Rebecca's Blog

Kaya the Puppy

This is my dog with a feather in her nose. She does lots of goofy things, like barking at hamsters and jumping into cars when the doors are still closed and wrapping the leash around all four of her legs, but we rarely catch them on film. She's very sweet, and she's kind of cute, but she's not all that intelligent.

Some people brought it to my attention that it's been a while since I've posted, and as I was going through my pictures (because a post without a picture is lame), I realized that most of them are pretty boring. I have some from Christmas, and some from a trip to the climbing gym with Anna and Owen, but everyone who's reading this knows exactly what I've been up to lately. Thus, instead of seeing me posing for the camera with some other people, you get to see my dog with a feather in her nose!

Family Canoe Trip

Desipte foreboding weather, my family and I headed to the Adirondacks this Labor Day Weekend for our desired-annual canoe trip. Owen, Bruce, my mom, and I drove to the launching site on Friday evening, preceeded by my grandparents, Uncle David, and cousin Christopher. Karl and Becca were soon to follow, and we managed to get all the tents set up and everyone fed not too much after my ideal bedtime.

Even though it was supposed to be cold and raining, the weather was actually quite pleasant. We experienced a bit of moisture as we were heading to bed on Saturday night, as well as a light drizzle around dinnertime on Sunday. It was nothing compared to the sideways-driven rain we usually encounter. Thus, there was a disappointing lack of excitement on this canoe trip, although a couple of bees decided to make my vacation a little more memorable. The first bee that stung me--three times--was a little bit understandable, since I paddled up a stream about two feet from where his deceitfully-hidden home was. However, the second attack from an entirely different bee that came a day and a half later was thoroughly confusing. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning with a stinging, throbbing finger, only to discover that a bee had stung me in my sleep! I either said something in my sleep that offended him, or he was some distant relative of the first bee who wanted to seek revenge. Either way, it was not a nice thing to wake up to.

All in all, we had a great trip: the weather was much better than expected, we got a campsite on the island and relatively quiet neighbors, and we created some memories that aren't likely to disappear anytime soon. Hopefully we'll be back again next year!

Hiking Expedition

Owen and I went hiking this past weekend, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather to get out and have some fun. Our plan was to hike for a couple of hours on Friday night, stay overnight at the Cooley Glen Shelter, and complete a 9-mile loop back to the car the next day. Unfortunately, we arrived at the trail a bit later than we expected, leaving us with only an hour of daylight and 3.2 miles to attempt to travel. Although we had resigned ourselves to camping somewhere along the trail, a few estimates and mathematical calculations indicated that we could make it to the shelter before the sunlight completely vanished, which is exactly what happened. We traveled the nine miles on Saturday in a much more leisurely fashion, ending the hike with only a couple of blisters on the bottom of my feet and fewer than a dozen complaints from Owen.

Vermont City Marathon

Owen raced in the Vermont City Marathon on Memorial Day Weekend, and Anna and I biked into Burlington to cheer him on. Although it was difficult to maneuver the tandem over a course with thousands of runners and through a crowd of even more thousands of spectators, we managed to see him at the start, the finish, and four other points along the course. It was obvious that some runners were madly jealous Anna and I were Owen's cheering fans instead of theirs, but we tried to encourage the other runners when we could. However, when we weren't on the course cheering for Owen, we were usually madly biking to the next place we wanted to cheer him on because he was running so darn fast. He finished the marathon with an amazing time of 3:07:01, placing 73rd overall and running at a pace of 7:08 per mile. Also impressive was his almost complete lack of any sign that he had just finished a marathon after he stopped running: he looked like he was about ready to go out for another easy run! The weather was quite warm and sunny, which was wonderful for the spectators and somewhat miserable for the marathoners. Overall, Anna and I had great fun cheering, Owen had a spectacular race, and a few people are probably still mad at me for getting the tandem in the way of the course...

