You Blink And You Miss It

Well, that is it. My time at UCSC has finished. I can't quite believe it actually. In some ways it has just flown by but at the same time I feel like I have been here forever.
My sister has been here since Wednesday which has kept me occupied and not thinking about the fact that I have to leave. But today she went home and when I got back to the apartment to start packing, a wave of melancholy hit me and I have been feeling down ever since! I love UCSC, I love Santa Cruz, I love California, I love America. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to see my friends and family, I have missed them so much and I wish I could have shared this experience with them. However, this year has just reinforced the feeling that I already had before I came here; I want to live here permanently! Now I need to get working on that! I'm not leaving America right away, I have about 3 weeks left so I am going to leave my year abroad epilogue till I actually leave...

Finals were over and done with by 11am on Monday, and I was at the beach with a friend not too long after that! It was gorgeous and sooo relaxing. Just what I needed after all the work that had just been done! In order to get a two day extension on my housing contract I had to do some volunteering on campus so Tuesday saw me picking through recycling bins with the 'Zero Waste' team. Mainly we just stood around in the sun and chatted!

On Wednesday my sister flew down from Seattle to spend a few days seeing the sights of Santa Cruz! It was a great excuse for me to do all the things that I loved one more time before I left. The first thing we did was stop at Burger and get food! Everything involves food I have found. After we gorged ourselves, we did a bit of a walking tour of campus, then went swimming where I was teaching her flip turns, surface dives, and showing off my butterfly (which turns into 'wounded waterbeetle,' as my coach calls it, after about 50 yds!). I have become a real waterbaby since being here and can't wait to get back into it when I am home. If anyone knows of a diving team, as in springboard, not scuba, let me know! That night, my sister got to re-live her undergrad days at the dining hall;)

Thursday I had my final physio appointment, and I got a t-shirt for 'graduating'! Again, going to miss that place and the people. I need to find a PT just like it. The rest of the day included walking on the wharf, checking out the sea lion pups, eating a ton of nuts from Nut Kreations, sushi at I Love Sushi, and a party over at the guys house where we played numerous rounds of flip cup, chandeliers, and then rock band!

Friday was the best day...another kayaking adventure in the Bay. Started the tour by nearly going headfirst into the ocean as I tried to get in. Embarrassing. The sea lions were very active and were leaping around all over the place which was a bit terrifying at times as I was fully prepared for them to leap onto the kayak! Lots of Sea Otters and their pups too:) So unbelievably cute. But then what baby animal isn't? It was a private tour and the woman who took us out was very nice, though when she told us she had three jobs, and we said "Oh but this must be your favourite", completely out of left field she said no, hre job at a sex shop was. Fair enough! Don't quite know how to respond when someone says that! The evening was spent at the beach, playing frisbee, building sand castles, taking photos, and watching the surfers do their thing.

This weekend is graduation weekend so there are a ton of people on campus! So Saturday morning we got up pretty early and headed down to the Arboretum before all the buses got too busy. Plenty of flowers, hummingbirds, lizards, and even a rabbit, kept us occupied for an hour or two, while we quickly fried to a crisp in the 90 degree weather! Air conditioned buses are the greatest invention ever. That, and ice water. My sister went back to Seattle that afternoon and I returned to campus to start the daunting task of trying to fit my life into two suitcases again. I have waaayyy too much stuff. I am holding a yard/garage sale in my bedroom as we speak.

It was a great final week at UCSC. God I am going to miss this place. But for now, onwards and literally upwards to Sacramento for a night on our way to a friends cabin in Lake Tahoe! Then to Seattle, then down to Skamania Lodge for a family reunion weekend with my bro-in-law's family, then back up to Seattle, then home! I'm glad I did the recycling session this week; I feel I need to give back to the environment as my carbon foot print is going to be pretty hefty.

Meat, Fish, and Baked Goods

I am writing this with a freshly baked hunk of bread in my hand! I woke up this morning to find a note written in the kitchen telling me that 'Breakfast is in the oven' and wollah I open the oven door to find 3 freshly baked, plait loaves! I wasn't that surprised to be honest. My roommate has been making lemon bars and bread for the past few weeks and they are gorgeous! Couple that with the fact that I woke up at 4am and our room smelt like a bakery! Hard to go back to sleep after that.

