to get better at going to sleep lately, so it's not nearly as bad now. But we're bidding for shifts again at work soon, so I'm probably going to go back to the p.m. shift. As much as I love how much less crazy the morning is compared to afternoons at the airport, I just can't seem to adjust my circadian rhythms to the a.m. schedule.

Anyway, I just realized that I hadn't explained the whole "back to school" thing on here yet, so here goes.

Back in the spring, I decided that I needed to go back to school. I had about 35 credits just sittin' there, doing nothing, and it was kind of lame. But if I was going to go back, I needed a plan for where to take my life.

So, I talked to one of the ladies at FCC (that's Frederick Community College, for those of you not native Frednecks), and said I might be interested in teaching. She told me that, in order to teach English, I'd need at least a Master's degree, and I don't really have any interest in a Master's.

I decided to finish my A.A. in English at FCC, and then go back as a Music major. Once I have enough credits, I'll then transfer to a 4-year college and get my B.A. in Music Education. I haven't decided where I'll go for that yet--don't even really know which colleges in the area I am able to attend offer such a curriculum--but I have time.

I talked to the lady who taught my Music History and Appreciation class a few years ago, and she told me to start practicing again really soon. Asked me what level I wanted to teach music in: elementary, middle, or high school. I said either middle or high, and she told me that I could teach either vocals or instrumental music (i.e. chorus or band), so I chose vocal, since I believe I sing better than I play any instrument. Perhaps I'll minor in trumpet.

She also suggested that, while I'm still finishing my English degree, I take the Fundamentals of Music course (and at least start on the series of Music Theory courses), as well as a piano class, and individual vocal instruction. She said that, if I find I don't like the pace of the piano class after the first semester, I could get individual instruction for that too, and told me how to go about planning for that in my class schedules.

I'm headed for my at-least-once-a-year visit to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow. Anna and Tim were going to come with me (and bring Dylan, of course), but had to bail due to forecasts of cold and rain tomorrow. They don't want to have Dylan in the wet and cold all day, and I don't really blame them. It's just not going to be as fun without someone to hang out with, so I posted on Facebook that I'm looking for Havenites (or other people) to go with me.

If no one else wants to come--it is last-minute, after all--then I'll just go by myself. Maybe I'll see other people I know there, or maybe I'll make a new friend or two--who knows?