WW, Conference and crazy people at Ripon

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say hi and post this fabulous picture so EVERYONE can see it. This accurately represents dinner time during good ole W in the W. I think Anna and I were feeding each other coleslaw with our hands and apparently Leah and I were making out hardcore (which neither of us remember). At this point we lost Marta and Ally to Poetzl and were soon too loose all but myself, Ellen, Anne and Emily. Leah almost made it but we sadly left her on the lawn in front of FACS and proceeded to trample into the library with one more hope of sabotaging the guy's map hole only to find empty beer cans and a dirty magazine. Apparently the guys have a hilarious story about a bum named Eckburg who drank 6 of their beers at Jesus Christ Superfort and jumped into the creek never to be seen again (or see again for that matter because he "lost his glasses somewhere that night" and still denies ever beeing at JC Superfort). The night ended at Poetzl's, mud-covered and smelling delightful and yet I still managed to lick Anthony's face. Eww... Yeah, and fuck the guys for this superiority bullshit. I train with those bastards and am nowhere near inferior as they feel my ponytail hit them in the face as I run past.

As for Conference, its coming up and we're looking studly. I'm really excited about all the work everyone's been putting in and I'm sure we'll be happy to get some great PRs and hopefully some bling as well. My mom and aunt are coming for both days and I'm really excited about that! Its the first time my mom's been to Beloit or seen me run in 4 years so that will be exciting. I'm foreseeing a 1500, steeplechase and a tired 5K to wrap it up. Probably not the 10K again, that was brutal enough the first and only time!

Ellen and I visited the Ripon team this past weekend (with Jared and Anthony- an annual visit. If some of you remember, Aaron, Anthony and Eric Wright broke shit on their campus last year around this time). Let me just say they are an interesting bunch. Possibly more quarky and loud than our own group, if that is at all possible. It was an experience. We pretty much did the same things we do in Beloit, except on the Ripon campus (which is actually very beautiful). Anthony's mom, Kathy was also a delight. That woman has many words of wisdom as well as amazing little Anthony stories. I'll have to share some with you another time. One sneak peak: at a relatively young age, little Manthony was taught to cut with a real knife. Unfortunately, Kathy couldn't get him to put the thing down and the went around for the following weeks cutting up everything in the house... the sofa, the walls and the wooden door frames. A little nightmare.

I hope everyone is wonderful. I love and miss you all. Be safe and keep truckin!
Love, Hammer

Home Sick for Yooooou

After checking up on you all via facebook and reading your posts I am desperately missing you! Maybe it's cuz I'm menstral, but I'm on the verge of tears right now not being able to see any of you.  Espesh the seniors!! 

Marta farta! I love that you're still trying to get M-dawg to stick - cracks me up whenever I read your posts.  I must respond to  your most recent message... you know how I feel about female discrimination... 

While "W in the W" may seem like a trivial example, it's one of the many instances that demonstrates a common attitude of male superiority.   I know I'm getting a touch dramatic, but it agrivates the hell out of me when guys play the 'no girls allowed' game...as if we taint an experience. I firmly agree with your arguement Marta in regards to women always "copying" men.  An idea is not limited to a gender. There is just no reason for the consistent bashing or exclusion of women in cross or anywhere.  In conclusion: No we will not sit by and watch while the boys engage in a fun cross tradition.. Right on to you all for organizing and participating in W in the W; you make me damn proud. 

Ok I'm stepping off the soap box..just had to say my piece cuz I was fired up after reading some of the guys comments on the photos and after reading Marta's commentary. 

Anywho -- Australia.

   In the words of Mr. Darcy: It has bewitched me body and soul. 

I could definitely see myself living here someday.  Sydney is my favorite city anywhere (yes it even beats Beloit).  I love it all.   

what i don't love is the fucking internet - i just wrote a bunch of personalized messages to you guys and this was all that got saved in my draft when the internet pooped out. GAH! 

no time to rewrite at the mo. 

Love from Down Under!! 

 Cheers, Shelley Quad(ay)

AMOR ES TODO QUE NECESITAS!

(that is my haphazard translation of the Beetles--Love is all you need...I guess I am feeling a little hippyish right now--it just innately runs in my veins!--haha) I really can't believe you guys are almost done with school! Ahh! GOOD LUCK with finals! One more year of college for the Juniors!!! I don't think I am quite ready for that! Yikes! Wine in the Woods sounds and looks amazing! The pics are soooo funny! Oh man--that looks like a blast! Good job, guys! I am happy to hear that the weather is good finally! Everyone seems to be so happy!

As for moi--oui, moi--things are definitely good! And I am not almost done--which I am actually happy about since I am here! I won't get back in CSprings until July 30! My program doesn't end til the very end of June, and then my entire fam and I are going to travel around Europe for a couple of weeks! As for Valencia--it's the same--I only have nine hours of class a week, so I have just been going to the beach and enjoying the sunny weather, too! Of course there is a little running on the side with that! Haha! Although I am pretty confident, I would be coming in dead last in a race if I were to try to do it any time soon!

