Sailing On Ice

There's something about skating on a pond that doesn't compare to anything else in the world.  Maybe it's the setting or the people or the sport or maybe it's the feeling you get once you get out on the ice.  What an amazing feeling it is to be sailing across the placid surface of a pond in the heart of winter when the ice is thick as a brick.  To be with friends and family enjoying nature and embracing the opportunity to play a bit of pond hockey. 

Last January, my grandmother passed away.  She was an amazing person that brought so much love and happiness to the our little corner of the world, part of her lives on in me and everyone who knew her.  She could put a smile on your face even on the worst of days.  She had a way about her that made you smile and appreciate the good things in life.  Even in her last days she was still cracking jokes just to get a laugh, or even a smile.  It's hard to believe she's been gone for over a year, she is missed by everyone and will live on in everyone who knew her.

Back to the subject of pond hockey last January after the funeral a bunch of us including friends, cousins, aunts and uncles went out on the pond to enjoy some five on five old fashioned pond hockey.  That was one of those days that was full of emotion, some happy, some sad but it was full of love.  I realize how fortunate I am to have such an amazing family and there is no place i'd rather be than with them.  I'm writing about this because back home in PA my eleven year old brother and his friends are out on that ice, and I can't begin to describe how jealous I am.  

So Close

I just got back from seeing another shitty horror movie,  "my bloody valentine in 3D" was just plain terrible, the acting was so bad it was funny and the 3D glasses were ridiculous!  Not the best way to spend seven dollars but whatever.  The rest of my weekend was a lot more enjoyable.  I convinced my roommate to drive up to ECU to visit my cousin Molly.  We had a great time even though there were way too many dudes at that school it was still fun hanging out with Mollz.  When we got back I watched the Eagles make an incredible come back only to see them lose the NFC Championship to the Arizona Cardinals.  

Jake the Snake

Jake one of 19 grandchildren on my moms side has lived a pretty awesome life so far.  After graduating from Brown he learned how to speak chinese and went to live in China.  While he was in Bejing, and during my freshman year in high school I took two weeks off from school to visit him.  While in China I hiked part of the Great Wall, went to many temples and gardens, and ate incredible meals for less than two dollars per person.  Traveling to a third world country is an amazing experience that I will never forget.  Once Jake returned from China he began work on the carrot project and blogging.  He writes on two blogs about his life and his work.  They are interesting and meaningful and I look forward to having  an interesting and meaningful blog of my own, this is it.

Transition

After seven months of working and traveling I begin my college career in Wilmington North Carolina at UNCW.  I spent four months working for my dad's company in PA and two months for my uncles in Australia.  When I was accepted to UNCW spring semester I decided to travel to the other side of the world. I went to stay with my uncle in the Australian rainforest in a small town on the coast three hours of dirt roads north of Cairns.  Upon arrival in Cairns my uncle Jamie, a firefighter picked me up from the airport and drove me to his place in Cairns where we watched the Phillies win game one of the World Series.  I then proceeded to go pig hunting with my cousin Quanna in Kuranda at a friends farm that afternoon.   Kuranda, a suburb of Cairns is about a thirty minute drive over mountains into the rainforest.  Pig hunting involves chasing dogs through the bush and not much of anything else but if you ever have the chance, do it, it's awesome!  After a night in Cairns my uncle and I drove up to Bloomfield where my other uncle Kim has the second largest mangosteen orchord in Australia.  Mangosteens are just one of the dozens of tropical fruit my uncle grows.  The mangosteen season was to start in about ten days which allowed us to go on a seven day fishing trip on the great barrier reef.  After a week of fishing, snorkeling, spearfishing, and having the time of my life it was back to Bloomfield for the mangosteen season.  For the next six weeks I spent most of my time picking "the queen of all fruit" the purple mangosteen.  Eating fresh seafood caught on the reef and fresh fruit picked daily it was difficult to come home.  When I boarded my flight from Sydney to LA I thought about what an incredible time I had in an amazing part of the world.  I can't wait to go back, hopefully accompanied by my cousin Jake who has been to Australia many times, been out on the reef and picked mangosteens.  Jake who is 27 and without a doubt the coolest guy I know he currently lives on the farm that I grew up on located in Pennsylvania about a minute north of the Delaware state line.  Jake has two blogs and is working on a website called the carrot project, check it out it's really sweet!  Over the past several months Jake and I have become great friends even more like brothers and his blogs inspire me to write and blog myself. 

I start off my blogging career with a quote to live by...

"Rule number 76 no excuses play like a champion"