Springtime

Although most of this past winter has felt like spring, the weather has officially begun to consistently resemble such a season! Since we haven't had nearly any snow stay on the ground this winter for longer than a week or so, the outdoor appearance is not changing drastically. However, when the high for the day is 50 degrees as opposed to 30, it makes a big difference to Becca's hands when she ventures out on the water for her daily row! The sun and warmer temperatures are greatly appreciated, especially since I can't take advanage of any snow that may happen to fall anyway.

I can't believe that it's already the end of March. I have less than 50 days left until graduation, and it feels like the semester only started a few days ago. Unfortunately, time seems to fly both when I'm having fun and when I'm incredibly busy...

Ooh! A Bunny!

Look! It's a bunny with a cookie!

This entry is merely to grant the request of those who would prefer if I did not allow a full month to pass without any entries. Exciting, eh? :-P

Row for Humanity

Today marks the fourth annual Row for Humanity event at HWS (this photo is from the first annual RFH), and I find it important to note that I have never completed the fundraiser in the proper manner. Freshman year, the event fell on the day after my surgery, so I spent all day watching the ergers rather than joining them. Sophomore year, I was under special direction from December through February to train per heart rate, and thus rowed for two hours at a controlled heart rate instead of the required one hour, which is notably more intense. Junior year, I was off studying in South Africa, so I had to run for an hour instead of erg. And this year, my back is not strong enough yet to be able to erg for an hour, so I biked on a trainer in the atrium of the library for an hour and a half as an alternative. Regardless of the equipment I was on, however, I got to participate in the event this year, which was the goal anyway. I got some rather confused and bizarre looks as the atrium of the library is a busy place, and there aren't usually two dozen ergs and a bike set up in the middle of it, but no one actually asked me what was going on. It was a good thing, anyway, because it's not that easy to explain anything when you're in a very hot room trying to train...

Back to Geneva

Anna and I arrived in Geneva safely on Sunday afternoon. The roads were pretty icy in Vermont, but the driving was all clear once we hit New York. Anna is now lucky enough to experience all HWS has to offer for a few days...entirely from within my unit. She ventured onto campus with me yesterday for a few minutes, but other than that she's been sampling quite a few different forms of entertainment: namely, a) the internet, and b) DVDs. She's probably fairly bored, but I'll drive her back to Ithaca tomorrow morning and it will no longer concern me.

Classes have been going well. My two mathematics courses sound interesting: an introduction to wavelets and mathematical modeling. From math modeling on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I head directly to ancient philosophy, which should be quite the transition. And then I finish my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with Tibetan mandala painting, taught by an incredibly interesting, real-live Tibetan monk. Hopefully I'll find some remnants of an artistic side before the end of the semester...

Camel's Hump

Owen and I snowshoed up Camel's Hump yesterday, which was more of a hike for me because I ditched my snowshoes less than halfway up. It was a beautiful day, albeit somewhat cloudy when we reached the summit, and there was plenty of snow on the trees to get Owen nice and snowy when I felt like it. Unfortunately, he did succeed in knocking me down at this clearing, but he might have hurt his hand doing it, so I guess we're even...

Merry Christmas!

We have all finally finished our Christmas shopping, wrapped our presents, and stacked them in an incredibly unorganized manner under the tree. The Gutwin children have already experienced two gift-giving sessions this year, and we're ready for the grand finale: our presents to and from each other and our mom. We went over to Dad's on Thursday evening and to our grandparents' on Christmas Eve, which was highly enjoyable and less hectic than it sounds.

Of course, Christmas is not all about the presents. Nor is it all about the six inches of snow on the ground, the holiday music playing in almost every building and vehicle, or the trillions of lights strung in, around, and on most inanimate objects. To me, Christmas is not only about family, because I get to see them a lot throughout the year. Christmas holds a unique spirit of generosity, forgiveness, and genuine appreciation for all mankind that isn't necessarily demonstrated by all for the majority of the year. Obviously, it holds religious significance for many of us: a great celebration of the fact that our God loved us enough to send his own child down to our Earth in order to take responsibility for what we cannot. Christmas encompasses the feelings of goodwill and love that I strive to emulate in my relationships; not only with those I know well, but also complete strangers who deserve the same respect and consideration as everyone else. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and may you experience exactly what you're looking for this holiday season.

