Wilmington Weekend

Friday evening, I headed down to Wilmington, NC. I camped at Carolina Beach State Park, which turned out to be a really nice campground. Although it was car camping, the campground was relatively empty, making it a pleasantly peaceful place to spend the night. The plan was to rise early and meet Ari and Matthew at the Cape Fear Marina and load up for a day of paddling. All went well with some added thunder and lightening storms. Karza and I rose early and made our way to the marina. After getting thoroughly confused and driving over the Cape Fear River, where I could clearly see the marina, we finally made it there. After loading the kayaks onto one vehicle we made our way to a launch site, i.e. an overpass, and set out on Smith Creek.

It was a nice paddle. For the first 1/3 of the paddle it was quiet, natural, and a narrow part of the creek. However, the airport and multiple bridges took away some of the remoteness. Regardless it was a nice afternoon and the sun eventually came out and warmed the day. We made our way to Cape Fear River and to the marina, where pups and Ari's parents were awaiting our arrival.

Saturday evening was spent leisurely spent enjoying the warm summer weather on the catamaran and then after dinner, we set out to Wilmington to see what the downtown area had to offer. After wandering around the boardwalk, we made walked up front street and enjoyed a beer at Wilmington's only brewery, Front Street Brewery. Unfortunately, their Organic Hefeweizen was not available, but I gladly enjoyed a Kolsch instead.

It was a pleasant way to spend the weekend and I hope to make it back to the Wilmington area to explore again soon.

It's official....

Almost a month ago, I completed my graduate degree!

Such a ground breaking thing that has been anticipated for far too long. Although this was something I had been working effortlessly towards, resulting in neglecting most other facets of my life, it was one of the most anticlimactic events.

However, it was still a great relief... not to have obtained a graduate degree, that is but a piece of paper that if anything, represents that I jumped through the ridiculous hoops set up by ECU. It represents a period of time I hope I can one day look back on and not feel my stomach turn and teeth clinch. One day, I hope the bitterness will subside and I will be able to see the positive aspects of the experience, none of which are currently evident, except for the few connections that were created during my time there.

That being said... I am extremely happy to be finished and am enjoying my thesis free time. What has been taking up all the time previously spent toiling away on thesis work? Well, there is still work to be done to get the information out into the scientific community, but most of my time has been spent on the myriad of things I have not been able to enjoy in the past 4 years... such as cooking, spending time w/ my pouch, and most excitingly, learning how to sew.

Yes, after years and years of wanting to learn, I met a woman in town that does alterations and is teaching me how to sew. By altering clothing that has been patiently awaiting to be utilized, I am learning the basics of seamstressing and loving every minute of it. I recently finished my first project: a satchel [pix to come]. Years ago with a biking satchel in mind, I purchased some fabric and recently learned how to make, cut out, and alter a pattern. Additionally, I learned how to make button holes and am extremely excited about all there is to learn. I am very happy w/ the finished product, which is very unlike me, since I'm such a perfectionist and nothing is ever good enough that I make. Already, I have a few things queued up and can't wait to start on them.

Additionally, I have signed up for a pottery class that starts next week. Having recently learned how much I enjoy sewing, it reminded me of how much I like pottery. Pottery is the only other thing that ignites me and that I enjoy doing a great deal. One may say, they are what I feel passionate about. I'm looking forward to getting my hands in some clay... it's been too long.