Everyone take care of yoursilves! Love you all and love from Espana!

Ahoy! Galapagan boats abound!

Ladies!

We just got back from a mind-blowing boat tour, where we were able to see even more interesting wildlife and some beautiful volcanoes. On Isabela, we rode horses and passed by the 2nd biggest crater in the world. We also were able to see blue-footed boobies dancing and frigatebirds showing off their red necks to attract mates up close.

Apparently, this won't be my last Galapagan boat trip. My friend John Paul e-mailed me while I was in Isabela because there was room and a need for a research assistant on a boat going to two remote islands (where tourists can't go), Genovesa and Fernandina. It looks like all of the paperwork is getting sorted out, and I will be leaving this island on May 1st to spend a few days do research in intertidal zones in Santa Cruz- then off I go. I can feel that this is going to be an adventure, and I'm beyond excited. All I need to do now is turn in the paperwork and change my plane ticket.

!!!!!!!!!

oh, sleep is for the wicked

Wine in the woods f-ing rocked. Thanks to the ladies who organized it. A most excellent success. I think the "crisp" finish at hole # 2 tasted best. I never made it to hole three...just to dinner... then looked in the library where Ally and I heard the guys might be. My guess was in the map section of the basement. I think they were there looking at porn.

The team is heading out at 7 am in the morning--oh, that's about 4.5 hours from now. I can't sleep and just stumbled on this blog again--it is awesome to see everyone's posts and adventures abroad.

A little food for thought--
guys (a few) were criticizing our wine venture, saying we just copied them. This is annoying because, frankly, the whole thing was really Eckburg's (and probably Ternis' and Abel's) idea originally anyway (and none of them came up with the idea for a pub crawl either). This is also annoying because we as girls get this shit a lot--oh, we're copying guys--by running, playing basketball... writing novels...working, voting...I mean, yeah, if guys get to do these things first, then yes, we're modeling ourselves after them.
The criticism of us copying the guys made me think of an argument I've read in a few places about Title IX and how it is pointless if we, women, are just copying men and not actually doing our own things in our own ways. That kind of drives me nuts though. I mean, basketball first had really lame rules when it was "for women."

Anway, I am going to try, again, to sleep (sweet lord). But I thought it's worth posing as a question or issue.

In the meantime, rock on.

Bongles,
M. Dawg (M. Van Effing)

edit

i mean cross 2008.... not 2009! (see previous post)

1ST ANNUAL WINE & WOODS

Basically... Ellen and I came up with the idea of wine and woods... it was fun... like the boys "beer wilderness". Shelly and I will have to come up with another event for the fall. we strated with 11 girls and 3 boxes/holes with 11% franzia. only four survived to the end... i was NOT one of them due to the fact that i passed out in front of facs around 7:15pm... i hate wine...anyways...
i think that cross in 2009 will be the best season ever!
peace,
-leah

Walk It Out

I love all the different schedules. I don't even know how long I've been here anymore.

Actually, I'm on Spring Break. Which is disorienting and two weeks long. I take off in the morning by train to the northern coast (English Channel) and start my grand trek west.

This one time (late at night, in a bar) I said I thought it would be rugged to take a week of our break and just walk along the coast to see more of Bretagne. My rather fuzzy idea was to go B&B to B&B and eat seafood and do who-knows-how-many miles a day. And some of my friends both liked and remembered the idea.

So, starting tomorrow: 20 (+/-) miles a day. Six days. A rainy forecast.

Because idiocy is international.

There's still snow in WI?? What the hell is going on over there?

3 MONTHS!!

Well, we have officially hit the half way mark of our visit to Spain! I can't believe--this semester (as usual) has just flown by!! I want to hear an update on everything. I talked to Manthony and he told me about formal---but, I am going to need a full update! And he also told me the meet was canceled becuase of too much snow--how have the other meets been so far??

Spain is good...it's pretty much 75 and sunny everyday..which I can't complain about! I am basically just traveling some weekends and just bumming around Valencia others (like this one). I think we are going to make our first Starbucks visit of the year today...and get a little taste of home:)

I hope you guys are all doing well! I want to read more bloggies! RUNRUNRUN! I love you all!

Good news and bad news

Hey folks,
So, good news: I'm heading to Tanzania this fall! I heard from ACM last Wednesday, but haven't yet received the mountains of paperwork, so I suppose I have a legitimate reason (for once) for putting off that stuff.
Bad news: I'm heading to Tanzania this fall. Meaning I'm missing cross-country and it'll likely be another long semester before I get to see all of your shining faces again. On the upside, I will get to learn Kiswahili and meet Maasai and go on safari and complete my own research and visit Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli. Should be exciting . . .

It's great to hear from you all! Keep the news coming.

Katie

P.S.

So apparently it looks like I will be in Western Minnesota for the summer researching Echinacea. Anyone interested in an East Coast-Midwest road trip in early June? I could drop you off in Chicago or Beloit or Minneapolis. A companion would be super-helpful in the campaign for my parents to let me take Barney (my purple Honda) out to Minn.