Exams

Finally, exam time has come upon us college students, and many are anxious to head home for the holidays and to forget about the looming grand finale of schoolwork. I had one exam yesterday, a paper due today, and two more exams on Thursday, after which I will likely run to my car in order to beat the nasty storm that is supposed to hit Albany and Williston on Friday. For now, it is back to work I go, although I am keeping a very close eye on this "wintry mix" with the unhelpful knowledge that my snow tires are waiting for me at home...

Snow!

I woke up this morning to a substantial blanket of snow covering the ground! Although I have already seen plenty of snow this winter at home for Thanksgiving, it's nice to see it in Geneva, too, for the last two weeks of the semester. Now, I just hope that the snow stays off the roads when I head home on the 16th, because my car is seriously lacking in the snow tire department...

Dessert Appetizer

So, Anna and I were in charge of the dessert appetizer this Thanksgiving. Not to be confused with a regular appetizer, or a full-blown dessert course, our dish was served between dinner and dessert. As you can see, we used Teddy Grahams, Mint Choco Chip ice cream, and chocolate Shell to create a culinary wonder.

It is important to note that Anna and I have practiced our technique, and it takes incredible skill to be able to make this appetizer. We are still perfecting our techniqe and making slight modifications to our ingredient list, but overall the dish was a GREAT SUCCESS. Although some doubted the culinary value of Teddy Grahams (ahem, FATHER), it was quite obvious when the course was served that it was particularly enjoyed by those most skeptical.

You see, the best thing about Teddy Grahamwiches is that they are so small, and thus it is easy to enjoy their taste without ruining one's appetite for the grander desserts yet to come. Be forewarned: there are several unforseen obstacles in making this dish, and it cannot be successfully produced with minimal effort. It was difficult to get them as aesthetically pleasing as possible, but come next Thanksgiving, our dish will be even more improved. And MANY THANKS to the creative JENNA KATZ, as she developed the chocolate coating idea. Our Teddy Grahamwiches would have been much less impressive if they didn't involve this important step.

Home

Anna and I arrived home safely last night after a long and semi-dangerous drive. It was icy, snowy, and dark, but we pulled into the driveway at 11:30 pm unharmed and ready to jump into bed. I spent the day doing some much-needed laundry, shoveling the four-to-six inches of snow off our driveway, and catching up with some friends and family.

Tomorrow, Anna and I head over to Dad's house to tackle Thanksgiving dinner. We aren't going to be super-involved with the main course, but we're in charge of the dessert appetizer, which is going to be DELICIOUS. Then, it's two more full days at home before we need to make the drive back to central New York to finish up our final three weeks of the term...

Head of the Fish

Dan, Cassie, Frances, JM, Gardner, Gavin, Tim, Me, Edwina

The Hobart and William Smith crew teams finished their fall seasons at the Head of the Fish this weekend, racing a total of 9 boats between both teams. Originally, I was only going to race once, but Sandra encountered a little issue when a few Hobart novices quit shortly before the race. Thus, the HWS mixed 8+ entry suddenly needed new rowers, and Sandra decided to create a Class of 2006 boat. Coxed by Dan Gilbert, Cassie, Frances, JM, Gardner, Gavin, Tim, Edwina, and I raced down the course a second time immediately following our respective varsity 8+ events. Rowing with men in the engine room is my new favorite way to race, because we spent a lot less time through the water and a lot more time on the recovery at a 32. We passed at least half a dozen boats on the way down the less-than-12-minute course, and won the event by almost a full minute! We had a great time, and it felt like an excellent way to end my final fall season at the Colleges.