This week included a Spanish exam (joy), a presentation (double joy) and the deadline for my dissertation plan. I am not looking forward to writing that beast. On Monday three of us went to have dinner at Burger, which, as the name suggests, makes burgers. They are so nice and they all have great names like 'The Snookie' which is a burger patty in between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Or 'The Adam Sandler' which is a sloppy joe! When you give them your order, instead of giving you a wooden spoon with a number on it to take to your table, you get a mugshot of a celebrity. We had Elvis, Macauly Culkin and Jack Nicholson, I think!

Found myself getting a bit emotional and feeling like everything was getting on top of me this week. I'm still waiting to hear back from this camp I want to work at; I NEED SUMMER PLANS! I think I am just going to have to make a decision on what I am doing regardless of whether I have heard or not. Damn Olympics and the resulting high plane tickets! Friday was definitely the lowest point however Aquirefest put a smile on my face that evening. Who doesn't love a good acapella showcase! It is a two night event with Universities from California bringing their acapella groups for a concert. There was of course songs from The Lion King, a staple for any group I have found, but also a Hindi group from UC Berkeley did a remix of Party Rock Anthem half in Hindi and half in English! On the Rocks from University of Oregon were performing on the Saturday night and I was bummed that I would miss them because that is the school my sister went to 10 years ago and we have been listening to their CD's in our family car since then!
Midnight movie on Friday was the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. Extended edition. Great fun and pretty epic but it didn't finish until 4.30am. Enough said. We did have fresh bread and lemon bars and ice cream (I had found a brand that is 150kcals for a PINT, talk about guilt free. And since it is Santa Cruz, it was organic. Win.) to keep us going.

On Saturday (Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday) me and a friend went to San Jose to go to the Boiling Crab for lunch. We had been to the one in LA (see blogpost from December) and were in love with the seafood by the pound in a bag thing. Their sauce was definitely spicier in San Jose. I got a pound of shrimp and half a pound of sausage in my bag which was a mistake. I'll explain why in a minute.
Me and the roommate, after blasting music and cleaning the apartment, went on another Moonlight kayaking adventure (again, see October blogpost) Saturday evening. It was even better than last time! We say all the seals and sea lions up close, saw baby sea otters, watched the sun set, saw the moon rise which is at it's brightest and biggest at the moment, and had a pod of 6 or so bottlenose dolphins come check us out! We were on the water for a few hours, and at times it was a bit choppy. You may guess where this is going. It is no fun throwing up spicy seafood in the toilets of the supermarket, Trader Joes! Anyway the trip was amazing and just reminded me how much I love the ocean. That is one of the things I am going to miss most I think.

Ok I have to go do some work. I want to get as much done as possible as tomorrow night it is the season finale of Castle and I am pretty sure that I won't be able to function for at least 24 hours after it as the promos look explosive! If you aren't watching it, you should. 

Hanging with the dogs of the sea!

Another Sunday, another post, though a short one I feel:)

Today was spent in the great outdoors! Although winter is setting in (we have had lots of rain and it is getting much colder) me and my roommate went on a sunset kayaking trip in Monterey Bay this afternoon. I was excited for the trip but after a great white shark attack on a surfer in the area 5 days ago my excitement was dampened somewhat! But after the initial 15mins I completely forgot about the shark and what could be underneath me and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was so gorgeous and peaceful. Pelicans, sea otters, seals and sea lions joined us on our trip on the slightly choppy pacific ocean as we paddled out of the harbour, round the boardwalk and wharf for a few hours! A real arm and shoulder workout! I will admit there were times when a piece of kelp would rise up and resemble a fin and completely freak me out (doesn't the attack in Jaws happen at dusk...I thought so!).

The sea lions like to hang out underneath the wharf and they are so loud! You can hear them from miles away. Hearing the sea lions you can see why they are called 'dogs of the sea'! On Saturday a few of us went down to the wharf to see them and look for whales as the humpbacks have been in the bay (didn't see any unfortunately!) but I hear they are still around so I am keeping a look out! This video I took shows how loud they are!

Can't think of anything else to report. Next weekend is Veterans weekend so a day off on Friday...trip to San Francisco? Yes please!